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Before going through the entire process of getting a cookbook published, I had no idea what was I was getting myself into. I know many of my readers are fellow bloggers and home cooks, so I thought I’d share a brief overview of how my book deal came about, along with some behind-the-scenes looks at the work involved to put it all together.
If you’re interested in someday writing a cookbook of your own, here are 7 things you might want to know before getting started:
1. You’ll need an agent. An agent is one of the most crucial first steps for getting a book deal. They can help you narrow down a concept for your book and will also help you polish your proposal so it’s perfect for pitching to publishing houses. I was lucky in the fact that I was approached by my agent and we clicked right away– so I didn’t have to do the initial search myself. (If you do have to find an agent yourself, one way to make sure an agent is legitimate is that they shouldn’t require any money upfront– they only make money when you make money.)
2. You’ll need a solid book proposal. Your proposal is a detailed overview of the book you want to write. It usually includes a complete table of contents, one or two sample chapters, and in the case of a cookbook, it also includes several completed sample recipes. (And sample photos, if you want to be the photographer, too.) A proposal also includes ideas for marketing, press, your social media following, and anything else that might set you apart from other authors in your field. A simple Word document is all you need for a book proposal, but I took it a step further and designed mine in Photoshop to give it more of a designed-look. (Although now it looks very dated to me– and it was only made two years ago!)
3. You’ll need to be really comfortable talking about your concept. My agent submitted my book proposal to a number of publishing houses on my behalf, but the next step is having a phone interview with potential editors. I think I talked to three or four editors in detail about my book idea, which helped them decide if, and how, they would pitch it to their respective publishing houses. Even if I felt like I connected on the phone with an editor, it didn’t mean they would definitely make me an offer– a book has to work into their publishing schedule needs and it also has to not compete with their other current authors and upcoming books.
(The publisher also has to be a good fit for YOU. The most important aspect for me when choosing a publisher was that I wanted a beautiful book filled with full-color photos. Ten Speed Press is known for making gorgeous cookbooks, so I knew they were the perfect home for me!)
4. You’ll need a lot of determination. If you’re lucky enough to get a book deal, you’re kind of on your own for a while. You’ll need to be very self-motivated to meet your deadline! For some reason, I imagined my agent and editor holding my hand through the process to make sure I stayed on task, but once we verbally agreed on a deal, writing the manuscript was entirely on my shoulders. Of course, my team was always there if I needed it, but I think the next time I showed anything to my agent or editor was when I turned in the final manuscript six months later!
5. You’ll need plenty of free time. This was something I didn’t have much of, but when you want something badly enough, you make it work. At the time of my book deal, I had a 3-week-old newborn, along with a full-time design job, and my blog to maintain. So, I did much of my book writing and recipe testing between 10pm and 2 am, when my baby was asleep and I knew I’d be uninterrupted. It was exhausting, but worth it!
6. You’ll need a decent social media following. If you want a publisher to invest in your book idea, it’s a good idea to be involved in various social media platforms. You don’t need to master them all (Facebook and Instagram are my favorites), but a publisher will want to make sure you have some sort of fan base before committing to your book. At the time I got my book deal, I had about 26,000 fans on Facebook (and now it’s up to 163,000 fans– wow!).
7. You’ll need plenty of patience. Having your book published can take a lot of time, so take a deep breath and enjoy the process. I got my book offer in September 2013, I turned in the finished manuscript in April 2014, and the book will be officially released in June 2015. That’s a LOT of waiting!
However, it’s all worth it once you see all of your hard work in print. I’m so happy with how this cookbook turned out, and my husband laughs at me for how often I use it in my own kitchen. (You’d think I’d at least have the recipes memorized by now, right?)
I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have about the cookbook process, so feel free to ask them in the comments below!
Hi,
I am thinking about writing a cookbook myself. I have had many recipes that I created over the past 5-10 years but haven’t organized them. Where is a good place to start? How do I find an agent who can help me?
You might want to check out Publisher’s Marketplace, or look at the acknowledgments of books that you like to see who their agent is. With traditional publishing, the author is responsible for a lot of the PR efforts, so you’ll need to prove you have a following already so that a publisher will take the risk on you and know you will sell books. Otherwise, you can look into self-publishing, too!
A truly superb and inspirational read of your writings, thank you so much for sharing. I’m currently in the throws of writing a cook book proposal so this is incredibly helpful. It’s a dreadfully daunting process. I’ve created a niche and am very proud of my product so far, yet I seemingly have not a great deal to compare it to so where to start or go to next is a thin line.
It is a art based cookbook on Catalonia, and its history, where I connect the dishes to the stories of yesterday through Roald Dahl style artwork. I am slowly making progress or though one of the things I am struggling with is creating a following on the social media side. I’ve been using hashtags ect but don’t feel I’m driving it correctly. Any advice at all? Thanks again.
Ps, please take a look at @cuina_catalan
Love your recipes and videos. Congratulations on your book. I have a question regarding Instagram. If I wanted to write a book and want to keep my recipes for my book but at the same time how do I share with followers on Instagram? I don’t know how this works on social media. Did you post your recipe on social media before you wrote your book or did you do new recipe for the book? Or can I share and put the same in the book?
I write separate recipes for my website and cookbooks. I share the website recipes on social media, but I keep most of the recipes for my cookbooks exclusive, so there isn’t much overlap. It’s definitely a lot of work!
Hi! I,m looking to write my own recipe book, and wondered how you created your following prior to your book proposal?
I blogged for about 6 years before writing my book proposal, so it was a lot of time and energy to develop the following. People enjoyed the recipes I gave away for free on my blog, so that made them more likely to want to buy my cookbook, too.
What a great post of your journey! Wondering do you have concerns of posting your recipes free for download will affect sales of the book? Or do you think it helps with sales?
I think it helps with sales. People want to know that you write GOOD recipes before committing to buying something from you. Plus, I sharing lots of value with my followers so they’ll want to stick around.
Great point. I have been downloading many recipes from the web and find a lot of them just don’t work, too complicated, or did not cover the nuances or key tips in getting the dishes come out right. Love your blog and everything in it.
Greetings Megan! My name is Crystal, I’m a mother of four. For years now my family has been telling me that I need to write a cookbook. I have been toying with the idea for some years now. I just want to thank you for this site, it helped give me an idea of the process. My question is, what was your process in writing? All of my recipes are in my head and I don’t measure much.
I usually have my recipes in my head, too, but you definitely have to write down what you do for a cookbook! I tweak my recipes 10-20 times before putting them in a book, so I use the “notes” application on my computer to track my progress. I have a new page for each recipe, and then I write down “round 1” round 2, etc, so I know what I’ve already tried and have a full archive of my experiments. Then I get volunteer testers to make the recipes in their own homes to make sure the recipes work for them, too!
Wow! I was approached by a publisher for a cookbook but I have a full-time office job right now. I didn’t think I could do it since I wouldn’t have any natural daylight to photograph the recipes. How did you do it? Also, did you have people testing your recipes to make sure they came out just right?
Congrats on the offer! I use studio lighting with daylight bulbs so I can take photographs at night. I use two of these lights for my setup: http://amzn.to/2E0KHnP And yes, I have lots of volunteer recipe testers that I send the recipes to after I test them myself.
Could you provide any insight on what to budget in terms of writing a cookbook? Advances notwithstanding, any sense of the out-of-pocket expenses during the time before the manuscript was completed? Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
Congrats! Love all your recipes and the book is absolutely gorgeous. Do you have a post on simple photography set up tips?
I’ll write a post about that soon! 🙂
Thanks so much for this post and the one on how to start your blog! Just got your book and I love it!
Thanks so much for your support!