Writing a cookbook part 10: the book launch, first book reviews and appearances.

From top left clockwise: Sugar decorations hanging from the staircase, setting up the central table and the display stands, cupcake trays ready to leave home for the launch, putting up curtains and ribbons, goodie bags.

Photos  by Alessandra Zecchini © 

Last night we had the book launch for Party Food for Girls. I was too busy to take photos myself, so above there are only some photos of the preparations for the central table, the cupcakes stands, and the decorations and goodie bags. We were in the third floor of an art gallery, and dozens of meringues and sugar and chocolate hearts where hanging with ribbons from the staircase (yes, all the three floors). More sugar decorations and lots of ribbons and curtains were everywhere, and although there was lots of savoury food passed around in trays and at the bar, the centre table and display stalls were entirely dedicated to cupcakes, biscuits, sweets and berries, which disappeared com-ple-te-ly as soon as the speeches were over. Claire helped me all day long with the canapes and Harriet arrived to the launch earlier to help too, while Amanda the publicist, got the job of putting up the curtains and ribbons with the Lopdell House staff (I am sure that it was a new experience for them). Arantxa's girlfriends helped her carry around trays full of pizzette and finger food (all home-made, of course) while Max and his friends guarded the main table very seriously so that it wouldn't be touched until it was time for dessert. Lots of people took photos, if you want to see a couple of Shaun's photos please check out what the king of NZ book blogs, Graham Beattie, posted in the Beattie's Book Blog. The post, entitled 

‘New Holland’s youngest author launches her first book, ‘Party Food for Girls’

gives a description of the book launch: 

"...Meringue wreaths and pink sugar hearts adorned the spiral stair case, with billowing white curtains  greeting guests as they walked into the top room of the Lopdell House – complete with stunning views over the Manukau Harbour – the room was definitely decked out to have the ‘wow’ factor – essential for any fabulous girls tea party!..."

and also offer an extract from the book: the recipe for these Teapot Biscuits

photo by Shaun Cato-Symonds

For the recipe and step by step decoration instructions please click here and scroll down. 

Good Magazine was also there at the launch, they will feature two recipes in their next issue. It was great event and Arantxa spoke so well! Other speakers before Arantxa and myself were the Lopdell House Director Lesley Smith, NHP Publishing Manager Christine Thomson, and the Italian honorary Consul for Auckland Mario Magaraggia, who knows Arantxa since she was a baby :-).

Books reviews are now coming in, I just read a lovely one in Taste Magazine by Rachael McKinnon, all writers get nervous about book reviews, it is normal, and part of the process, but when you read a positive review it really helps, especially when you are so busy running around and working extra hours to promote your book. In fact I better be off now to get my 'traveling cupcake kit' ready: tomorrow morning (Saturday 17)  Arantxa and I are going to Taste Matakana in Warkworth, if you are in the area come and see us from 11am to 1pm we will be making sugar flowers and decorating cupcakes (Taste Matakana, 2 Neville Street, Warkworth).

And of course if you are a blogger don't forget your chance to win the book here! In the next few days I will post more about magazines, recipes and giveaways.

Photo Shaun Cato-Symonds, from Party Food for Girls

Writing a cookbook part 9: publicity, and the book name is....

Party Food for Girls featured on the September issue of NZ House and Garden magazine

Today the book that I have written with my daughter Arantxa is officially on sale, and finally I can reveal the title: Party Food for Girls. I am preparing the book launch at the Lopdell House for the 15 of September, it will be a big party, but I will post about it in due course. The book is available in NZ, Australia and UK from all good bookshops (including Boomerang Books, Fishpond and Wheelers in Australia, and WHSmith and Amazon UK in the UK), and from specialist shops in many more countries. If you live in the US you can find it on Amazon.com (also good worldwide), and soon the book will be available in Canada from Amazon.ca, in Japan from Amazon Japan, in Sweden and Scandinavian countries from Bokus.com, in Germany from Amazon.de, in France from Amazon.fr and for other European countries go to The Book Depository. There are more websites that stock it, but I don't have the time now to research them all (or post them all).

In Italy... I don't know... blogger italiani, per favore, potete vedere se lo venderanno da qualche parte, magari nei reparti per libri in inglese? O su qualche sito specializzato?

