Opinions Sought: A Waiter Writes

[Mayonnaise]

Hello.

I come seeking opinions.

I’ve thought for some time about writing a book about being a waiter. I’ve seen a few books on the subject but mostly they miss the point. Admittedly, I’ve read only bits of them before dismissing them as unworthy of the time investment.

I don’t know what I want but I know what I don’t want:

Don’t want it filled with cliché.

Don’t want some punk going on and on about customers treating him badly

Don’t want chapter after chapter of trivia and gossip: Madonna likes sushi, Steve Martin is rude.

Don’t want to ride coattails of some famous Chef as he creates another masterpiece on television.

I’ve been a waiter for many years and take my profession seriously. Seems to me there isn’t a book yet that captures what a waiter sees and does day after day, year after year. Thinking of something more thoughtful than trendy.

By listing what I don’t want have I eliminated the reasons people would want to read a book by a waiter?

I may be too close to the subject, but do people outside the business care about what I might have to say?

I’d appreciate it if you’d share your opinions. Thanks

[Megan Blocker]

Mayonnaise, you might want to pick up Waiting, by Debra Ginsberg. I read it a long time ago, but I remember it being a pretty effective memoir of waitressing. May not be as much dedicated to the craft as yours may end up being, but I think it might help you crystallize your thinking in terms of what you want/don't want your book to be.

[Busboy]

I don' think there's any way to answer the question until you decide what you do want to say. What is "the point" that the other books are missing?

[boy did I dislike Waiting, btw, so the field is still clear for a decent book, as far as I'm concerned.]

[Alchemist]

There are a couple of books about bartending which you might want to read. Cosmopolitian by Toby Cecchini, and Behind Bars by Ty Wenzel, are both fun books.

[Megan Blocker]

I don' think there's any way to answer the question until you decide what you do want to say.  What is "the point" that the other books are missing? 

[boy did I dislike Waiting, btw, so the field is still clear for a decent book, as far as I'm concerned.]

←

I just remember not liking her at all...though maybe that wasn't the point?

[rconnelly]

Hello.

I come seeking opinions.

I’ve thought for some time about writing a book about being a waiter.  I’ve seen a few books on the subject  but mostly they miss the point.  Admittedly, I’ve read only bits of them before dismissing them as unworthy of the time investment.

I don’t know what I want but I know what I don’t want:

Don’t want it filled with cliché.

Don’t want some punk going on and on about customers treating him badly

Don’t want chapter after chapter of trivia and gossip: Madonna likes sushi, Steve Martin is rude. 

Don’t want to ride coattails of some famous Chef as he creates another masterpiece on television.

I’ve been a waiter for many years and take my profession seriously.  Seems to me there isn’t a book yet that captures what a waiter sees and does day after day, year after year.  Thinking of something more thoughtful than trendy. 

By listing what I don’t want have I eliminated the reasons people would want to read a book by a waiter?

I may be too close to the subject, but do people outside the business care about what I might have to say?

I’d appreciate it if you’d share your opinions.  Thanks

←

Have you written before?

[SundaySous]

Off the top of my head I would think the relationships with customers outside of the business would be interesting.

After waiting tables at different restaurants, from pubs to to upscale I find I have casual friends that number in the hundreds. Something about food and people leave lasting impressions.

All of a sudden you get services like tax accounting and plumbing at reduced rates.

[Mayonnaise]

Have you written before?

←

[rconnelly]

Have you written before?

←

I have written before. I've been published. I even have a small, albeit demented, following. People generally enjoy what I write.

I have the talent to write the thing, what I don't have is a tone that makes me happy. Honestly, I've been searching for that tone for years and haven't been able to find it.

I'm a bit older now and have begun to reconsider the book in a different vein. Essentially, it's the reason I'm here.

←

[et alors]

I have the talent to write the thing, what I don't have is a tone that makes me happy.  Honestly, I've been searching for that tone for years and haven't been able to find it.

←

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006122814...id=W2BSNZ9TV7JN is a new book on waiting, and looks interesting (despite the title.)

But you don't write a book because there isn't one out there-- since while you are writing one, a similar one could be published, so you never have a guarantee of no competition-- you write because you have a story to tell. If you have a story, tell it.

I do think you should try shopping it around before starting the labor of writing. If nothing else, you'll get free advice about what the public likes.

