Cuisine Canada Scene

Will Write For Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More
Written by Dianne Jacobs
Reviewed by Jennifer Cockrall-King

When you jump into the world of food writing — most probably out of sheer enthusiasm for writing, eating and perhaps cooking as most of us do — the terrain is uncertain and the pathways are mysterious. You grope for guidance, vocabulary, resources and best practices. Where does you start? How do you get your foot in the door? How do you get an article assignment? And what do you do when an editor says ‘yes’ to that pitch? A mentor sure does make things a lot easier. That is what BC-born, California food writer, writing instructor and author, Dianne Jacob’s book, Will Write for Food, has been for countless aspiring and fledging food writers.

I wish I’d had this book at my side as I took the plunge into food writing back in 2000.  So when I began teaching food writing courses a few years back, it was at the top of my list of resources I would present to the roomful aspiring published food writers.

The trouble is that in 2005, when Will Write For Food was first published, blogging was fringe stuff, Facebook was one year old (and no one knew about it), and Twitter wouldn’t be born for another year. Magazines were still publishing somewhat lengthy food pieces, and molecular gastronomy was so-very-cutting edge. While the landscape of food writing is forever changing and good writing continues to be at the core of good food writing, it was time for an update to reflect the new realities, opportunities and expectations facing food writers. Dianne Jacob’s second edition of Will Write for Food is exactly that timely response.

(Disclosure: When I found out that Dianne Jacob had a new, updated and expanded edition of her book coming out in August 2010, I did whatever I could to get her out to teach at the Okanagan Food & Wine Writers Workshop Sept 16 to 19 as one of my guest instructors. She is also stopping by Barbara-jo’s Books to Cooks in Vancouver on Tuesday, Sept 14, for an in-store book signing starting at 6 p.m.)

Will Write for Food: The Complete Guide to Writing Cookbooks, Blogs, Reviews, Memoir, and More (2nd edition, Da Capo Lifelong Books) is the follow-up to the 2005 award-winning edition. Newly released in August, this new, expanded version covers the rapidly shifting sands of what it means to be an effective and employed (or at least employable) food writer these days.

But what does this book have to offer for a mid-career or established Canadian food writer?

We are all having to become jack’s of many trades, from corporate gigs, to teaching to editing to writing. It’s all in a day’s work. If we are lucky. Gone are the days when a writer can base a career on being a restaurant reviewer. So in some senses, we’re all novices at various aspects of food writing and we’d better start diversifying. (One thing I appreciate about this book is the author’s candidness about how rare it is that food writing, and food writing alone, can provide an income. Misery loves company.)

Most notably (especially for those of us who began food writing before having a blog was obligatory and now we are playing catch-up), Chapter 4 outlines in detail how to start and maintain a food blog. It also has seven pages on food photography for your blog, including snippets from notable food blogger-photographers such as David Lebovitz and Heidi Swanson. This chapter also addresses the myths around making a living as a food blogger, but also why you really need this as a professional calling card these days.

Many food writers in Canada are finding it increasingly difficult to piece together magazine work in a shrinking pool of assignments are venturing into book projects. Chapter 11: How to Get Your Book Published (which includes “Writing the Book Proposal,” “Finding and Getting an Agent,” “The Contract,” and some of the pros and cons of self-publishing, is a great place to start.

The book also is a window into the US food writing industry, and the networking resources, for example, are invaluable if we Canadian food writers want to reach new markets. Just like it is in Canada, there are certain circles in which you need to travel if you want to get access to the plum assignments and publications. These groups also provide camaraderie and support as any good social network will do.

And many of the discussions that begin on the printed page are continued in one form or another on Dianne Jacob’s blog. This is where the more sophisticated and higher-level discussions rage on. From professional ethics — Do you disclose in a blog post when you have been offered a free meal? 63 comments and counting;  Should you charge or not for recipes? 104 comments and counting, at the time of writing this post — to the writerly process and everything in between. And being a blog, it’s an interactive forum, with many well-seasoned voices chiming in. Among them should be yours and mine.

---

Jennifer Cockrall-King is a food writer (www.foodgirl.ca) with over 13 years’ of contributing to publications in Canada and the US. In 2008, Western Living named her as one of the “Top 40 Foodies Under 40.” She teaches food writing courses with MacEwan’s Writing Works in Edmonton and at UBC Okanagan.