Win a New Edition of Will Write for Food!

I’m excited to announce that the fourth edition of Will Write for Food: Pursue Your Passion and Bring Home the Dough Writing Recipes, Cookbooks, Blogs, and More is available for pre-order. It will publish on May 25, 2021.

And you should definitely win a copy from me. Just leave a comment below.

Can you believe that I’ve written four editions of this book? Sometimes I want to pinch myself. Especially since they have sold a collective 55,000 copies since debuting in 2005.

Maybe you have read or owned a previous edition. Here’s what they look like, to jog your memory:

The first edition debuted in 2005. I was only supposed to write 80,000 words, but I got carried away and wrote 120,000, all in four months! The editor liked it all and kept it. It has stayed the same size ever since. If you’re old enough to remember the cover of The Man Who Ate Everything, an enormously successful book of essays by Jeffrey Steingarten, we riffed on its design for our own version. And I loved the nod to my old journalism days, where I typed stories on a typewriter, not a computer.

The second edition published five years later, in 2010. I thought the cover was a little feminine. Some people said they thought it was a memoir. I ditched the chapter on writing fiction and wrote a long new chapter about this thing called food blogging. Lifelong Books/Perseus bought Marlowe & Company, so that meant a new editor and publisher. Luckily for me, Renee Sedliar became the editor of this and the future editions. 

The third edition published in 2015. I thought this cover was very strong. I wanted a pen instead of one of the cooking utensils, but lost that battle. Notice that “Restaurant Reviews” disappeared from the subtitle list. Few people want to go in that direction these days. With Yelp on the scene, there is little call for criticism.

So you’re probably wondering what’s new in this edition of Will Write for Food. A few things:1. There’s a new chapter on voice.

These days so  many food writers cover the same topics, so how do you stand out? With a  strong, distinguishable voice. Voice also comes through in your photography, and I give some examples. 

2. I’ve kept the expert advice from names you recognize, and added new people.

They talk about best practices for freelancers, critics, and bloggers, including: 

Priya Krishna, now a reporter for the food section of the New York TimesSoleil Ho, restaurant reviewer of the San Francisco ChronicleChandra Ram, editor of Plate magazineNamiko Hirasawa Chen, food blogger of the mega blog Just One CookbookMaggie Zhu, food blogger at Omnivore’s Cookbook.3. There’s more about how to make money as a blogger.

Big bloggers tell me that the people who ask them for advice want to make money. As a result I’ve expanded the chapter on Bringing Home the Bacon, with more inside information on how they and others make the big bucks. 

4. I expanded the section on self publishing.

I’ve found that, when I teach about how to become traditionally published, many people realize that the way to go is to self publish. I’ve expanded the section and resources for where to find publishers, designers, and printers.

5. There’s more about social media.

I’m constantly surprised by how many people want to write a cookbook but can’t bring themselves to do social media. I hope to convince them that there’s a way forward that they can actually enjoy. Social media has become such a big, indispensable part of what we do. And pretty much inevitable. So I  concentrate on how to build bigger platforms and how to accept your love/hate relationship with it.  

Overall, I’ve tried to update everything, to make it as current as possible. There are chapters on how to get published, how to write recipes, how to come up with a cookbook, get better freelance assignments, start and continue a blog, review restaurants and write personal essays and memoir. 

Food writing has never been so popular, in a nation obsessed with food. I hope that if you’ve read prior editions and found them useful, you’ll help me get the word out about this update. If you’d like to buy a copy, please purchase Will Write for Food from your favorite independent bookseller. They need your support more than Jeff Bezos. I use Amazon daily for research but prefer to purchase books from an independent.

I hope to see you in one of my upcoming events. I”m excited abut a June in person event at Omnivore Books in San Francisco— the first live events since the pandemic began. Otherwise, please subscribe to my free food writing newsletter, if you haven’t already, to see what’s on the calendar. 

Enter to win your copy!

Now, if you’d like to win a copy of the fourth edition of Will Write for Food, please leave a comment below. I will pick a winner at random by May 1, 2021. This offer applies to residents of the US only.

(Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.)

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