How to Write a Cookbook
Writing a cookbook is often a dream of the avid home cook. And why not? Recipes are a
treasure trove of experience, history, and love all rolled into one and it's great to
share this experience with others. Preserving your recipes for future generations as well
as your contemporaries is a very worthy reason to write a cookbook. And who knows? You
might even become famous as a result!
The cookbook market is saturated and yet, it is still one of the bestselling book markets
because people love food and love looking at images of it and imagining themselves making
it, even if they never get around to it! To help your cookbook stand out, it helps to be as
original as possible while still tapping into what's hot right now.
For example, if cake pops are popular, what's a new angle you can bring to them? Perhaps
recipes of cake pops shaped like cats or cake pops focused on garden themes would be enough
to set your work apart from other cake pop books. Use a blend of your own specialty, what's
hot right now and what's original enough to capture attention amid all the other cookbooks
clamoring for attention.
Defining the Purpose of Your Cookbook
Decide Why You Are Writing the Cookbook
You need to make a decision about this in order to know how to approach your cookbook and to
whom you will target it. For example, if you simply wish to write a cookbook for your own
personal use, creating it on your computer in a readable PDF format that can be printed and
bound simply with staples and a little scrapbook artistry might be sufficient for you.
If it's for a family reunion, for local or national publication, or to commemorate an event,
it's likely that you'll want to produce something more formal and you will probably need to
consider photographs and decent printing services, including good binding.
If it's for professional publishing, you may wish to explore contacting the publisher before
even embarking on the project, to garner potential interest and to get advice.
Choosing and Writing Up Recipes
Select your best or favorite recipes
A good cookbook is an assemblage of a well thought-out collection of recipes that reflect themes,
such as starters, appetizers, entrées, desserts, baking, etc. Generally you stick to one cooking
style rather than being too eclectic, for example, raw, homestyle, old-fashioned, family
friendly, easy cooking, fast cooking, dinner party cooking, fresh, seafood focused, etc.
| 
About BTH
User Agreement
Privacy
Site Map
Contact
News Feeds
RSS Feed
Follow @Stephen Bucaro
Start Your Own Web Business
