mizchef

Archive for the ‘Publishing’ Category

Yes, e-books are all the rage, and it’s not going away. More and more, publishers are going to be cutting back on their print lists and moving their catalogs to e-books.  In fact, some publishing houses are entirely e-books. But some genres are still very much alive in the print world, and cookbooks is one of the biggest.

Who wants to bring an e-reader into the kitchen, anyway? I mean, I’m sure some

Copyright: Williams-Sonoma

people do, but then you run the risk of getting food on it, of equipment getting tossed on it, and you don’t have those beautiful glossy photos looking up at you. It’s not the same giving someone an e-cookbook for Christmas (“Here, sweetie. Here’s the link to download your very own version of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Merry Christmas! And someone’s birthday is coming up. Be on the lookout for Anthony Bourdain’s LeHalles Cookbook in your inbox!”). Frankly, it’s hard to get excited about a recipe when it’s coming off a flat, boring screen. The most beautiful part of a cookbook is the book itself.

Regardless of your opinion on the matter, the fact is that cookbooks are still going strong in the print market, especially with the growing trend of paper-over-board covers, which is a hardcover book with a photo printed right on the cover, rather than a dustjacket. Read a Publisher’s Weekly article for more information. And I’d love to know what you all think.

Viva la cookbook!

Hi, folks. At long last, my cookbook, What, No Meat? Traditional Italian Cooking the Vegetarian Way, has been published!!  Well, technically, it was already published, but the new edition by Bedazzled Ink is out.

It was a lot of work but it’s finally done. Now comes the task of marketing. It’s not a task I’m fond of, but it’s a necessary evil.

Anyway, if you’re interested in a copy, it’s available from the publisher HERE or at any online (and possibly a few brick-and-mortar) booksellers. Of those, I personally recommend Barnes & Noble, not Amazon (they’re the evil empire).  BUT, if you order from Bedazzled’s bookstore, Book Peddler, you can get 5% off the order. Just put the code NOMEAT in the Redemption Code box at checkout. E-books are 10% off.

Okay, off to celebrate. Have a wonderful week!

Hey, gang. Well, I’m still trying to get through the proof of my cookbook. At this point, it’s not just proofreading it and looking at layout, I’m actually making corrections myself in the InDesign file. I had such an incredibly long list of corrections to be made—both layout and editorial—that in the interest of making things easier for everyone, I offered to make the corrections.

Part of my problem is that I only know the basics of InDesign. When I was working at Travel Agent Magazine, I had to use it, but only for content edits and minor formatting changes. I learned as I went, and there wasn’t any time to learn more than I absolutely had to. Plus, it’s been over a year since I’ve done even that much in InDesign. I had to first re-acquaint myself with the program and figure other things out. Fortunately, I’m skilled in QuarkXPress, so it’s not like I don’t know anything about layout programs at all. But Quark is different from InDesign.

Anyway, it’s taking me forever because I’m doing everything–checking layout, proofing content, correcting layout, correcting content, then I have to redo the Index, table of contents, and check all cross-referenced material throughout the book. I’m totally experiencing deja vu because I already did all of this. But here I am, doing it all again. I’m so grateful that I have someone helping me proof the copy. That’s taking plenty off my plate.

In the meantime, everything else is on hold. Work on my second cookbook, work on my novel and short stories, and the floor needs a good sweeping. I did, however, manage to do a few loads of laundry. I had no choice. I’m going  to be on the road starting Sunday and I need clean clothes.

So, I’m going back to the task at hand. I’m hoping that by next week, I’ll be able to tell you that everything went fabulously and my beautiful new cookbook will be available soon.

I’m sick of the snow, and I’m sure you are, too. So, I’m going to wish you all an end to winter, a quick leap into spring, and a wonderful week ahead.

Hang loose.

