gfron1

This is not an easy decision. I've crunched numbers. Financially speaking, selling 1000 books through the publisher equals selling 325 books self-published. 5000 publisher books is 625 self-published books. So it goes back to my goals. Part of this was brand building for myself which I will only get with a publisher. Financially speaking it seems obvious except that you realize that I then carry the financial risk if the book doesn't sell. Revenue & Risk v. Prestige & upfront money

Confirmed, yes, it is an e-book.

BTW, I have a call into my agent for the acronyms and one of you may know - PB is paperback and HC is hardcover, but what's EB? I assume its that cardboard cover that is often used that's heavier than paperback.

I've been posting info for the learning of the group, and I think I'm safe posting these details with specifics blotted out. This is the summary of the deal from my agent:

That is a for sure, not just a possibility, but I wanted to make sure that I wasn't confused by technical definitions and marketing claims.

I still can't post details, but I had a meet'n'greet with my agent and the publisher just now. They want the book to headline their Fall 16 lineup, and as such, we would have a much higher design than their average book. So now I'm waiting for my agent to give me the dollars and cents. We know the offer is low, but we have higher level of control and higher royalties than normal. Once I have the details, my team and I will crunch the numbers to see if we'd do better self-publishing or going through this imprint.

So I headed down to my restaurant to crank out a king cake (perfect idea), when I was told, "and oh, by the way, make it gluten free." Its like that cartoon that's been circulating where Jesus is holding up a loaf and fish and the crowd says, "is that gluten free?" "was that fish farm raised?" So I did a daquoise. Not bad, but had a bit of stickiness to it where it touched the plate. I appreciate all the suggestions - they were good, none of us had all the info apparently.

Thanks guys. Just trying to talk a friend out of a grinding wheel which is excessive, but he thinks an EP only hones.

Basic question. I recommended an EP to a friend for a sharpening system and he said, "But that only hones." I'm still learning about sharpening so I don't want to say the wrong thing, but I believe the EP sharpens - grinds metal away, versus hones - knocks the spurs off. Can someone clarify for me please.

So this is how it goes. Literally 5 hours until we pulled the proposal off the table, a known publisher made an offer. That's exciting and fun and all, but dollars and cents - I'm a bit more committed to the finances of self-publishing. But the publisher's husband is a chef and they eat/cook the way I do, so I guess it will depend on how much autonomy they give me and if they're willing to up their offer some. i'll post details, if appropriate, once things are ironed out.

I appreciate all the comments and ideas. I had never heard of crowdfooding so I'll definitely look into it. Going back to day one of this thread, the only reason that I wanted a publisher was that for me the book was about branding. That's not going to happen, but that's not a big issue, I've done well enough for myself in that area. So fine, I'll focus on making a little money - its not the worst thing in the world. For me, its just important to get these essays and recipes out there for people to enjoy.

I do have the good fortune to have over 20 significant articles written about us over the past few years including some big boys (NYT, WSJ, Sunset, Saveur), so I'll be sure to send them all a copy.

That's a really good way of breaking it down. If there is a good initial blip on sales, that weekly number drops to something that seems more realistic to me.

Alright, my 60 day advance is coming up this next which means I can start booking finally. Here's my list unless someone slaps me and says I'm nuts: I only get 6 dinners. Ranked in order of my interest: Empellon chefs table Take Root Cosme Atera Semilla Contra Kang Ho Don Baekjeug Mimi Chang Prune Brunch Sat and Sun Killed based on comments: Tørst, Estele

MattC "it's just food" What I'm suggesting is that these restaurants are about the experience not just food. I go to my local tavern for just food (that gives an experience too but not one that's special and worth paying extra for), but I go to Per Se, TFL, Alinea, etc for the experience, and that is something I'll pay extra for. As for the 700% markup idea - again I go back to Warhol. And specifically let's talk about his prints. WTF?! You want me to pay a million dollars for a friggin print?! Its all a matter of opinion.

It is going to be passed around and broken off by hand.

I don't need to mimic anything with this - its a very non-traditional church. So it can be anything but will need to be finger-able

I really do understand your point, but this is the point of the art analogy. I hate Warhol's art and Pollock's as well - like really, I find it meaningless trivial kindergarten blather. But obviously many do not agree. Yet that is the point of art - to illicit a response, good or bad. And if an artist can capture that moment, then they should charge what they feel they should charge and the public will decide if they've charged too much. Warhol's art hasn't gone down in price, so clearly I'm in the wrong on him, but I still acknowledge it as art.

HERE's a link to the story. A handful of chefs refused to allow reviewers to review them by not allowing them to pay for their meal, going so far as when a reviewer dropped money on the table, they took the money the next morning to the newspaper office and returned it, videoing the whole affair.

Not sure why but our church is doing a celebration of cake next Sunday and I said I would bring the communion cake. I'm sure I can whip up something that would not require a fork, but I'm wondering if anyone knows of a cake, maybe from another culture or country, that would be good for a communion bread. Thanks

The latest article trashing fancy shmancy dining, this time in Harpers. My simple response is - if you don't like it, don't eat it. If its not the style of dining you enjoy, then I don't care what you think of it. Believe me that you don't care what I have to say about Olive Garden. Reminiscing to Jordan Kahn and Irene Virbila, and the Dallas chefs last year. My more thoughtful analysis: Many chefs are artists. You as a consumer may prefer the kitty poster from Wal-Mart. You may prefer the Van Gogh print from Posters.com. You may prefer the $5M original. One does not negate the others. If you prefer the kitty poster, I bless you on your way. I will most likely not see you in Per Se...and you know what? That's okay for both of us. But please stop writing these asinine articles telling me how bad and overpriced these meals are. They clearly were not meant for you.

With the school intern idea I was thinking - hell, I can't even keep up with the training of the "professional" staff who have some level of commitment to the field, let alone a bunch of students who don't even know if this is how they want to spend their lives. It is a good idea, but less realistic than it sounds. I'm very fortunate that my staff has been stable for nearly 2 years - much different than my previous staff. I try to take care of them but at times it feels like a one way street - giving, giving, giving, but when you need extra coverage, "Oh sorry, I have other plans tonight." But I'm quietly grumbling because I have the stability that allows me to do my work.

My understanding is that while they can be printed in the US they are much much cheaper to print in China. But, I've also come to understand through my research that you need to print 3-5K to justify the shipping. If we self-publish and if we only print 1K as I want, then we'll probably do it domestically.

Honkman, I have thought about the branding impact, and I actually have a different analysis. Publishers are hesitant with this book. So, what if I was able to come back and demonstrate sales of say 3000 copies via self-publishing. It would show them that I can complete the project, have the ability to have decent sales, and show potential for future sales with their support system. Not sure if one perspective is more correct than the other.

That's one of the questions my agent asked early on. Yes, I do have a blog and used to update it regularly, but not so much the past few years. When I told them that I hovered around a thousand facebook friends and few hundred instagram friends, she stopped me and said "If we're not talking in the high thousands its irrelevant and actually a negative to a publisher."