I know that all this sounds very impressive, but really, if you think that writing a book, doing all the photos, editing etc. is hard work, well, nothing compares with the 'art' of selling. You either have your own TV show, or you will need to rely to other media, supportive book sellers, and word of mouth. It is a busy period, lots of interviews, especially for Arantxa. I have to say that all the journalists so far have been great, knowing that she is only 12 and at school they came to us at home, on Saturday mornings or in the afternoons after school. There will be several 'outings' though: mostly demos, book signings and appearances, but I am determined not to upset her routine and her normal school and after school activities. This is hard: food writers are often out there promoting their books like mad (this is why many either have no children, or the children have grown up, or they have a 'wife'). I will have to do with less publicity, so vital in a competitive sector overloaded with fast turning cookbooks, TV chefs and supermarket chefs. So I will probably ask for a little help from my blogger friends,  and possibly do a give-away... do you think that it would be a good idea? After all I believe in blogging, it is the people voice, free and democratic :-).

And if you live in NZ or Australia but haven't seen the book in the bookshops yet, you can still have a little 'taste' from this month NZ House and Garden magazine. NZ House and Garden has the very first exclusive to talk about the book, and has dedicated 4 pages to Party Food for Girls, with 5 recipes and photos. And you know what? This is the first time that Arantxa has a byline in a magazine, and it is great that it should be NZ House and Garden, she loves it and when she was at primary school she used to have a scrap book with cuttings of interiors, cakes and pretty things just from this very magazine! Well, maybe she will become a designer, I would be happy if I could leave all my propping to her!

Let me know if you like the idea of the give-away, and stay tuned for the big party!
Thank you for all your support.

Ciao
Alessandra

Kahikatea Cupcakes, and Writing a Cookbook Part 8

I really love foraging and I miss all the berries that I used to pick in Italy. I learned from a Maori forest ranger that you can eat the berries of the kahikatea tree (the red aril, not the blue seed) and I have a large tree in front of my house that is fruiting right now. The only problem is that the tree is so tall that I cannot reach the berries (the native birds are probably happy for it), so I have to content myself with picking just a few from the ground. It is hard work, I'll never be able to make jam with the quantities I am getting, but I did make a flan with kawakawa creme and kahikatea berries before (for the recipe, and a photo of the berries click here), and this time I made cupcakes.

I asked my little boy to pick a few berries and then I rinsed them. I added a few drops of lemon juice and 1 tsp of sugar, and let the berries marinate overnight. The day after I made my usual vanilla cupcakes and added a few of the berries, strained.

I used the pink juice to make a little icing by adding a couple of tsp of icing sugar. And then I decorated the cupcakes with a fresh kahikatea berry. They were a hit with my guests who, although being real Kiwis, have never eaten the berries before, or anything made with them.

Since kahikatea berries can only be found in New Zealand, I am re-using this recipe for Sweet New Zealand, hosted by Sue

And now to writing a cookbook: yes it has been a long time since the last post on this subject, and the reason that I am picking it up now is that... I cannot give you a recipe for these cupcakes! They are my basic vanilla cupcakes, and one of my trusted (and most cherished) recipes, but since it belongs to my new book (due to be published in September) I have to keep it... secret! So, for now just use your own favourite cupcake recipe, and just add the berries to it!

These months have been dedicated to editorial, design and proofreading, a long process really, but really vital. At this stage you, the author, are working with other people, generally by email or phone, or on paper. The manuscript, and then the first proofs, keep going back and forward between all involved to set the pages, add the photos, correct the mistakes, rewrite the recipes that don't fit the page, check the page numbers, and makes all the changes and additions that are necessary.

You have to be patient, open minded, ready to compromise, and ready to make your point when you feel strongly about something. Don't loose your cool, or your manners: often it is not a questions of who is right of wrong, but what works best for the book itself. If your brilliant childhood reminiscence doesn't fit the page, so be it! Let it go! (Unless it is vital to the recipe, of course!). But if one of the step by step photos is missing, and you really think that you cannot do without that one, or if the editor has suggested a change that is not necessary, or improving the book, stand up for it.

For this process it is useful if you know how to correct proofs and make changes by using proofreader marks. If you are not in the publishing business you can find some good books as reference. Remember that your editors, designer and proofreaders will all be using these 'symbols', so it really helps to understand them.

So, in the last few months I have been working on this, plus writing a glossary, an index and a conversion table. Not creative as writing recipes perhaps, but still an important part of the process.