Hi, kids. I’m having a hectic week working on two different cookbooks at two different stages. First, let me talk about the first book. What, No Meat? is finally close to being finished. Not just yet, but close. My publisher, Rogue Books (an imprint of Bedazzled Ink) fell way behind schedule and even though I contracted with them last summer, I’m only now seeing the proof. The fact that it took so long in and of itself doesn’t upset me. What upsets me is that we missed the Christmas shopping season. Christmas is THE prime buying season for cookbooks because people buy them as gifts. I take partial responsibility for this because this is Bedazzled’s first cookbook and I knew about the Christmas season thing, yet didn’t say anything. Honestly, I didn’t think I needed to say anything because I kept thinking that it would be out by that time. By the time it dawned on me that it wouldn’t, it was too late to say anything. Don’t get me wrong, I did keep checking in from time to time, but I should have been more aggressive about it.

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Hi, all. Well, I got word the other day that my cookbook will not be ready to be released by Christmas. This means that I will miss out on potential Christmas sales. So, for example, anyone who’s browing Amazon or Barnes & Noble for a gift for Aunt Mary might say, “Oh, look at this cook Italian vegetarian cookbook. Aunt Mary would love that. But, oh, it won’t be available by Christmas. Let me look for something else.” (By the way, I don’t know what’s up with my book cover here. Either it comes out cut off, or I have to make it teeny tiny. )

Actually, to make Christmas sales, it should have been out by now. My publisher, which has a very small staff, had some set-backs in their schedule and they’re struggling to catch up. And, unfortunately, that’s the way it goes in publishing sometimes. People get inundated, schedules go off-track, and unanticipated problems arise. There’s not much to be done about it except to make the best of the circumstances. Although, I’m not really sure what that means right now.

I’m determined to finish the testing of my second cookbook by the end of the year. Or, at least most of it. I’m sure I’ll have few remaining recipes after January 1, but I can deal with that. I’ve spent so many years working on this one that I’m sick of it. I want it done. I think it’s going to be a really good book, but, seriously, enough is enough!

I have a couple more book ideas on the back burner, so I’m anxious to get on those, too. I’d be happy if I could spend my life developing recipes and writing cookbooks, but I’m not Julia Child so I don’t foresee being able to pay by bills like that. So, I’m focusing this weekend on some resumes and cover letters. Doing those always depresses me because I know that each job I apply for will have hundreds of others vying for that same position. And I always end up wondering, “What the hell are they looking for? What do those other people have that I don’t?”

Resumes and cover letters are not easy. Each one has to be tailored to each specific job and it sometimes takes me a couple of hours to tweak them for a particular job. And I get the sense that I’m doing it all for nothing. I always feel that my resume will just end up on the reject pile along with the others. Over and over and over. At the end of a “resume day,” I always end up depressed and, sometimes, crying. Then, I dread doing it again. I mean, it becomes like torture to sit down and do them. So, I put it off. I’ve put it off for a while now. Mind you, there hasn’t been much available, which depresses me even more.

But a couple of job openings came up that I can handle, so I’m going to spend some time applying. I have to. Because when the question “Have you been looking?”  invariably comes up, I have to be able to honestly say “yes.” Certainly, nothing will happen if I do nothing.

On a more pleasant note, I made gluten-free chocolate-hazelnut cake and chocolate chip-hazelnut cookies, and even people who are put off by the term “gluten-free” had to admit that they were damn good. Alas, I neglected to take pictures of them.   I decorated the edge of the cake with mini nonpareils and put edible holly in the center. It was really pretty. Oh, well.

So, that’s where I am right now. I hope you all have a great weekend and coming week. See you next time.

Nonpareil photo: www.Dylanscandybar.com

I was stunned when I heard the news that Gourmet magazine is shutting its doors. It has been a staple of the culinary world since 1940. We’ve suffered a lot of losses this past year, and companies that have been around for decades (or longer) have said their goodbyes.

But, as shocked as I was, if any foodie magazine was going fall prey to economic hard times, I’m not really surprised that it was Gourmet.

And here’s why.

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Hi, all. To celebrate the impending re-issue of What, No Meat? Traditional Italian Cooking the Vegetarian Way, I’m giving away a free copy. This is the original edition published at Booklocker, usually going for $22-24. Here’s the description:
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