We're back and starting off Season 6 with grab bag of topics with all our hosts. Kristin, Molly, Kate and Andrea discuss the pros and cons of the (potentially overfull) Fall cookbook season and how to emotionally prepare but keep expectations realistic on pub day while prioritizing celebration. We share our insights and experiences on contracts, printed errors, correction pages and wade into some existential territory as we discuss optional ingredients in recipe writing before diving back into one of our favorite topics, platform. Finally, we talk about the the current cookbook trends we're loving, upcoming releases we're looking forward to and court some potential controversy with our thoughts on pumpkin spice.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Monique of Hardcover Cooks

The Bojon Gourmet Pumpkin Spice Mix

Cookbook Chronicles: The Science and Art and of Recipe Development, by Martin Sorge

If Desired, by Joy Manning

The Truth About Platform, by Kathleen Schmidt

Kristin Donnelly's Newsletter

52: Matt Sartwell of Kitchen Arts and Letters

100: Advice from Our Listeners and Season 5 Wrap-Up

42: How to Write Recipe Titles

93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

69: Writing a Menu Cookbook with Amy Thielen

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book by Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry
• Banjan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides by Caroline Choe
• The Chinese Way by Betty Liu

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