Publishers send lots of cookbooks to food bloggers, hoping for publicity. If you choose to write about a book, they might supply images and recipes. If you’re not going to write about it, they might say: how about a shoutout on social media?
Do you owe them something in exchange for this free book? If so, what?
This is an area of confusion for many food bloggers. You want to be nice and do the right thing. But understand that, first of all, you owe them nothing.
Even if you requested a book, you are entitled to read it and decide not to share it with your readers. You are entitled to not like it. You are even entitled to have it sit on your nightstand for a month and not get to it (been there).
Here are some guidelines for how you might respond:
1. Shoutouts have rules.
If you decide that at the very least, you’ll give the book a shout-out on social media, understand that a shoutout is a form of promotion. In the US, that means you must say that you received the book for free. You must add this disclosure to your tweet or Instagram photo or any other online service (and to your post). I see lots of “look what arrived on my doorstep” photos, implying the blogger got the book for free. I’ve done them too.
2. If you write a post, be mostly enthusiastic. Mostly.
If you decide to write a post, study the reviews on Piglet for how to approach it. Also read the reviews of Susan T. Chang. Both are critiques, and they show you how to write a review that is not 100 percent positive. Those are the best reviews for readers.
Bloggers are more likely to promote. Yes, you hope that when your cookbook comes out, that other bloggers will promote yours too. But that has nothing to do with your readers. Promotion leads to gushing, which no one wants to read.
I assume you will not write about a book unless you like it. Make your post 70 to 90 percent positive, not 100. Include what you would have liked or what was left out, or what didn’t work when you tried a recipe. You’ll see that the Piglet reviews can be diplomatic and funny. They’re not about trashing a book. You want to tell your reader how you feel, which is: mostly enthusiastic.
3. Test the recipes.
Make at least three recipes so you can write about the book in an informed way. Otherwise, why would anyone trust what you have to say? If you would like to adapt a recipe to suit it to your taste, say what you changed in the headnote. Some publishers will give you a few photos from the book to use, and permission to republish certain recipes. If you don’t want to use the ones they selected, let them know. If they won’t let you use the recipes you like, consider whether it’s worth reviewing the cookbook.
4. Pick the right cookbook for your readers.
The publisher might send a second copy for a giveaway, which is a great way to drive readers to your site. Choose carefully. Does your vegan audience want to read about a cookbook with only a few appropriate recipes? Should your blog, which covers “food” in all its glory, include a post on an allergy-free cookbook?
So that’s my list. Do you write about cookbooks on your blog? If so, what else should we discuss? I’ve also written about giveaways, who buys cookbooks and why, and what makes a good cookbook review. Not to mention 5 Dumb Reasons to Write About Products, and Separating Hype, Opinion and Journalism. Clue me in to other issues I might have missed.
(Thanks to Traca Savadogo for suggesting this topic. Photo courtesy of bplanet at Free Digital Photos.net.)
Interesting info! I always look forward to the Piglet but my gripe with those reviews is that some of the people writing about the books do not try at least three recipes as you advise. Seems tough to judge a book based on one or two.
I agree. Maybe it’s hard for them to make six recipes in a tight timeframe, because they’re always comparing two books. Or maybe secretly they don’t want to make anything in one of the books! They don’t get to choose.
I made the mistake in the early days of accepting review copies for books that don’t fit my brand or I didn’t think it through and they weren’t good. I didn’t promote them.
But for the most part, I’ve gotten some gorgeous books that I was more than happy to promote. I will always make a recipe from the book and photograph it to make sure readers can see how it transfers to my home kitchen. I think there is such freedom in not having to love 100% of everything about the book. My most successful give away from an Irish Cookbook for St. Patrick’s Day. That was fun to promote!
The reviews I have loved reading that make me want to buy the book, tell me something about the author that charms me, and give a good summary of what I can expect to find. I want to hear about a variety of recipes and get a good picture of that author’s food view. I don’t mean a list, but if the blogger can make those titles come to life, dance a little, I’m much more likely to buy that book.
Yes, maybe at the beginning it’s thrilling to receive free cookbooks that you can give away to your friends if you don’t want to feature them, but after a while it gets old.
Good for you for not loving everything. I don’t know why so many blogger fear that. I love your list of what should go into a review.
Re making recipes, do you feel you can really talk about the book if you’ve only tested one? I suppose most people don’t want to do the work of testing more.
That being said. How would I, as an author of a self-published cookbook, approach a food blogger in hopes of getting a bit of publicity on their blog? Has there been an approach that has made you feel more respected and inclined to write a blurb or display a picture?
I’m in that position now. I find self-promotion difficult so need to reach out to other foodies that reach a lot of people but want to do it professionally and eloquently.
Self-promotion is definitely hard. I would talk with others who have self-published books to find out how they did promotion. See my section on self-publishing.
It’s nice if you have friends who have vowed to post about your book. Or your book is about a certain genre, like paleo, and has something new to offer. If so, you can send it to paleo bloggers, of course. But if it’s a general cookbook for general bloggers, that will be tougher.
Hi Diane
I read the reviews on Piglet and they definitely do help. I was raised with the thought if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all. So it really is hard to put into words sometimes what you don’t like because you don’t want to be mean, but at the same time you want to give an honest review. Plus i agree, wouldn’t want someone bashing my cookbook when it comes out. 🙂
It’s not a question of being mean or bashing. But keep in mind that your loyalty is to the reader, not the author of the book or the publishing house, and the reader deserves your honesty. I agree that it can be difficult, but most authors don’t expect all write-ups about their books to be 100 percent positive, because that would be unrealistic.
