The Self-Published Cook: How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Own Cookbook

By Marilyn M. Moore

No matter how your cookbook is published, this is a splendidly useful compendium on the whole prickly process of making and selling a book, from initial idea to sales and promotion. Betty Fussell, author of Crazy for Corn

Anyone thinking about writing a cookbook must read Marilyn Moores book. She has the knowledge and ability to explain how to start the process and how to sell your work when it is finished. Irena Chalmers, Irena Chalmers Books, Inc.

With her characteristically direct, clear, clean approach, Moore has covered everything from the initial idea or urge, through the fun and the frustrating, all the way to storing bound books. A multitude of good, solid, helpful information. Brava! Mardee Haidin Regan, cookbook editor

Clear and concise, this small book demystifies self-publishing. Packed with information, it earns a place on every cookbook writers reference shelf. Patty Vineyard MacDonald, MPress

What a piece of work! Theres nothing left out. Rose Grant, Indexer.

Informative, well-organized, and easy-to-read I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of self-publishing a cookbook. Lily Loh, Solana Publishing

This well-organized, easy-to-read how-to book will be in constant demand by authors and self-publishers. Highly recommended for all libraries. Lou Graham, Librarian

An absolutely superb job of conveying to the lay person (or professional) how to produce a cookbook. The best guide written yet. Bonnie Stewart Mickelson, Pickle Point Publishing

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abbott Press
• Release date: Jun 26, 2012
• ISBN: 9781458203922

Marilyn M. Moore

Marilyn Moore King self-published her first cookbook. She wrote and published six more cookbooks for Atlantic Monthly Press. The Self-Published Cook is her second self-published title. Marilyn winters in Florida and summers in Michigan with her husband, Joe. Visit her website: www.withmarilynking.com

Book preview

Copyright © 1995 Marilyn M. Moore

Copyright © 2012 Marilyn M. King

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Abbott Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Abbott Press

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.abbottpress.com

Phone: [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN: 978-1-4582-0392-2 (e)

for Elise Goodman, the best agent and friend a writer can have

BOOKS BY MARILYN M. MOORE

A Wooden Spoon Baking Memoir

The Self-Published Cook

Meat and Potatoes and Other Comfort Foods from the Wooden Spoon Kitchen

The Wooden Spoon Cookie Book

The Wooden Spoon Book of Homestyle Soups, Stews, Chowders, Chilis and Gumbos

The Wooden Spoon Dessert Book

The Wooden Spoon Bread Book

Baking Your Own

BOOKS BY MARILYN KING

Sisters: and other fast fiction

The Self-Published Cook, Newly Revised

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A special thank you to the self-published authors who let me share their stories with you: Bonnie Mickelson, Patty MacDonald and Lily Loh.

A heartfelt thanks to two of my best friends, my husband, Joe, and my buddy, Selma Young, for copy and content editing.

With gratitude to Holly Nordheden of Lincoln Trail Libraries System, who helped me with cataloging.

A big thank you to Robert Howard who went beyond the design of the cover to give me some wonderful graphic design ideas for the typeset pages.

I am deeply indebted to Dan Poynter for turning me on to self-publishing before I brought out my first book in 1982. Many of the thoughts, techniques and ideas in The Self-Published Cook are extensions of the material contained in my dog-eared copy of Dan’s The Self-Published Manual.

And, last but not least, in appreciation for the encouragement and advice of culinary friends, especially: Irena Chalmers, Betty Fussell, Rose Grant, Lily Loh, Patty MacDonald, Bonnie Mickelson and Mardee Regan.

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER

Although self-publishing can be financially rewarding, there are no guarantees that your efforts will net you a profit. If you have the right idea at the right time, and if you are willing to invest a lot of time and effort, your book may do well. But, just as with mainstream publishing, it is possible for a good book to get lost in the shuffle, which can turn your venture into a loss rather than a profit.

It is not the purpose of this manual to reprint everything available on the subject of self-publishing a cookbook. Consider it a concise guide and a beginning. The reader is urged to read all of the material that is otherwise available to learn as much as possible about the subject. See the bibliography for other sources.

The author and publisher are not engaged in dispensing legal, accounting, or other professional services. If such assistance is needed, the services of a competent professional should be engaged. The purpose of this book is to educate and guide the reader wishing to learn more about writing, publishing and selling a cookbook. The author and Wooden Spoon Kitchen, Inc. expressly disclaim any liability or responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any damage caused or alleged to be caused arising directly or indirectly from the use of this written material.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marilyn Moore began her cookbook writing career as a self-published author. In 1982 she brought out Baking Your Own: Recipes and Tips for Better Breads. Success with that book enabled her to secure the best of New York’s literary agents, Elise Simon Goodman of Goodman Associates. This led to a contract with Atlantic Monthly Press for an expanded bread book which first appeared in 1987. She has been successfully cooking, teaching and writing to fulfill obligations ever since.

Marilyn renewed her interest in self-publishing by organizing a panel on the subject of self-publishing a cookbook for a presentation at the annual conference of the International Association of Culinary Professionals in San Francisco, April, 1994. She has gone on to develop her own one-person workshop on the subject of self-publishing a cookbook. The Self-Published Cook was a natural progression from that workshop.

Contents

Introduction

How This Book Is Organized

The Self-Published Cook Checklist

Writing Your Cookbook

What Kind Of Book Will You Write?

The Style Of Your Cookbook

Writing Recipes

Securing Recipe Permissions

Your Writing Style

Constructing An Index

Writing Efficiently

Publishing Your Cookbook

What Is Publishing?

What Self-Publishing Entails

Why Publish Your Own?

Book Design And Layout

Paper Stock And Covers

Art And Illustrations

Getting It Printed

Selling Your Cookbook

The Market Survey

Defining Your Market

Profit And Loss Analysis

Setting Up Shop

Getting Into The System

Promotion

Personal Appearances

Advertising

Retail Sales

Wholesale Sales

Special Sales

More Stuff

Success Stories

The Community Cookbook

Annotated Bibliography

Colophon

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Portion of Style Sheet

Sample Permission Letter

Index Capitalization Styles

Samples of Typefaces

Request for Quotation

Profit and Loss Analysis

Sample Discount Schedule

INTRODUCTION

There is a classic Catch-22 in the cookbook publishing field. It is almost impossible for a cookbook author to get the ear of an editor without the aid of an agent, and it is difficult to get the attention of an agent unless the author has been previously published. In response to this dilemma, more and more cookbook authors are turning to self-publishing to present their books to the public.

When the International Association of Culinary Professionals issued their call for presentation proposals for the Annual Spring Conference in San Francisco, April, 1994, I decided to see if I could put together a panel on the subject of self-publishing cookbooks. I quickly gathered six people eager to speak, and the presentation became a double-barreled workshop, with one panel covering the basics of self-publishing and another covering the marketing and promotion of a self-published cookbook. Everyone who came to the workshop gave it high marks for excellence.

I have gone on to develop my own one-person workshop on self-publishing and promoting your own cookbook. This book began as a transcript of that workshop, but as I worked on it I kept adding things that I felt could not be left out. It has grown to the book you are holding in your hands. I know I will continue to add to the material and to refine what is included. With self-publishing, there is nothing that prevents you from coming out with a new edition of a book every year or two, allowing you to update information as needed.

Marilyn M. Moore

HOW THIS BOOK IS ORGANIZED

With conventional