[Mayonnaise]

I have the talent to write the thing, what I don't have is a tone that makes me happy.  Honestly, I've been searching for that tone for years and haven't been able to find it.

←

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006122814...id=W2BSNZ9TV7JN is a new book on waiting, and looks interesting (despite the title.)

But you don't write a book because there isn't one out there-- since while you are writing one, a similar one could be published, so you never have a guarantee of no competition-- you write because you have a story to tell. If you have a story, tell it.

I do think you should try shopping it around before starting the labor of writing. If nothing else, you'll get free advice about what the public likes.

←

I saw the title you mentioned and didn't think it was too interesting. Half the book is about a romance with a chef.

Let me say, from the beginning, and this may sound crazy, but my goal is to win a James Beard award with the book. I want it to be that good.

[jgm]

How about doing a few chapters for your blog; see what kind of reaction you get, and then determine where you are?

I would think a well-written book about being a waiter would be extremely interesting, and I would like to see it cover all kinds of restaurants, from truck stops to places like Per Se. The public really doesn't have much of an idea about what it involves, and I know I'd find it interesting. Some of my best "tips and tricks" of life have been learned from waitstaff.

[The Naughti Literati]

The most crucial part of a memoir is finding your tone and narrowing your focus so you definitely have to spend some more time thinking about that; I suggest you pick up many of the writing guides available on memoirs. It helps to write what speaks to you the most. Career memoirs are very hot these days too so now would be a good time to pitch it.

One waiter's writings I like is ol' boy over at Waiterrant.net - he is funny as HELL and a very good writer, he also has a large following. That's not you is it? Hahahaha

People always come up to me with all these great book ideas and never want to sit down and DO it...everyone wants to have written but not to write...you sound like you have a lot to say, so...handle your business. LOL

Start with an outline. What are you going to present to your audience that is different from the other books already on the market? Your experience makes you an authority on the subject so that is the easy part. Organize your thoughts either by timeline or by subject and just start putting the ideas down. You have to start somewhere and as soon as you do, the clearer the picture in your head of where you want to go with it will be. From there you just fill in the details!

I like that you say thoughtful when you describe what you want it to be - so your audience is probably more New Yorker and GQ than Maxim, your tone and angle intelligent, provocative and witty - you're making me think of Alan Richman's Fork It Over from a service perpsective...? Agents love shit like that. LOL

Edited December 5, 2007 by The Naughti Literati (log)

[Kouign Aman]

Another possibility is to not organize your thoughts. Just start writing. A word processer is nice for this.

Just do a brain dump. For hours, days, weeks - whatever.

Print it out and read it over. Highlight the sections that appeal to you - the tone, the language, the subject .... whatever you read in it that makes you say "yeah, thats going the right way".

Then start organizing once you've found that hint of your preferred direction.

I find writing works best for me when its low tech (which might be amusing since all my writing is technical). I will literally number paragraphs with a pen, then cut and tape the writing back together as I want it. Then I use the numbered paragraphs, and go back to the word processer to recreate the changes I made on paper. I suspect most folks have a more efficient approach. It might help you tho, to locate that elusive tone/approach you are looking for.

The general concept sounds like an interesting book to me.

[The Naughti Literati]

ALSO a great idea. Whatever gets those words on that paper/screen. LOL

ETA: One last thing! An AWESOME book about style and tone is The Sound on the Page: Great Writers Talk about Style and Voice in Writing by Ben Yagoda. If this is something you have been grappling with, this is a fun and informative way to think more on how to find yours.

Edited December 5, 2007 by The Naughti Literati (log)

[SundaySous]

I gotta thank you guys. I feel like I'm attending a seminar on how to write.

[rconnelly]

I have the talent to write the thing, what I don't have is a tone that makes me happy.  Honestly, I've been searching for that tone for years and haven't been able to find it.

←

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006122814...id=W2BSNZ9TV7JN is a new book on waiting, and looks interesting (despite the title.)

But you don't write a book because there isn't one out there-- since while you are writing one, a similar one could be published, so you never have a guarantee of no competition-- you write because you have a story to tell. If you have a story, tell it.

I do think you should try shopping it around before starting the labor of writing. If nothing else, you'll get free advice about what the public likes.

←

I saw the title you mentioned and didn't think it was too interesting. Half the book is about a romance with a chef.

Let me say, from the beginning, and this may sound crazy, but my goal is to win a James Beard award with the book. I want it to be that good.

←

Don't write to win an award. Write to write a great book!