book filled with advice about writing and the love of food,
its for people that are interested in food writing clearly with that title! but it also just generally a great read for writers over all a lot of advice on where to start and writing exercises after each chapter and its for everyone that loves to learn about food.
is food a passion for you and you love to read about it or watch movies about it this book will give you not only a background view into of thats done but also a lot of recommendation of books to pick up.
i found this book helpful and full of great ideas and advice and an actual helpful guide without it being intimidating, talking down to the reader or making it seem impossible to follow a passion.
and on top of all of that its also extremely readable and fun to read!
highly recommend! I was so excited with I first bought the book.
Since it had won an award for great writing, I figured with would provide me with new insights into the food writing world, Sadly, the book was so boring I had to retire it to the “will read later pile” after finishing the second chapter, The author seems switch between her own narrative and quotes from other books almost every other paragraph, This causes the book to take on a textbook feel, Clearly written, full of useful information, and relevant not just for people writing about food, but anyone with an interest in writing and publishing a book, Made me want to sit down and start writing, I love this book! There were so much useful advice, Some of the chapters don't pertain to what I want to do right now, however, I know I will be going back to reference this book many times.
Good advice on good writing, Everyone I've ever read and respected makes an appearance, from MFK Fisher to Hemingway to Deborah Madison to the author of that Jewish cookbook Katie gave me for Hanukkah to the guy from Gourmet whose blog I just started reading.
And, best of all, everyone I haven't read yet! My toread list is now overflowing with gems of food writing,
Oh, yeah, and there's all kinds of industry advice here that seems indispensably helpful if you're actually trying to get published, and mildly intriguing in a behindthescenes way if you're not.
Hint: you better plan on doing it for the love, not the money,
Try to find the forthcoming new edition which is supposed to deal more seriously with writing online, Or, you know, avoid it since she's sure to point you towards more arresting food blogs than you could read in a lifetime, This book is jam packed with helpful information! This is a great reference chocked full of practical information, frank advice, and examples of how to work intelligently, I am impressed that the author got so many famous food writers to share their personal stories, too! According to Goodreads, Ive been reading this book since April, and it is now November.
Its time to admit that its likely I wont finish it right now, and to put it back on the shelf, How ironic that I got stuck in the chapter “Memoir and Nonfiction Food Writing,” since this is the closest chapter to what my food blog, sitelinkSeasonal Eating is about.
IMHO the best way to read this book is to go right to the chapters that are about the kind of food writing that you do or aspire to do and read them first.
Each chapter is powerful and targeted and stands on its own, Ms. Jacob states that she prefers the reader proceed with the chapters in order, but says that its not necessary, The fact that each chapter is dense with information and most contain writing exercises can dilute your initial enthusiasm if you must wade through many food topics before coming to your target.
This is especially true if youre already doing some food writing and must sneak in your reading time between deadlines,
Dianne Jacob is probably the bestknown food author, editor, and food writing coach in the US, She IS the source. Her book is a wonderful reference for food writers, and Im sure it will be off my shelf again in no time, Topics include blogging, freelancing, restaurant reviewing, cookbooks, food in fiction and nonfiction, and even how to write a recipe, Plus theres a bonus chapter on how to get your book published,
If youre thinking about being a food writer, or beginning to write about food, definitely read this book, You might also want to follow the authors sitelinkfood writing blog,
For anyone thinking of writing food pieces in any medium, this book is a must have, The field is extremely competitive, but determination and work will result in publication, even if that publication will be developing a strong personal blog, Some food bloggers are making a living and have started major trends in writing, The most famous of these is food, com, led by Amanda Hesser, editor of The New York Times Cookbook and regular NYT contributer, The Pioneer Woman, while not a pro, has an extremely successful blog, too,
Other places for publishing food writing include newspapers, travel magazines and dedicated food periodicals, cookbooks, memoirs such as those of the inimitable MFK Fisher's, and others.
Will Write For Food addresses each of these, as well as teaches the reader how to do it well,
While there's no substitute for actually writing pieces, nor even a hardcore class on
food writing, this book is an invaluable addition to the writer's skill set.
I strongly suggest that food writers add it to their libraries and consult it regularly, Really helpful, practical advice with plenty of nudges to motivate and inspire, I applaud this book on being incredibly thorough, You'll find reasonably detailed information on virtually every aspect of food related writing you can think of here, from blogging and cookbook writing to freelancing and fiction including various ways people make money with each, and plenty of grounded reminders of the amount of time, work, and sometimes luck involved for those who do it successfully.
Whatever kind of food writing you want to do, you are likely to find some useful advice in this book, However, there will most likely be a lot of parts that don't interest you, too, and if you make yourself read them anyway, in the hopes you might glean something useful, you'll probably be disappointed.
