Book Review

How to write for magazines in one weekend, written by Diana Cambridge is a book to help those who whish to gain inside knowledge of the magazine industry with hopes to getting their work published.

This book offers a cheap alternative to residential writing courses, which can often be costly and time consuming. Diana Cambridge is an award winning journalist who writes for many magazines and newspapers, including The Guardian and The Times. As it were, she is also Writers’ News Agony Aunt and editor of a monthly glossy travel magazine.

This how-to book is written in a friendly and comprehensive manner. It offers invaluable information on what editors and readers alike want from writers; with friendly tips and expert advice, I found it to be a pleasurable read that helped no bounds in kick starting my career. Diana’s personal quotes and jokes make you laugh out loud and her motivational speeches really do the trick when it comes to actually producing work ready for submission (something that may sound easy but in fact is surprisingly hard!).

In Diana’s words ‘It’s not rejection slips that stop talented writers seeing their work in print, it’s the fact that they never get to send their work to editors. They’re stopped in their tracks by a confidence crisis.’

When reading this book, Diana makes you feel like she is talking directly to you. She takes on the role of your personal writing coach. She also brings back the desire and passion for writing that one can loose due to lack of progress. She helps you to produce articles that come from our own thoughts and life. How to write for magazines in one weekend is an essential tool for any budding writer and will remain on my shelf for years to come.

My rating for this book: Excellent!