The making of my own cookbook

[gfron1]

My agent checks in with me every other week or so and asked for an update. She then followed up with the editor just to maintain communications. Here is her response (edited to protect the innocent):

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Great news from [the editor]. No specifics on the manuscript yet, but they presented the book at their presales meeting yesterday and the sales team LOVED (her words) the cover/sound of it. When she has some spreads to share, she will do that, but she's not quite ready. I'll let you know if I get any other feedback on the manuscript itself (nothing yet).

 

It's not their protocol to loop agents in on the publicity side. <snip>They don't want too many chefs in the kitchen (pun intended), which I understand, but by knowing their plans, we can support you better and perhaps offer suggestions you might not have thought about. I get the sense Skyhorse works more directly with authors than the typical publisher, so it may require you letting me know directly about publication dates, editorial developments, and so on. I just want to be sure we close any gaps in communication so we make the book launch as strong as possible for you!

 

Also - I'm sure you're on it, but please step up the tweeting - the time to build audience is now! You can post about your restaurant, other people's, home cooking, anything. Building that foodie/home chef/outdoors audience online will be great when it's time to blast about your book! Their publicity department WILL support you, but ultimately (and repeatedly!) we've found that its authors who drive the success of their own titles more than anyone else. I always say: think of what your publisher does by way of promotion as BONUS for your book. Now what would you do?

 

 

[gfron1]

Just a quick note from my editor today that made my day:

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Everything is still in progress, but I did present this particular cover at the presales meeting, and one of the sales reps gasped and exclaimed, “What a beautiful package!” so I’d say we’re on the right path.

She GASPED!  

[gfron1]

I'm reviewing page layouts today...just a glimpse:

[chefmd]

It's now on Amazon!

cover is gorgeous 

[Tri2Cook]

56 minutes ago, chefmd said:

It's now on Amazon!

cover is gorgeous 

Yeah, I saw that and hit the pre-order. I held out on pre-ordering through the site Rob linked to in hopes it would hit amazon.ca at some point. The main site is in US dollars and the exchange right now is really bad at our end. But I would have ordered it regardless, this one will be in my collection.

[gfron1]

2 hours ago, chefmd said:

It's now on Amazon!

cover is gorgeous 

What!? I didn't know that. How cool. 

[Shelby]

Pre-ordered  

[IowaDee]

This is just awesome.  I suspect some of feel almost like midwives.  This has been such an amazing journey to travel. So glad I got to take part in it.  See you in St Louis?

 

[gfron1]

@IowaDee - but I just have to say...the editor hasn't even returned the manuscript to me! Its such a crazy, crazy world. We're still editing the cover which i know will change. Its just so bizarre to me. I've always used this forum as educational, not shlepping, but we're certainly getting closer to the shlepping phase it appears. But here's another learning... I started my own site to sell. Not knowing the price, we set it at $40. Amazon is showing $35, which again I ask how they can know since the book isn't set to print (i know they can guess based on the manuscript). With Amazon I get $3.25 per book. With my site I'll get closer to $20. The price difference between my site and Amazon was meant to accommodate a few perks - inscription, additional recipes not in the book and detailed technical data from my photographer...plus shipping. I'm interested (but not asking) what the publisher thinks of me selling on the side with a website. Every author sells but it seems like its competition at some level. Just thoughts for the night. I can't wait to see what the designer does from here. Really happy with her work.

 

And yes, you'll see me in St. Louis. A food reporter somehow found out and contacted me today. My lips are kinda sealed to the media since its so premature.

Edited February 16, 2016 by gfron1 (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Didn't realize it was better for you if I went the other route or I would have. If your price includes shipping, it's not a huge difference even with the exchange. It comes to something like $56 Canadian via your site and amazon.ca is charging $50 (which is pretty much on par with amazon.com's $35 at the current exchange rate). I may just cancel and go with your site... I like the sound of those perks you mentioned.

[gfweb]

On 1/28/2016 at 9:02 AM, gfron1 said:

I said lowly in the context of my spouse having been one, and he said in the office they were the low-man. I've had so many proofreaders find so many errors over the course of this project and every single one of them is praised in the thank you section  It was just tongue and cheek.