At least that's how I felt reading the chapters that didn't pertain to my specific interests, Fortunately, the book is well organized, so skipping the parts that don't benefit you is easy enough to do, For some reason I was determined to read every word, . . how could I say I'd “read the book” if I only actually read half So I stuck with it even when it bored me, That said, I'd rather have too much information than not enough, and when it comes to covering a wide range of topics, this book does a great job.
My only real complaint is one thing this book completely failed to deliver on: as a book that's all about writing, I kiiiind of expected it would be written really well.
I went into it hoping for, . . I don't know, personality Whimsy To be entertained while I was educated, For the most part aside from some of the areas where the author quotes other food writers the information is delivered so dryly, it was hard to choke down pardon the pun.
I started reading in January and had to set the book down for several months before picking it up again, I'm glad I finished it the last chapter in the updated edition is especially useful to bloggers like myself but it seems like the author took a somewhat textbooky approach to writing this book.
Perhaps in a sincere effort to be as informative and clear as possible, which is commendable, but it certainly effected my enjoyment, Hence,stars. I'd still recommend this to anyone wanting to learn about various ways food writing can be implemented, how the publishing industry works, or how to make money writing, but skim for the parts that are most valid to you.
Love sharing recipes and want to start a food blog Interested in writing a cookbook Like to be the first to discover restaurants in your town
Get Will Write for Food and find all you need to put your passion onto the page.
Cookbook coauthor, blogger and writing coach Dianne Jacob gives both aspiring and accomplished food writers ways to succeed and thrive in this revised and updated edition, Learn everything from secrets of developing, testing and writing recipes to making your voice heard in today's crowded blogosphere and where to freelance online, Practical, informative, and inspiring, this insider guide includes:
A new food blogging chapter packed with critical information about how to draw in readers, take great photos, and get noticed
Advice from successful writers as varied as David Lebovitz and Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond, as well as respected editors and literary agents
Updated info on how to get a book published or selfpublished, memoir writing, and restaurant reviewing
Easy writing exercises, helpful tips, and insider secrets
" A concise, illustrative and eminently useful guide to the nuts and bolts of professional food writing.
Dianne Jacob gets right to the heart of what it takes not just to write but to write well about food, And she's managed to wrangle a remarkable group of veterans to share their experiences and examples, " Anthony Bourdain, author of the New York Times bestseller Kitchen Confidential So, . . I am very conflicted writing this review, I read the book for tips on recipe formatting and perhaps a 'food taste thesaurus', or tips on how to describe food, Like, I have a 'how to be a good DM for Dungeons and Dragons' book that says, use at least three senses to describe a scene the first time the players come to it.
Not just what it looks like, but maybe what the scene smells like, the tacky texture that happens when the player pushes a branch aside, That's the kind of book I thought I was picking up,
So, what this book delivers is more of a how to get published guide, Written in, updated into add a chapter about 'blogging, ' I'm using the quote marks here ironically, because I feel like the author uses quote marks about blogging in her head, This is an incredibly elitist, snobby book, I'm reading all my books I start this year, not gonna DNF, but this one threatened to take my soul with it,
The constant use of the word passion made the word lose all meaning for me, Unless you came out of the womb whisking hollandaise, forget ever making a living writing about food!
I find this book irrelevant for what I wanted, and maybe I'm going out on a limb, but I think the book is just plain irrelevant for ahow to get published guide.
The namedropping is intense, but most of the names mean nothing now,years later, When the blogging chapter was added, I do not believe the other chapters were updated to be more contemporary with current at the time, even publishing trends,
When she wrote a sample book proposal, it was essentially for someone who was born wealthy into a famous restaurant family, Not helpful to the average reader, I am so irritated I read and finished this book, Anyhow, I'm less conflicted than when I started this review, I should have DNFed it, and I cannot recommend it to anyone else, Especially in foodiehaven Singapore, food writing is everywhere in magazines, newspapers and most prevalently on the world wide web, If you are an aspiring food blogger or simply a foodie looking for extra sources of income to supplement your guilty indulgences through writing, this is the book for you.
Will Write for Food is based on the author Dianne Jacob's own experiences as a blogger, cookbook author, freelance writer and former magazine editor, The comprehensive book covers, in individual chapters, several popular aspects of food writing, including how to become a freelance food writer, on starting with your own cookbook, and getting published with a food blog.
And for those researching the world of food writers, the book further illustrates with interviews withof the world's most successful and awardwinning food writers, literary agents, cookbook editors and recipe developers such as Molly O'Neill and Jeffrey Steingarten, on top of a foreword by David Lebovitz.
Praise for Will Write for Food
“Will Write for Food is a concise, illustrative and eminently useful guide to the nuts and bolts of professional food writing.
Dianne Jacob gets right to the heart of what it takes not just to writebut to write well about food, And shes managed to wrangle a remarkable group of veterans to share their experiences and examples, ” Anthony Bourdain, author of the New York Times bestseller Kitchen Confidential
For more book reviews, visit sitelink FreshGrads Reads, We also do reviews on food, movies and more in Singapore, Check us out sitelinkhere!,