Dianne Jacob

Dianne Jacob is that wise friend who loves you but wouldn't lie to placate your ego. This book illustrates the passion, persistence, skill, and sheer slogging hard work needed to start and sustain a creative career. It combines inspiration, advice and resources in a realistic and encouraging way. I appreciate the way the book is split into chapters focusing on different aspects of the industry. If you're only interested in blogging, cookbooks, reviewing, or memoir, it's easy to select the information you want. The quotes and stories from other writers add different experiences and perspectives, and the exercises at the end of each chapter and the bibliography provide further opportunity for reflection and inspiration. My only quibble - the writers praised and quoted within the book are the same writers who have provided the gushing blurbs on the cover of my third edition copy. It seems . . . obvious, even for the small world of books.

A detailed, practical and inspiring reference book.… (more)

Blogs must not have been big in 2005, when this book was published, because otherwise I'd be shocked at their almost complete lack of existence in this book about food writing. A food blog is why I picked up this book, to get some helpful ideas for writing my own recipes, critiquing other peoples' recipes, reviewing restaurants and the like.

Will Write for Food takes a comprehensive look at the food writing "industry" and informs readers how to hone their food writing skills in many ways, and not just with the nuts and bolts of writing with ones senses. This book covers how to write food fiction, food memoirs, restaurant reviews, cookbooks, how to get published as a freelancer or author, and includes relevant tips from insiders.

Overall I'd say it's still helpful for food bloggers, as the sections on how to write better, and the writing exercises, give some good starting points for working on writing skills, with a particular focus on food.… (more)