SO, YOU WANT TO BE AN AUTHOR…

ARTICLE BY JESSE BLANCO

You’ll have to forgive me if the standard issue smile on my face is a little wider these days. I’ve always been a happy guy, eternally thankful for my mama’s disposition. She’s been gone for six years now, and I still have strangers ask me about her and reference the fact that she was always smiling. Yes, she was. As a result, so am I. And like I mentioned, more so since about March 1.

Flashback to April 2022 and an afternoon like any other. I got a call from a cookbook agent friend of mine who told me she had just recommended me to a Connecticut-based book publisher about a project here in Savannah. “I don’t know if they will call you, but I told them you were the best person for this job.”

Of course, I stared at my phone for days waiting for the call to come, but it never did. A little over a week later, on Easter Sunday evening, I got the email. It was from the publisher looking to set up a call that week. Was I over the moon? You better believe it.

Days later, I had a verbal agreement to write my first book. Savannah Food Crawls would be a carefully curated collection of walkabouts through downtown Savannah. Along the way, I’d point out points of interest for eating and drinking with the facts and history sprinkled in. The kind of book that had never been written before in Savannah, much less published by a major publishing house. Globe Pequot is a division of Rowan. They’ve been around for roughly 75 years.

In the big picture, the Savannah book would be pretty easy. I know the food scene here like the back of my hand. I live in downtown Savannah and have walked these streets dozens of times in 20 or so years, if not more.

Still, it was my first book. I carried a small case of nerves around Savannah with me last summer. I don’t lack for confidence, but when you get too cocky, you end up looking stupid. I’ve been there and done that. I have the T-shirt to prove it.

Putting that book together proved to be a lot more fun than I ever thought it could be. It felt like it was equal parts braggadocios about your brother or best friend combined with reacquainting with an old girlfriend. Don’t get it twisted; it was a lot of work. But it was comfortable and enjoyable. Savannah Food Crawls was turned in on time (August 1) and is expected on the street this fall. Fingers crossed.

While my attention was turned to other things, including my training for the 2022 New York City Marathon, another random email popped into my inbox. It was from my editor at Globe Pequot. She wanted to know if I’d be interested in tackling Charleston for a similar project that I had completed for Savannah.

The deadline was roughly 100 days out, with the Christmas season dropped in the middle of it. I really wanted to say no, but how could I? I have worked too hard for over a decade building the Eat It and Like It brand. I had to accept the assignment, even if I didn’t want to. I signed the deal early November. I went to work on the project early December. Now, was I intimidated by the food scene in that city? It’s only one of the best in America. Absolutely 1000 percent. But what was it I said about not lacking confidence?

I told myself that the best way to eat an elephant was one bite at a time, and I went to work as the journalist I’ve been for roughly half of my life.

I learned so much about that city and its food scene. As you might imagine, I ate all over town. I ate when I wasn’t hungry. I drank when I wasn’t thirsty. I painted the town red on more than one occasion. All in the name of ‘research,’ of course. It was a fine time.

My favorite part? Good food is always the first guess, but it is not accurate. It’s the great people who made me feel comfortable in Charleston. From the executives at Explore Charleston on my first day, to the hotel concierge who’s brain I picked for two hours, to the bartenders who were glad to ‘talk shop’ with the writer from Savannah who was interested in sharing the real story of the food scene in Charleston. Which I believe I did.

The biggest take away was that, for all the world-class cuisine in that city, 70 percent or more of it exists during the dinner hours of 5-10 p.m. The restaurants making most of the headlines are only open for dinner. I had a good time sorting out the best eats during the day. I think it will be a very useful resource for anyone looking to enjoy a few days eating their way through the Holy City.

Charleston Food Crawls was turned in early back in March. I actually had a wrong due date on my calendar. I had an extra week to play with, but getting it done early allowed me to move on to other things. We can expect it on the street some time in 2024.

So, there you have it. I went from no books written to two books in about 10 months. If you had told me 12 months ago that my year ahead would have looked like that, I would have laughed and poured us each another round. That said, I’ll take it.

Cheers.