Ask the Author: Karen Anderson
Answered Questions (6)
Karen Anderson
My most recent book is called Eat Alberta First. The idea came during the start of the pandemic in 2020 when people were in lockdown, global supply chains were disrupted and people started to look for local and wanted recipes to use what they found.
I was ready and published 11 months worth of recipes and sourcing notes. Then, I pitched that to my publisher as a book and they loved it.
That's when the work really started! lol Another 2 years and I was holding my beautiful book in my hands.
I was ready and published 11 months worth of recipes and sourcing notes. Then, I pitched that to my publisher as a book and they loved it.
That's when the work really started! lol Another 2 years and I was holding my beautiful book in my hands.
Karen Anderson
I'm inspired to write because of the power words hold in helping others. Writing cookbooks shares food culture. Writing about food artisans helps establish them so they can build a business and we can have a local food culture.
It will always be about the power of storytelling to create human connection.
It will always be about the power of storytelling to create human connection.
Karen Anderson
I started research in the field in 2016 and 2017 and am in the final throes of a manuscript about cooks and their culture in South India. It's a love letter to all the people I've had the joy of cooking with there.
Karen Anderson
Write. Sounds silly but, write. Stop talking about it. Develop your framework. Sketch out your chapters. Hang some topics in there and get rolling. Nothing writes itself.
I think you need a manuscript before you approach a publisher. So again, write.
Once you have a publisher, pitch, set deadlines and deliver.
And always, hand in a polished manuscript, on time! Publishers are into that kind of thing. lol!
I think you need a manuscript before you approach a publisher. So again, write.
Once you have a publisher, pitch, set deadlines and deliver.
And always, hand in a polished manuscript, on time! Publishers are into that kind of thing. lol!
Karen Anderson
The best thing about being a writer is that sometimes it is an out of body experience. When the flow comes, I just keep writing. Later, when I look back at those times the words flowed, I give full credit to something beyond me that showed up because I did.
Karen Anderson
I once read, Charles Schultz, the creator of Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, answer to "how to deal with writer's block?" and it stuck with me. I'll paraphrase what he said but it went like this, "I'm a professional. I work everyday. I show up. I sit in my seat and I write."
Maybe it isn't all perfect. But I find, turning off expectations and criticisms and getting whatever down on paper gets things flowing. It's always way easier to go back and edit so just get anything down and build from there. If I sit in my chair to write, I'm going to write. And, maybe, the house got cleaned and cookies baked, and errands run first, but, once I get there, it happens!
Maybe it isn't all perfect. But I find, turning off expectations and criticisms and getting whatever down on paper gets things flowing. It's always way easier to go back and edit so just get anything down and build from there. If I sit in my chair to write, I'm going to write. And, maybe, the house got cleaned and cookies baked, and errands run first, but, once I get there, it happens!
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