“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
Do you love food, cooking, chefs, restaurants and discovering the best places to eat?
Have you pondered writing about food, perhaps a favorite dish you love to make, a unique restaurant you discovered, a chef who’s doing something wild and crazy at his or her restaurant?
Have you met a baker, a pastry chef, a wine maker, or a chocolatier and thought that person (and their passion) would make a great story?
Have you discovered a unique ingredient or dish when traveling and would love to write a story about it?
Perhaps you’ve had an idea for cookbook swirling around in your mind but don’t quite know how to get into a proposal form.
My name is Tracey Ceurvels and I’ve been writing about food and travel for over 10 years. I love it so much that I’d love to help you do the same.
My love of food (and travel) has landed me some fun writing assignments, including:
Savoring food along the Amazon River in Peru for The Boston Globe.
An insider’s guide to eating in Chinatown (NYC), also for The Boston Globe.
Closed-door restaurants in Buenos Aires, also for The Boston Globe.
Living in Chinatown for The New York Times City Section.
Interviews with well-known chefs for Hauteliving.com
Restaurant reviews for Time Out, Citysearch and Paper Magazine.
Currently I am writing entries for Savoring Gotham: An Encyclopedia of Food in NYC (Oxford University Press).
And I’ve created recipes and articles for Dean & Deluca, Relish Magazine and many other publications.
Recently, I signed with the Dee Mura Literary Agency for my upcoming cookbook: The NYC Kitchen—Recipes inspired by the specialty food shops, spice stores and markets of NYC. (And I got a quote for the book from my favorite chef: Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin!)
Together, let’s kickstart your food writing career, whether you want to write one article or an entire cookbook.
In the “I Love Food” Writing Program, you’ll learn exactly the steps to take to publish your stories. Forget about classes—with one-on-one coaching you will be the only student and get the individual attention you need to achieve your writing goals.
Together we can work on such topics as:
• The elements of a great story
• Your unique voice and choosing what to write about
• Identifying the different types of food articles
• Interviewing chefs, wine makers, restaurant owners, chocolatiers and others in the food industry
• The best places to publish your work
• Spinning your single story idea into many stories (and more money!)
• 5 key details you need for a great pitch letter
• Getting a “Yes!” from an editor
• Creating a proposal for the cookbook you have in mind. I’ll reveal the format I used for my proposal and what to include to catch an agent’s eye.
I’ll also share:
What’s worked for me when it comes to publishing articles about food and travel
How I landed an agent for my cookbook one hour after I emailed her the proposal
Sample pitch letters that landed me assignments
How I travel around the world and write about food
“I Love Food” Writing Program
The Menu
Appetizer
4 weeks of coaching, including 1 hour per week on the phone
4 emails a week with questions/concerns
$399
Main Course
6 weeks of coaching, which includes 1 hour per week in person in NYC or on the phone
6 emails per week with your questions/concerns
Assistance crafting one pitch letter to an editor OR sample cookbook proposal format
Hot List of food and travel editors with their email addresses
$599
Chef’s Tasting Menu
8 weeks of hourly coaching, in person in NYC or on the phone
unlimited emails with your questions/concerns
Assistance with 2 pitch letters to editors or help with your cookbook proposal
Hot List of food and travel editors with their email addresses
Book: Will Write About Food by Dianne Jacobs delivered to your home via Amazon
$799
Dessert
Dessert is one sweet hour of honing in on your writing goals. You and me, over afternoon tea, in person in NYC, on the phone or via Skype. Sometimes it takes someone else’s perspective to get you moving in the right direction.
$95/1 Hour on the phone or in person
Together we can work on a concrete plan for your food writing career.
Yes, I am so excited to write about food! Sign me up for the “I Love Food” Writing Program.
| The Menu |
Testimonial
Only one word can describe Tracey Ceurvels: AMAZING. I recently participated in one of her coaching programs. For a week, I wrote question after question to her. I’m new to the freelance writing world, so I had some questions that experienced freelance writers may laugh at, but not Tracey. She answered all of my questions thoroughly and without judgment.Tracey not only supplied me with several ideas, she worked with me on my own ideas and helped me turn them into a reality. All thanks to Tracey, before the end of the week, I was in contact with a couple of editors and one editor that may hire me as a staff writer. I met Tracey and knew her to be a successful food and travel writer, so when the week started I was a little skeptical on how she could help me because my topic of choice has always been sports. I am here to tell everyone, no matter what topic you write about, Tracey can help you. Tracey has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to freelance writing. I am so thankful to have met and to have trained under her. The lessons she has taught me will last a lifetime, the contacts she has given me and the knowledge she has passed on to me can only help further my new career as a freelance writer. I highly recommend Tracey’s Coaching sessions. If you’re serious about being a freelance writer, this is one investment you NEED to make.
Brittany L. Morgan, Journalist