 

tongue in cheek

 

proof reading

[curls]

Couldn't resist any longer, pre-ordered the book from your site @gfron1. Looking forward to trying out some of your recipes and hopefully dining at your place some day (Silver City or St. Louis). Any way to convince you to add Northern Virginia to your book tour? See your planning on New York... Virginia is kinda close.  ;-)

[gfron1]

Thanks! All of those cities are tentative. My rule of thumb is 1) needs to be on the way to or from somewhere; 2) need to fill 20 seats at $100 (which would be dinner and the book); 3) needs to have the support of the publisher to link me with a book store or media program. I'm hoping to spend a full month doing these.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I'd do $100 for dinner and the book if I could get to it, which is unlikely.

[gfron1]

Still waiting for feedback from the editor. I know she's knee deep in my manuscript. Eagerly awaiting.

 

In other news, I've been very active on Twitter, less so on Instagram and my usual on Facebook. Gotta keep building up those audiences. Yesterday I identified a number of food blogs that had similar quality/style/interests to me, and began reading and commenting. I know from my blog (which is mostly dormant) that its obvious when people didn't really read my post before they commented, so I made a rule for myself that I'll only comment if I've read the entire post. In a few cases I'm making their recipes. The hope is that come September I can send them a book and they'll talk about it. That will also give me time to make sure they are a good investment of my book as far as their reach and fit with my style.

[gfron1]

A few small updates. The editor is still working through the manuscript and every now and then Tweets about it - so that's good I think. Yesterday an article posted on Publishers Weekly about wild food books. Made me a little nervous but also gave me some confidence. Made me nervous because I know of even more books coming out this year AND one of the books in the article has a near identical sub-title to mine. Gave me confidence because all of these books still are either regional or a bit too extreme for the average person. Like, I'm personally really excited for Bauder's book, but its very SoCal and very hardcore. What I really appreciated was the editor's response to my concerns:

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Thanks for sharing! We’ll let these all the pave the way for ours. We’ll see who has picked them up, where they’re selling, etc., and the sales team can use that information to their advantage.

 

I wouldn’t worry about the subtitle; subtitles are mostly used for search terms these days. When people are looking up that other book, there’s a good chance they’ll stumble across yours, too.

 

Its nice working with someone who has the bigger picture and professional understanding of the situation.

[blue_dolphin]

Sounds promising that there's interest in this aspect of food and cooking from a number of publishers.  

Last week, I read a piece in the LA Times about Bauder and was hoping that you'll get some nice coverage like that to get the word out when your book is ready.

[gfron1]

Can I just say...EEEEEEEE! I know those of you who have previously read the manuscript have made many comments and corrections, and I integrated those into my final draft, and I know it is a much better book because of each of you. Here is what the editor just sent me:

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Overall, great job with this. So well written, so well organized. I really enjoyed the read. The essays were so interesting, too! I know “interesting” isn’t always a great word, but I was genuinely interested in the stories told. I think they’re a great fit, and they break up the recipes really well.

 

So, with this file, all you have to do is:

 

·         Review the edits (You don’t have to accept/reject them. Just take a look and, if you disagree with any, leave me a note saying so.)

·         Respond to the queries/comments on the side (Ignore the ones marked for the typesetters.)

·         Make any called-for revisions (Only a handful; again, strong manuscript.)

 

Note that, based on the design we’ve approved for the interior, we placed all of the ingredient lists at the beginning of each recipe and have added subheads to the directions. We’ll see how this all looks once it’s typeset; we may not need those headings in the directions, but they will be necessary for the ingredients.

 

This review should be very easy, very straightforward. I’m really not asking you to do much, and the document is locked so I’ll be able to easily review any revisions you make to it. The only thing I’m considering is possibly making the recipe names more descriptive. Not in the TOC (the designer asked us to keep the TOC simple so everything would fit), but maybe on a second line, we can add things like “with Salmon Marshmallows.” But that’s something I’ll figure out once I see the full first pass and how everything comes together.

 

There may be more back and forth once the designer starts piecing everything together, but we’ll cross that bridge as we come to it. This is just about the content at this point. After your review, the manuscript will go to the designer, and once we have a full pass and everything is in its place, it will be proofread. So don’t worry about the nitty-gritty details and mistakes; there will be time to look at all that later.