Sometimes the index is written by a third person; if you are not confident with writing your own index speak to the publisher: a good index is very important in a cookbook.

As a last word of advice: always use a courier to deliver the proofs (or deliver them yourself): they are too important to get lost in the mail!

Next time I will talk about the book cover, till then... keep on planning that cookbook of yours!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Writing a Cookbook Part 7, styling and the photo shoots

What happens on a photo shoot?

Planning for several pages of photos (i.e. they are all going to be in the same magazine or book) requires some though. For a magazine you may have from 2 to 6 or 7 pages, must follow the magazine style and be in 'harmony' with the other writers' pages. But usually for magazines you get a stylist or the art director, or staff designer involved (sometimes all three!), and it is their job to make sure that your colour palette or styling taste don't clash with the rest of the pages.

For a book you are often on your own, and you must imagine the finished product: in a few words, when you turn the pages you don't want to be assaulted by images that are too different from one another: a bright red, followed by pastel colours, and then a black background, and so on. Be coherent in style and propping, and colour coordinated.

I have just seen this video: Behind the scenes on the photo shoot for India Cookbook, very familiar I must say, all the cooking, setting up, talking, props and food everywhere... with the difference that the book writer wasn't there, but there were two cooks and a stylist, plus the photographer. And of course the people who did the video!

And here are my snap shots (not the book shots) of 'behind the scenes', and a quick description of what happens and what it is needed for a cookbook photo shoot.

Propping

It takes time. You may need to borrow plates and props from shops (too expensive to buy everything!) and return them in perfect conditions, usually the day after. Some shops ask for a deposit, or charge a 20/30% for lending stuff. Also sometimes the choice is limited and often you see the same glasses and plates in all the magazines because everybody borrows the same stuff! I like to find artisan potters who are happy to lend stuff, and to go to second hand shops to find unusual or old pieces. For backgrounds it is difficult to find tablecloths of the right shade, so I usually go to shops that sell fabrics and buy a few pieces of material.

If you borrow stuff always credit the supplier.

Cooking

It requires even longer than propping, you are shopping for the ingredients, and prepare the food (lots of it, we usually shoot 10 to 12 dishes in one day). If only some of the recipes in your book require photos, choose carefully among those that are more photogenic, or those that need a picture because they may be unfamiliar to the readers. In my new book every single recipe has a photo, plus there are many step by step photos. Basically it is a good workout for me, since I don't have two cooks in the kitchen and a stylist in the dining room (like in the video).

One recurring problem with ingredients is finding fruit and vegetables out of season. This happens also when working for magazines, where you usually shoot 4 to 2 months ahead (but sometimes also at short notice!). I remember trying to find artichokes once, after calling the entire nation I found them in the Manukau (now Auckland) botanic gardens, one odd plant that was fruiting out of season. The gardeners kindly gave me the artichokes :-)!

For a book can be even more difficult: sometimes you have only a few weeks to do all the photos, and one year worth of produce to photograph!

Models

You may or may not need models, mine always been family members, neighbors, and friends.

Surprisingly quite a lot of people want to pose, and there are recurring jokes among my friends about who gets to be in the book and who doesn't. In a way I really prefer to use non professional models; all the food I photograph is real, and gets eaten, so it is quite appropriate that the models are also 'real' people, and they do really eat the food that they are holding!

Always credit the models in your book.

Volunteers

It is the first time that I had volunteers during photo shoots. I never thought of it, it is hard work and I never wanted to ask other people to help. But some offered, just because being on a shoot is exciting, you can learn a lot, and get food!!! So I got a variety of people keen to come over: a chef, an artist, an editor, a post graduate who wants to get into publishing, a gourmand!

For me it was practical help, and for them a learning experience. What do volunteers do? Well, a lot of waiting around to start with (believe me, even the waiting around can be tiring!), but they have to be ready when a screen needs to be held, or maybe a piece of material ironed (although usually it is I or the photographer who do the ironing), or loading the dishwasher, and sometimes helping with chopping and assembling food.

Always credit the volunteers in your book (a little credit for them will later in this post too!)

Organisation on location

Sometimes it all looks like a mess, and then it all comes together. Most of the shoots are done in my house and I try to be a good hostess as well, making sure that photographer, models and volunteers get plenty of coffee, tea, drinks and, mostly, water. And then food, once again making sure that only the food that has been already photographed is eaten!!!!

