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By Andrea Nguyen, Molly Stevens, Kate Leahy, Kristin Donnelly
5
8888 ratings
The podcast currently has 104 episodes available.
To close out Season Five and celebrate 100(!) episodes, we're sharing some advice, tips and ideas from our listeners for our listeners. Molly, Andrea, Kate and Kristin discuss some of the terrific insights that our listeners have submitted to help aspiring cookbook authors and share their own thoughts on topics like: writing classes, caring the most for your project, the inevitable "dip" in the process, headnote workflow, photography ROI, self-editing and two-book deals.
Thanks so much for joining us for 100 episodes! We'll be back with Season 6 soon!
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Episode 29: Finding Your Voice with Tori Ritchie
Episode 15: Will Write for Food with Dianne Jacob
Episode 02: Do You Need a Cookbook Agent?
Episode 82: Craft Books for Cookbook Writers
Episode 01: Should You Write a Cookbook?
Episode 18: Pro Tips from Cookbook Critic Paula Forbes
Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton
Episode 69: Writing a Menu Cookbook with Amy Thielen
Episode 94: Insights from Literary Agent Lori Galvin
Episode 27: When Less is More: Ali Slagle on the Art of Short Recipes
Episode 63: On Rejection and Recovery
Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Molly and Kate speak with two members of the cookbook indexing website Eat Your Books team; Jane Kelly, co-founder and CEO and Jenny Hartin, Director of Publicity. Jane shares where she got the idea to create the website, the way it works and how its grown since its inception with now over 2.5 million recipes indexed. We learn how vital the community experience of the site is and ways authors can use the site in their own work. Jenny talks about the various indexing issues that can arise, the benefits to the manual process, how she chooses which of the myriad of releases to highlight and a peek into the EYB/publisher relationship. They both share how this is still a passion of theirs, what books they've been cooking from lately and the titles they are excited about this fall. Stick around for an exclusive promo code for EVCB listeners to try out Eat Your Books for themselves!
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Eat Your Books website
2024 Cookbook Releases
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Recipe Tin Eats by Nagi Maehashi
A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater
Mooncakes and Milk Bread by Kristina Cho
Open Wide by Benny Blanco
Desi Bakes by Hetal Vasavada
Cook Simply, Live Fully by Yasmin Fahr
Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi
Chicano Bakes by Esteban Castillo
Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez
Milk and Cardamom by Hetal Vasavada
Kate and Andrea chat with Singapore based cookbook author Chris Tan about his new book, Nerd Baker 2 and his publishing process. He shares why he wanted to revisit the world of Nerd Baker, how he keeps international readers in mind while writing and how his experience as a cooking instructor informs his work. He talks about the climate obstacles he had while writing and photographing, where his research led him and why he seeks to demystify instructions for his readers and how he goes about doing it. Finally, he shares insights into his social media approach and how his books get internationally distributed along with a few wise words of advice.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Nerd Baker 2: Tales from the Yeast Indies by Chris Tan
Nerd Baker by Chris Tan
The Way of Kueh by Chris Tan
Chinese Cooking Demystified: Sourdough Youtube video
Kinokuniya
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Kate and Kristin tackle the topic of cookbook collaboration as they chat with Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine about their new book, Hot Sheet. Olga and Sanaë share a bit about their career paths, where the inspiration for this book came from and why partnering on it was the best way to go. They speak about the strengths and expertise each brought to the project, why they focused on sheet pans and go into the nitty gritty of how they worked together. Hint: spreadsheets! They talk about the recipe creating and testing process, the pre-work steps they took before embarking on the projects and advice they'd give to others interested in starting their own creative partnerships.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Olga Massov
Sanaë Lemoine
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Molly and Kate speak with the owners of Los Angeles based cookbook store Now Serving, Ken Concepcion and Michelle Mungcal, about the crucial role that niche independent bookstores play in the marketplace. Ken shares how his chef background informed his love of cookbooks and led to opening the store and Michelle talks about curating their space to create a specific atmosphere for their community. They speak about what titles they choose to carry, their thoughts on event formats and release schedules along with the obstacles that arise in the retail space and the ones that come with running a small business. Finally, they discuss their thoughts on self published projects and promote their new cookbook club.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Now Serving Bookstore
Now Serving Bookclub
Plantasia: A Vegetarian Cookbook Through Asia by Pamelia Chia
Tacos CDMX by Guia Domingo
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Kate, Kristin and Molly venture back into the user experience arena as they discuss recipe presentation in cookbooks. They highlight the need for this section to delight not distract and prioritize form over function as well as the need to write with a specific audience in mind. They discuss their thoughts as a consumer and developer on elements like: ingredients, equipment, serving size, prep time, method, sub-recipes, headnotes and bursts. Finally, they share their advice for recipe developers on things to think through and ways to research to bring clarity and individuality to their own work.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Episode 91: The UX of Cookbook Design
Episode 28: All About Headnotes
Episode 42: How to Write Recipe Titles
Episode 24: Genius Recipes with Kristin Miglore
Episode 59: Lerato Umah-Shaylor on Africana
Episode 33: Becoming the Writer You Want to Be with Andy Baraghani
Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson
Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Kate, Kristin and Molly speak with agent Lori Galvin about her long career in the food media space. She shares what spurred her decision to move on from editorial work and how agenting required on the job learning and an entrepreneurial approach. She talks about learning to trust in her own taste, why she enjoys working with both fiction and non-fiction titles and the changes she is seeing in the cookbook sphere. After touching on proposals, comp titles and platform building, Lori gives some advice to authors looking for their own agents and what she in particular looks for in an book.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Lori Galvin at Aevitas Agency
Query Manager
Episode 76: Totally Achievable Zero Waste Cooking with Irene and Mei Li
Sh*t no one tells you about writing article on Query Manager (scroll down)
Kristin Donnelly's mini-course about finding an agent
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Molly and Kate talk with prolific writer Bee Wilson about her new cookbook, The Secret of Cooking. Bee explains how she uses her past experience as an academic in her food writing to showcase its breadth beyond restaurants and recipes and what inspired her to write this cookbook. She shares why she settled on a thematic structure for the book, the recipe writing and testing process along with her varied influences and resources. She talks about bringing the joy back into cooking and why she believes that the golden age of home cooking is still to come.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Bee Wilson
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Kate and Molly speak with Ruth Reichl, an icon and authority in the food media world, about her breadth of writing experience - restaurant reviews, cookbooks, memoirs, articles and even tweets- and her new book, The Paris Novel. Ruth shares why food is a universal framework, her inspirations for this novel and the process of working with a new editor. She talks about being a "writer who hates writing" and how this process differed from others as well as how she accesses memories to include specificities in her scenes. Finally, she shares her advice to push into the unknown and what she is working on next.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Ruth Reichl
Food and Country Film
"Why I Disapprove of What I Do" by Ruth Reichl
Tumbleweed at Shakespeare and Company
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Kristin, Molly and Kate tackle cookbook design from a usability perspective. They point out design decisions that authors should consider: packaging and cover design, typeface and font legibility, photographs on matte vs gloss paper and much more. They share their own opinions, experiences and preferences on the elements that enhance or detract from a user's experience of the book and, because there's much more to say on the topic, tease a part two.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella
Mentions
Debbie Berne Instagram
83: A Niche Cookbook That Sold 350K+ Copies with Shelly Worcel
47: Self-Publishing Cookbooks with Nick Fauchald
66: Becoming Your Own Publisher with Katie Parla
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
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