Will Write for Food: Pursue Your Passion and Bring Home the Dough Writing Recipes, Cookbooks, Blogs, and More

by Dianne Jacob

Do you love both food and writing and want to know the secrets of bestselling cookbook authors, successful food bloggers and freelance writers?  Noted journalist and writing instructor Dianne Jacob combines over 20 years of experience to teach you how to take your passion from the plate to the page. With tips for crafting your best work, getting published, and turning your passion into cash, Jacob will transform you from starving artist into well-fed writer. Whether you’ve been writing for years or are just starting out, this updated edition of Will Write for Food offers what you need to know to succeed and thrive,

Genres: Food Writing, Food, Writing, Nonfiction, Cooking

416 pages, Paperback

Published May 25, 2021

About the author

Dianne Jacob is the author of Will Write for Food: Pursue Your passion and Bring Home the Dough Writing Recipes, Cookbooks, Blogs, and More.

Awards for her book include the Cordon D’Or International award for Best Literary Food Reference Book, the Gourmand World Cookbook Award for best book in the USA in its category, and the Silver Nautilus award in the Creative Process category.

Dianne is co-author of two cookbooks with chef Craig Priebe: Grilled Pizzas & Piadinas; and The United States of Pizza. She is also the writer of a Time Inc. cookbook, The Good Pantry.

Previously a newspaper, magazine, and publishing company editor-in-chief, Dianne became a full-time writing coach, author, and freelance editor in 1996. She coaches writers across the US, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia on book proposals and writing and publishing books, freelance articles, and blogs. Some of the most prestigious book publishers in the US, including Chronicle Books; Clarkson Potter; Little, Brown & Co.; Ten Speed Press; Stewart, Tabori & Chang; WW Norton & Co., and William Morrow have published books by her clients. She also edits cookbook manuscripts for publishers and helps authors through the publishing process.

Her blog, Will Write for Food, covers food writing trends and technique, particularly in recipe writing and blogging. The New York Times, Publishers’ Weekly, Eater, BlogHer, and Food52 have linked to her posts. She started the blog in 2009.

Dianne has taught many classes on food writing, including at the Smithsonian Institute and UCLA’s Journalism Department. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. For five years she ran the annual Food Writing Symposium at Book Passage in Corte Madera, CA. She has been a speaker and workshop leader at the Association of Food Journalists’ annual conference, at BlogHer and BlogHer Food, the International Food Blogger Conference, Food Bloggers of Canada, and at the International Association of Culinary Professionals’ annual conference. She was the keynote speaker at Eat.Drink.Blog, the Australian food blogger conference. She has taught writing workshops in Vancouver, London, and Dubai.

Dianne judges books for the James Beard Foundation and for the International Association of Culinary Professionals annual cookbook awards. She has also been a judge for the Bert Greene Award for Food Journalism. A feature she wrote about food blogs was a finalist for a Bert Greene award.

A published writer since 1975, Dianne has written for Lucky Peach, Writer’s Digest, Salon.com and the Ms. magazine blog, among others. She was the Joseph Hoare Gastronomic Writer in Residence for 2013 at the Stratford Chef’s School in Canada.
See her website, www.diannej.com, for more information.

Sign up for her free newsletter on food writing at https://diannej.com/newsletter/ to stay on top of food writing trends and news.

Reviews

[Mona · Rating 4 out of 5]

read most of it / what was relevant to me and found it informative and accessible.

[Kathy M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 4th edition of this book continues its excellent education into writing about food. (Goodreads: yo hav the wrong image showing.) There is a lot of new and updated content, including some social issues Dianne has brought to light, which seems to make some people uncomfortable. That does not make it less relevant. Good on you Dianne for having the courage to speak up about this.

[Leslie Absher · Rating 5 out of 5]

An informative and welcoming book for writers who want to write about food! There are many thought-provoking sections that encourage veteran and newbie writers alike. I especially appreciated the section "Who Gets to Be a Food Writer" which goes into the whiteness at the heart of old-school food writing and how that has changed (and needs to change more). But there are no rules here. Is it okay to write about dishes of other cultures? Yes, as the author says, "Just do it with mindfulness."

[Sheri L. Raleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Keep speaking truth. It always triumphs over popular opinions. Many have opinions but few live by principles.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was recommended for a food writing class. It has exercises and allows the reader to work on them. The multiple exercise choices on each chapter are helpful for the reader to choose which ones he/she wants to work on.

I found the book very helpful for anyone who wants to write for food magazines, create recipes, food websites. It was helpful especially when it came to create food blog post. I found it a bit disappointing of all the work anyone has to do to be able to get published as a cookbook author, write for a magazine, or even create a website. It was disappointing in the respect that if you didn’t have a bag full of recommendations, if you didn’t write for a prestigious food magazine, or if you didn’t have thousands of followers, no publishing company will ever look at you, let alone read your query. I understand that publishing in any form is a tough market, but some encouragement would have been nice.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic resource on food writing whether through journalism, blogging, or books. I'm definitely buying a copy of this to keep and mark up. There is so much good information in this book with so many examples and resources to check out, and Jacob writes in such a clear, accessible way. What I appreciated most is how she is honest about how food writing is more often than not a labor of love and not an easily lucrative field, but she is also very encouraging. She is down to earth and warm, and if I ever make it to the point of writing a book proposal, I would seek out her consulting advice. She seems like a wonderful person to work with who is exceptionally knowledgable and sharp but still warm and kind.

[Felicity Fields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up on the advice of a colleague for professional development. It was HUGELY helpful in explaining the cookbook publishing industry (relevant to me) and food writing in general.

For quality of information and recommended books, I give a 5 of 5 star rating.

However, I really struggled to read an entire chapter without wanting to take a nap. That hasn't happened since college econ reading 20 years ago. Reading fewer pages at once is recommended and the reason for the 4-star rating.

[Galina Shoteva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a true gem for fellow bloggers like myself, passionate about food writing. I found it particularly captivating to delve into various facets of food-related work, and the inclusion of real-life examples and personal anecdotes added immense value to the reading experience. I am giving the book 4 stars only because if you're not living in the States and not writing in English, some tips might not be as relevant to you.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this book as the text for a food writing class, and while I didn't finish it, I thought it was quite possibly the best, most useful, book on writing I have ever read. If I were to pursue food writing as my career, this would be an indispensable guide. Highly recommended, even for writers in other genres who are interested in blogging and submitting essays.

[VT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not read every chapter of this book, but I did highlight and take notes from some of the chapters. The edition that I read, which I picked up at a used bookstore, is from 2015, and there are bits that feel quite dated - the internet world moves amazingly fast!

[Vanessa Chermak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this for my Food Media class. It’s definitely great if you want to be a food blogger or cook booker or writing about food in general. Definitely helpful but very pedestrian and basic.

Realized I reviewed the wrong copy of this book. Oops!

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh I was so encouraged when i picked up this book. Just started it and I am mired in content about the whiteness (race) of food writers. Killing my interest in the book at an astonishing pace.

[Joshua Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fantastic resource for not only thinking about how I write about my food and health journey, but also how I communicate what we are doing with Switch Bakery to the world.

[Francesca Omisakin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inspiring

Literal food for thought for me.

[Sinu · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must-read book for anyone interested in food and food writing. I especially enjoy the fact that with every new edition Dianne puts in an effort to describe the changes happening within the food writing industry, keeping her work relevant, as she's duly done in this edition with regard to gender and racial barriers being increasingly challenged. I regularly come back to the book for reference.