It is rewarding to feed people with the food that will appear in a book: you get instant remuneration from compliments, and it keeps you going. If they liked it, then readers will like it!

Shooting

Now it is all done digitally, only my first book was on film. I liked film, it had magic, but I must admit that digital photos are the best for step by step images, and I really like to see what is happening on a screen. Of course the photographer has to work more processing the images, and sometimes you shoot and shoot and shoot far too much, and far too long!

Light

On the one hand I have to say that my house is perfect for photo shoots because it has large windows and French doors, and plenty of natural light. Also the garden is big and easy to step in and out, the place is quiet, and open. But in New Zealand, and Auckland in particular, the weather is so changeable! Quite different from Italy, for example. Here in NZ the clouds seem to run faster overhead, one minute it is sunny, then it is not, then only partially... a bit of a waiting game really! Shooting ice cream is tough in New Zealand!

Occasionally I go on location, we did it once for this book, and I tell you: if you get well organized ahead you will only need to pack a few things. I am definitely getting better at this!

And then you just have to hope for good weather and light...

Cleaning up

A few years back in New Zealand was in fashion the term Super Mum. One of the main requisites to be a Super Mum was to be multi-tasking, and this term even found its way into job descriptions and CVs. Of course many women abhorred the idea: it is enough hard work being a Mum, even without the word Super attached to it! So it was mainly used by women who believed to be Super Mums but publicly denied (i.e. I am not a Super Mum, just an ordinary working mum who is up at dawn to make lunch boxes, goes to the office, then gets home in the evening, cooks dinner and read books to kids...). The term Super Mum was then replaced by the term Domestic Goddess. This 'confused' a few 'modern' women, but at least it had the advantage that you didn't have to be a Mum to be a Domestic Goddess. And it had appeal and glamour! So it was used, and accepted, by many, as a compliment. In fact many female food writers (including me) were referred to as domestic goddesses one time or another, yet only the 'original one' lives in Belgravia.

Why I am writing all this? Maybe because the terms Super Mum and Domestic Goddess always comes to mind when I am mopping the floors. You need a bit of humor when you clean up, I think. After the photographer is gone I am left with a house to clean, and children to care for, I find no glamour in cleaning, and this is why I want to say to my volunteers, Claire, Pat, Sue, Frances and Morgan, that I really appreciate every single pot and cup you washed! And I have a new term for you: thank you, my Super Goddesses!

Learning experiences

I never stop learning... what did I learned this time? Many things, including that when working with white icing you should wear white, but when working with chocolate, you should avoid wearing your cute pastel coloured skirt.

Till next post

ciao

Alessandra

Writing a Cookbook Part 6: photography

Photography is expensive, but few cookbooks do without it today: good photos can sell a book, and set standards of style and innovation that sometime text alone cannot reach. A good picture can say a lot, and its impact is instant.

I was introduced to my photographer by my publisher, it was up to me to choose if I wanted to work with him, of course, but after meeting him, and seeing his work in other books, and talking about what I wanted, I thought that his style of work suited me. Cookbook publishers may work with different photographers, and a good publisher will introduce the photographer they may think more suitable for your style of work, or for the type of book.

As an author you generally have to pay the photographer or, as in my case (and most cases I know) split royalties. It may sound strange: a writer spends months writing and cooking and the photographer just a few days shooting and adjusting the photos, but this is the reality of the trade, and it is the same for magazine work.

With royalties both author and photographer work on a risk: if the book sells well it is good for both, otherwise it was an expensive exercise. But as I said before, you don’t write a book just for money, you write a book to share something, for profile, and self-satisfaction. This is true for most photographers also: a photographer who has worked on books has something important to show in his portfolio, and there is nothing that has as much weight as a book. And the photographer becomes the co-author, his or her name running along side that of the author.

If you are a photographer and you would like to do a book, send your CV to a publisher (actually, send it to different publishers) and offer your services. Usually an author sends a book proposal or manuscript, and photographer a CV.

I am on my third book with the same photographer now. The publisher knows that we work well as a team now, and that we will deliver.

Shooting is hard work and you need to work well together, and to have similar tastes. But not too much!