Thank you for that link to Piglet. New to me. I never realized how satisfying and informative it could be to read well-crafted cookbook reviews. I especially liked the one by Melissa Block (of NPR renown) comparing Olives, Lemon and Zatar and My Paris Kitchen and then Kate Christensen’s take on My Paris Kitchen and Smashing Plates. Totally put me in their kitchens.
Oh good. Yes, they do a really good job.
You might also read the reviews of Susan T. Chang. Here’s an example: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/bryan-voltaggios-home-reviewed-not-as-easy-as-it-ought-to-be/2015/04/06/560df75e-d7ec-11e4-ba28-f2a685dc7f89_story.html
Great advice here, Dianne. I started reviewing cookbooks (and other titles) back in the early 90s when I wrote a newspaper column. I think it’s important to present a well balanced review and, most certainly, if a recipe you’ve tested hasn’t worked, it’s important to speak the truth, in a diplomatic fashion. That said, I’m not one to be overly critical, bearing in mind the huge amount of dedication and hard work that goes into writing and publishing a book : )
There’s no need to be overly critical, Liz, but readers do expect you to be honest. Well-balanced reviews are the best, as you say.
Your comments here are needed by food writers in general, Dianne. Thank you for setting the process straight.
Thank you, Toni! I’m thrilled to have you as a reader of my blog.
It’s true that you can’t give a fair review of a cookbook without trying at least three recipes. But, I simply don’t have time to make three recipes from every cookbook that I receive and I know that I can’t be alone in that. My readers can still trust me because I don’t claim that I’ve baked many things from the book. I talk about ways that the book inspired me as a baker and share a recipe (either directly from the book with permission) or inspired by the book. It’s not a true review, but it still brings exposure to the book and most authors/publishers that I have worked with have been happy.
Yeah, it’s more work, I agree.
You mentioned that you are giving exposure for the book. That is the job of the pr person, to promote and publicize the book. It is not your job as a blogger. Your job is to tell your readers why you liked the book. If you didn’t actually make a recipe, how do you know? The other information you mention is relevant to any book, but since we’re talking about cookbooks here, and recipes are the most important part of cookbooks, it seems odd to leave out your opinion of how they work.
I don’t doubt that the authors and publishers are happy with your reviews. It’s probably because you are not critical. I’m not picking on you here — this is true of most bloggers. I just don’t think it’s your job to make them happy at the expense of readers. The best of both worlds would be to make everyone happy — readers, publicists and authors — but most important is the reader.
There are some books that I know that I like even if I haven’t made a single recipe. I like the beautiful photos. I like the writing style and the information presented. I like the creative ideas. There are books that I think my readers should know about whether or not I have made three recipes from them or a single from them. I don’t think that not making three recipes from the book hurts my readers. Yes, I could do more. But, I believe that telling them about a resource that excites me is better for everyone than not mentioning it due to lack of time.
Thanks Stefani!
I, as a self-published cookbook author trying to obtain some exposure for my book, was discouraged thinking that people I sent my book to wouldn’t be able to make a judgment without trying 3 recipes. I spent so much effort researching the health benefits of my ingredients, the varietals of my produce, gardening tips, etc. I also spent a huge effort designing and photographing, thinking about what would be attractive and interesting to my readers. So much more went into it than what pops out of the oven.
Do you think it would be appropriate when looking for a review to ask that the cookbook be reviewed on a basis other than the result of recipes understanding that trying the recipes is labor intensive for the reviewer?
I would love a review of my cookbook. I think anyone could say a lot about it without trying the recipes. For a sneak peek see it at: http://www.amazon.com/Meet-My-Beet-Merry-Gardener/dp/1578336015/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1428765935&sr=1-1&keywords=Meet+My+Beet
These are good points, Marie, and remind me that a cookbook is about more than just the recipes. But on the other hand, a cookbook is all about recipes and they are the focus.
I don’t think it’s appropriate to ask for anything when requesting a review. Suggesting that a blogger not test your recipes would only arouse suspicion. Choose bloggers who write good posts about cookbooks, and those who would most likely be interested in yours.
Hi Dianne – thank you for this post. I’m currently reviewing a cookbook that’s very difficult – it has a lot of issues (for example, recipes don’t include serving size, instructions are not structured in a logical way, book lacks focus, etc.) I’m in the process of making recipes from it (agree that you have to make a least a couple of recipes to do an honest review), but I’ve been agonizing because I really don’t like the book. I was wondering if I should still write the review or at least reach out to the publisher to share it beforehand, but after reading this post maybe I have no obligation to do that? They sent me a pre-production copy, so it’s not like I got a high quality book. Also, I really don’t want to share a mostly negative review on my site – really doesn’t add value for my readers. Appreciate your insight if you get a chance to respond —
Wow, that sounds like a hot mess. If your review will be more than 50 percent negative, the only time to publish that is if it’s a big star who can take it. Otherwise, it’s best not to review, I agree. Generally most reviews are at least 60 percent positive.
Thank you! I think, out of courtesy, I will reach out to the publisher and let them know why I’m not publishing a review. Really appreciate your help!
Unless you promised them a review, you are under no obligation to tell them anything. In fact, I’m not sure how much they will appreciate it.