writing cookbooks

How to Write Award-Winning Cookbooks

March 22, 2022 by diannejacob 3 Comments

A guest post by Barbara Abdeni Massaad

When I decided to write and photograph my first book, Man’oushé: Inside the Street Corner Lebanese Bakery, I had no experience in writing books or taking professional food and location photos to document my journey. I come from a kitchen background. My cooking career started in the 1980s in a family-owned restaurant in Fort, Lauderdale, Florida, called Kebabs & Things.

Serving and cooking for customers was an important experience in my life. Years later, I would go on to train in restaurants in Beirut, Lebanon, where I moved a few years later. Now, I am the author of five cookbooks, many of which have won awards.

image for post on winning cookbook awards

Accepting my award for Man’oushé, my first cookbook, from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards in 2015. I did both the writing and the photography.

Here are my insights on how to write award-winning cookbooks:

1. Don’t ever let anyone undermine your dreams.

The idea to write about food started with an obsession: living through a journey in Italy and learning about pizza-making. Upon deep reflection, I took a [Read more…] about How to Write Award-Winning Cookbooks

The Power of Peg Bracken’s Voice in “The Compleat I Hate to Cook Book”

August 15, 2017 by diannejacob 14 Comments

We’ve forgotten about the 1960s cookbook The Compleat I Hate to Cook Book and Peg Bracken’s voice, which is a shame. This book sold more than 3 million copies, and now you can now buy it used for as little as $2.50.

And I recommend you do so, immediately.

If you wonder what differentiates you from every other food writer or blogger in the universe, the answer is waiting for you in this cheeky, chatty cookbook that women bought in droves. It’s Peg Bracken’s voice.

Do You Think of Food Writing As a Business?

October 18, 2016 by diannejacob 10 Comments

Andy Schloss makes a 6-figure income as food writer despite the fact that he spends no time on social media.

Andy Schloss does. His business income has stayed steady for the last 30 years, hovering around $100,000 annually. He also thinks of his career in business terms, not as someone who works for fun, where income is secondary.

The bottom line: Andy has stayed on top financially because he shifts his food writing work as the market changes.

I had the opportunity to learn from Andy as part of a podcast panel on food writing and money. Andy moderated the panel for the Symposium for Professional Food Writers. A former chef and newspaper columnist, he is also the author of two dozen cookbooks. Plus he’s a [Read more…] about Do You Think of Food Writing As a Business?

When a Reader Found a Cookbook Error

August 23, 2016 by diannejacob 50 Comments

Ever tried a mac and cheese pizza? It’s fantastic! If you have the correct recipe. Ouch. (Photo by Jeff Kauck)

An email arrived about an error. It was the kind all cookbook authors all dread. Someone was making the Mac and Cheese Pizza recipe in the cookbook I co-wrote, The United States of Pizza. But something was wrong.

Here’s the recipe error the writer pointed out:

“The ingredient list calls for [Read more…] about When a Reader Found a Cookbook Error

Please Don’t “Dumb Down” a Recipe

July 19, 2016 by diannejacob 43 Comments

Is this how you think of your target reader?

Some food writers tell me indignantly, “I’m not dumbing down a recipe!” They think it’s insulting to to simplify their three-layer cake recipe or a lasagna with 20 steps.

They think their readers should want to cook exactly the way they do.

Here’s the thing:

Your readers are not you. They don’t have your skills. They don’t cook as much. They don’t want to [Read more…] about Please Don’t “Dumb Down” a Recipe

Beautiful Cookbooks with Stories and Personality Sell Best, Says Editor

September 15, 2015 by diannejacob 29 Comments

Ten Speed editorial director Julie Bennett says readers want to learn more about the personality of cookbook authors through their lives, world, culture and food.

I’ve been bugging Julie Bennett, vice president and editorial director at Ten Speed Press, for an interview, ever since we met at a conference a year ago.

It’s because Ten Speed publishes so many terrific cookbooks. As the director of the editorial department, Julie manages nine editors who will put out approximately 70 books this year. She has worked at Ten Speed since 1999.

Julie edited New York Times best selling cookbooks Super Natural Every Day by Heidi Swanson and My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz, and A New Napa Cuisine by Christopher Kostow (IACP Cookbook of the Year), just to name a few.

We talked about cookbook publishing trends, whether all cookbooks need color photos, and what she looks for:

Q. What are the latest trends in cookbook publishing?

A. Today cookbooks have more of a personal narrative element. The trend of blogger-to-book ties into it, and there are cookbook writers who have a lot to say.

There are so many recipes online, but books present readers with [Read more…] about Beautiful Cookbooks with Stories and Personality Sell Best, Says Editor

If You Can’t Write Truly Great Recipes, be Honest, says Veteran Editor

September 9, 2014 by diannejacob 19 Comments

Rux Martin in her kitchen with some of the books she’s edited. (Photo by Barry Estabrook.)

I met cookbook editor Rux Martin years ago, before she got an imprint in her own name. Now she is Editorial Director of Rux Martin Books at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

She specializes in cookbooks, narrative nonfiction on food, and diet books. She has worked with Dorie Greenspan, Mollie Katzen, Jacques Pépin, and Ruth Reichl, to name just a few, and has edited New York Times bestsellers including The Gourmet Cookbook; Hello, Cupcake!; [Read more…] about If You Can’t Write Truly Great Recipes, be Honest, says Veteran Editor