I’ll give you an example: I don’t like over-propping, and I don’t like close-ups that are so ‘close’ that a piece of cake is as big as the page and you can’t understand what the cake was supposed to look like. In this we are alike. But I can be quite ‘girly’ at time, and I work well with a man photographer because he keeps me in line when I go too ‘pink’. We may look at props together, I see a lovely flowery pattern and go “ohhhh!” and he goes “mmmh”.

Other times is the opposite, he likes something ‘quirky’, and I go ‘mmmh’! The end result is always good because it is something we both like and that work for that particular picture. I also like a photographer who has a good eye for styling and colours, and as a bonus my photographer can iron (lots of ironing involved here, but I will talk about that in another post).

Bloggers are usually both photographer and writer, some blogs look good, of course, but for books I think that it is better to split jobs. If you are both a food writer and a photographer… well, fantastic! But a book is not a blog, and you will probably need to get another person involved to help you, either a stylist or a cook to prepare the food to be shot. Two minds are better than one, and four eyes better than two.

More about photography and styling in the next post.

Ciao

A.

Writing a Cookbook Part 5: writing and... living!

First: I would like to say that there are very few writers who live exclusively on their books. Most of us have other jobs, sometimes part-time jobs (and a supporting partner with a full time job!), many are also writing for magazines, or cooking for a living, or teaching, or developing food for clients.

Some even write books for clients, a blogger told me that, as it takes months to write a book, he prefers to do it with a sponsor. I did some writing for clients, but this is a different topic, these posts are about writing your own book, without sponsors, without brands, without advertising.

But research and recipe development can be expensive, and time consuming (and then you still have to write it all down!). Usually I take a lot of notes as I go along, at first I used some exercise books that got so messy and full of corrections, abbreviations, language mixes and cancellations that only I could (barely) understand what I had written. Now I have a laptop that I can take to the kitchen, and it makes life easier! A digital camera for my own experiments is also a bonus, and sometimes I wander how I did write my first book without these gadgets!

Yes, you have to invest a little to write a cookbook, but at least you can eat what you cook!

Writing style: just a few words

Everyone has his/her writing style, and I believe that the best thing is using it. Trying to write differently, like someone else, like following a trend, is unnecessary, and insincere. Of course there are set standards to follow with recipes, and your editor will tell you. For example, presenting the ingredients in chronological order, or using metrics rather than imperials, or both, or not using cups… it all depends on the publisher’s style and on the market. The terminology has to be clear and appropriate, unusual terms, ingredients and techniques explained in a glossary. But a part from that, use your own style, and don’t copy. I know that it all sounds logical and sensible, but believe me, I heard far too many people saying things like "I want to have a book that looks like Donna Hay's but 'fun' like Jamie's and with my grandmother's recipes"

Wow!! Wouldn't it be easier to make your own book?

(This also reminds me: as much as I appreciate your emails and FB messages, please do comment on the posts, I tend to lose track of who is asking me what, and if I am not shy talking about this topic on the blog, you shouldn't be shy in commenting here. It also looks good if there are more comments :-))

Finally, I believe that the most important thing in writing is to be always respectful to the readers: never assume that they know what you are talking about, and at the same time never talk down to them like they know nothing. You don’t know who is opening your book, and even if you writing, lets say, a book for beginners on how to boil eggs, aspire for your readers to feel comfortable, not lectured. (Did I lecture you here? hahahah!)

And if in doubt my rule is: trust your editor, always. It makes life easier, and writing proper!

Next time: photography!

Writing a Cookbook Part 4: Sign that contract!

I would like to apologize for being so late with part four of my ‘Writing a Cookbook’ series, but I have been very busy… writing the cookbook! Will you forgive me? Thank you XXXXX

In this post I wanted to talk about the contract that you will sign with a publisher. The publisher will send you the draft of your contract: read it well, every page, since it is possible that you will have to sign every page!

Remember, this is only a draft, if there is anything that you would like to change, talk about it with your publisher, and if there is something that you don’t understand don’t be afraid to ask: sometimes the terminology can be a little ‘obscure’. If you have friends in the book business, ask them for their advice. Most first time authors have unrealistic expectations from a contract, especially in regards to royalties and rights. If you are famous, a cooking star, your lawyer or agent will check everything for you, but if you are not… well, you can always use a literary agent to help you with this step (actually, a literary agent can also help you finding a publisher in the first place) but remember that agents with take a percentage from your royalties.