 

In an ideal world, I would love to get this back next Tuesday, March 29. However, I know this is a holiday weekend, and if you have plans, I don’t want to ruin them. If I can get this back by Friday, April 1, at the latest, we should be in good shape. Let me know if you think you’ll need more time, though, and I’ll see what I can do.

 

Let me know if you have questions. And, again, GREAT job. I’m so proud of this book already, and you should be too!

 

I'm really happy today.

[gfron1]

BTW, part of my response:

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There are some big picture questions that I don't want to get lost.

 

1. Structure of chapters. Right now its forest, farm and field, but I wondered if the more traditional appetizer, entree, dessert (or something like that) would be better with graphic designation on the top of each recipe showing (FFF, difficulty, time, geographic availability, # serves). The graphics could be a really cool addition. I defer on this, but I did want to bring it up again.

 

2. Essays. Right now they are in the front of each section but they were intended to be dispersed throughout each section. 

 

3. Foraging instruction. One thing that separates this book from virtually all others is that the foraging instructions are very basic and a back seat to the recipes. I've been wondering lately if they should then not be leading the book - ie move them to the back. Again, I defer. I know the cogs are already in motion on much of this.

 

 

[gfron1]

And her responses:

 

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1. Structure of chapters. Right now its forest, farm and field, but I wondered if the more traditional appetizer, entree, dessert (or something like that) would be better with graphic designation on the top of each recipe showing (FFF, difficulty, time, geographic availability, # serves). The graphics could be a really cool addition. I defer on this, but I did want to bring it up again. I’d like to keep the organization as-is. I have another cookbook in this season that strays from the traditional appetizer/entrée/dessert (it’s in order by seasons) and I think it’s refreshing. It’s good to break the mold now and then. I know you indicated graphics already, in the current pass, so we can still go that route, but I’d like to keep the organization as-is.

 

2. Essays. Right now they are in the front of each section but they were intended to be dispersed throughout each section. We can see how this looks when the designer does the layout; there may be instances where a recipe is very long and flows onto a second page and we need the essay to fill in the opposite recto (right-hand) page. So it’s possible we’ll move these around and use them as we have to.

 

3. Foraging instruction. One thing that separates this book from virtually all others is that the foraging instructions are very basic and a back seat to the recipes. I've been wondering lately if they should then not be leading the book - ie move them to the back. Again, I defer. I know the cogs are already in motion on much of this. I think these should all stay in the front, as that’s where readers are going to naturally go. Before you make the recipes, you need to learn how to get the ingredients. So it’s a more natural process. Every reader is going to approach the book differently, but in terms of organization/flow, I think having it all first (available to flip through) will be best. This way, the information about foraging is not an afterthought.

 

I find this process so fascinating.

[blue_dolphin]

I have to say that I love your editor's responses to your questions.  It shows that she's not trying to force your unique book to fit into some sort of standard cookbook template that they use for everything.

[gfron1]

These are the words I really wanted to see from my editor

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These ingredients are included in the ingredient list

 

I didn't want that mistake anywhere, but it shows a level of thoroughness for their edit. I say "their" because there are two readers right now including one who specializes in cookbooks.

 

I'm really enjoying the comments. They made me remove references to licking my fingers because "reviewers will claim it is unsanitary." You know what i say to that?!

[gfron1]

Got the last pics of my foraging mentor Doug Simons from the photographer. This was a crazy January day that we pulled 30+ pounds of fresh oyster mushrooms. Couldn't believe they were still there. The book is 100% out of my hands as of Monday!

[IowaDee]

Oh my your baby's growing up and leaving home..  I'm sure you raised him well and he will be a credit to you.  If the rest of the photos are anywhere as amazing as the one above, you have made a thing of beauty.  All the eGullet aunts and uncles must be almost as excited as you are.  I know I am!

[gfron1]

That's how I feel too. I made to dedications - one was a friend who was going to co-author and design with me, who passed away early on in the project. The other is Steven Shaw because at no level could this book have been completed without all of the eG family. From all I've learned over the years, to the places I've eaten that have inspired me, to the folks who have edited and proofread for me.

 

Today they assigned me a publicist, and I've now met the designer who's taken over our dropbox folder of pics. Its moving so fast now!