Ask your publisher how many copies they are hoping to print, and if they are planning to export. Ask for a realistic picture. Then ask if you can have an advance on royalties, if you need it to work on the book (but don’t expect too much… unless you are a chef star, that is!).

Also set a realistic date for delivering the work: a good author respects deadlines. How long does it take you to write the book? And to supply the images? It is likely that you will be asked to supply the manuscript first, and then the images shortly after. Then you will also agree to check the proofs and make the necessary changes required by the editor and the designer.

For me? It takes me at least one year to make a book, but often by the time I am looking at the contract I have already started writing. English is my second language so I need to take time, not like blogging, for a manuscript I need to present something readable. It is a good idea to ask someone to read it at least once before sending it to the publisher.

But the thing that takes the longest is planning the recipes. Next post will be about writing.

Ciao for now!

Writing a cookbook Part 3: on writing a book proposal, and being flexible

I must apologize, I have been traveling in the last two weeks, and I had little time to dedicate to this blog. It was interesting to read your comments, and a looong comment stream on FB from a friend who shared my link. Most of the comments there came from published authors, and mostly moaning about competition and an overloaded market and not enough good cookbooks (theirs???). Of course there was a bit of humor there, which was good, but no publishing advice of any kind.

Maybe some authors don’t like to share tips?

I don’t know if I can be helpful, but I least I can talk about my own experience. I have been asked (again) “But how??? How do your actually start if there are so many cookbooks out there?”

OK, there are a lot of cookbook out there, and

usually there are two ways to start a book:

1) A publisher contacts you and asks you to write a book

2) You contact a publisher, and ask to write a book

I belong to the first category, probably like most cookbook authors, and in this we are quite different from fiction writers.

Things may change for seconds and subsequent books: you have already established a relationship with a publisher and, if you come up with a good idea for a book, you can initiate the talks. It is correct to always talk to your original publisher first, and not to go to other publishers (this may also be in your contract anyway), unless there are some very good reasons to do this.

A book idea must then become a book proposal, which you have to write, brief but detailed, well written and containing all the information that the publisher needs: type of book, proposed length, target audience, what kind of images…

This is the time to be flexible. A publisher will know the market better than you, and can tell you if your idea may or may not work. Remember, just because it is a good book, this doesn’t mean that it will have a market.

In fact it is the publisher’s own sale department here that can determine if your book is worth publishing or not. Listen to what everyone has to say about it and be prepared to change your proposal if needed. Sometime it is just a question of changing a few things: your recipes are too spicy for the target market? The ingredients are too difficult to find? The book is going to be sold in a different country where they never use cups as unit of measure? Often the reasons seem really superficial, but you should take everything into consideration.

Professional chefs who write books for home-cooks know that their readers don’t have a professional kitchen at home. No high tech ovens, precision scales, and molecular gastronomy tools. And they use different terms. Likewise bloggers who have a big following know that they have to offer something original and not already published if they wants to sell a book.

Most importantly, generally bloggers are used to work alone, but if they want to write a book, and I mean a real book published by a serious publisher, bloggers must be able to work with other people. The quality of work required for a book is totally different from what you may find on a blog, and all throughout the writing process you will have to deal with professionals who can help you, but also expect to see quality work.

To start give your book a working title, even if it may be the title you want to have for real. It is good to show that you are calling it ‘working title’ because this will make you look like a flexible and open-minded author, and by the end of the project you may have changed your mind anyway, and want to call it something else. For both title and content you will work with an editorial team, and not solo, like most bloggers. Show your publisher from day one that you are able to work with a team, and you will be appreciated.

Idea, then proposal, and then contract! And this is going to be the next post.

Writing a cookbook Part 2: Why do you want to write a book?

Let’s say you are a good cook: half of the people you know will say things to you like “You should write a book!” Encouraging eh?!?!?

But why do you want to write a cookbook? Your prospective publisher may ask you this very question!

If it is for money you should really try to be realistic: it costs a lot to put together a book! Most first time authors may not know this, but if the publisher gives you a breakdown of the costs, from drafting the contract to the editing, designing, proofreading, printing and distributing, you will understand why royalties cannot be high.

If you want photographs you could share the royalties with the photographer, or pay him/her. In places like Italy it is still common to find recipe books without photos, but in places like New Zealand buyers want to see photos. Photos are inspiring, and they sell the book. Photos are expensive.

And you will need to prepare the food and style it for photography, all this on top of writing.

Personally, to write a book I need about one year. But this is I! I think about a recipe, then I make, then I make it again, then again and again until I am happy with it. I have to say that I am particularly fussy... but hey, this is going to be my book, I want it to work! Once I have the recipe I want, I then make three times, so I am sure that it works (and here there is a lot of difference with blogging!). If I consider the amount of time spent developing and writing recipes, plus the ingredients, gas, electricity and trips to the shops… well, you can see what I mean!

Writing to raise your profile? This could be a better reason than money. If you are (or want to be) a food writer or a food photographer it is always good to have a book or more in your CV.

Your prospective publisher will probably like this reason, and it will show that you are determined to put your best efforts into the project.

Finally, my last and most romantic reason: I write because I believe in my recipes, I want to share them, I love food, and I love books… I know that there are many cookbooks around but I feel that I can offer something different. It is a lot of work, but I cannot imagine a world without books, and in this world of books I too want to create books, books that I myself would want to read in ten or twenty years time (no matter if they are out of print) and still be happy with them, still meet people who tell me that they have tried this or that recipe and still love it!

And your publisher has to be the first to support your recipes: send a few sample recipes with your proposal. Invite him/her for dinner (or the commissioning editor, if there is one), bring food to the office when you are having your first meeting, and be prepared to be flexible: maybe your book idea is not marketable, but if your recipes and skills are good a publisher will be able to give you suggestions, and work with you until you both find the cookbook that screams to be published!

In the next post I'll write a bit more about writing recipes, and the difference with blogging.

Writing a cookbook Part 1 How can you get your cookbook published?

I get asked this quite a lot: how can I write a cookbook? And mostly, how can I get it published? I mean, how do I get published if I am not a famous chef or TV personality? I think this is what most people want to know, first!

So I’ll skip the writing bit (for now) and say a few words about publishing a cookbook (or any other book really!).

If you are planning to write just for friends and family this post is not for you: there are many computer and internet programs which allow you to write and design a book, and even to order some copies (at a price...).

The advice here is for those who want to see their work on the shelves of a bookshop, in the libraries, in the kitchens of people they visit for the first time.

Many consider self-publishing, but unless you are not only a great cook, great food stylist and great writer with an original idea, but also an editor, a proof reader, a designer, a photographer, and index expert, know a good printer and, most importantly, a sale person with a good distribution network… well… you may be getting into too much work…. For nothing!

But hey! It has been done, so if you have stamina, time and a little capital to invest, go for it!

The second option is to find a publisher that will help you in exchange of a financial contribution (like buying 2000 copies of your own book). Small publishers have to do this because the costs of production are really high, and get higher if you like to include colour pages (photos).

But think about it: can you sell 2000 copies by yourself? Maybe if you have a restaurant or a delicatessen shop, or hold regular cooking classes, in these cases you can sell a few books, but don’t think that this is easy. Even on the Internet it is hard to sell, there is a lot of competition out there, and too many cookbooks.. Worse if you have a blog: your readers are used to free recipes (and we will get to that in another post).

And are you sure that the publisher you found will print not only the copies that you buy, but also more, to be sold in shops, at least nation-wide? Remember: you are not going to receive royalties unless the books are sold in shops (real or virtual) or to libraries (not that you should hope to receive too many royalties with a single cookbook anyway…).

Some small editors will sincerely try to help you, while other may be just façades which provide vanity publishing services.

A small publisher which is trying to help you will:

Promote your book (but remember, they have other authors a part from you).

Ask you to help them with promotion (with publicity, appearances, food demos).

Trying to sell you book to shops (and not just to you!).

A bigger publisher will do the same, and will have a larger distribution channel and more sale representatives, but also many more books to sell and possibly less time to dedicate to you. A bigger publisher may not ask for you to buy books in advance, but will offer you a good discount if you want to buy them.

Finally, if you want to make sure that you are really getting published because you are worth it, find a publisher that believes in you and your book to the point that it will not put in the contract that you have to buy books (still, most publishers hope that the authors will buy some copies at least!) and, if your proposal is truly excellent, it may also give you an advance on royalties, which is good news!

So, next time I’ll talk about finding this last type of publisher, and about book proposals!