Originally aired on April 13, 2022

Kate leads today's discussion about the recipe development, curation and testing that go into creating a cookbook. Andrea, Molly and Kristin each share their individual recipe writing processes and the tools used behind the scenes to keep everything organized. They discuss sticking to theme, finding your audience and what can take away from the magic of cooking as well as the juggling act of attribution and importance of recipe testers. Finally, Molly tells us about a recent cookbook that has her inspired.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions:

• Kristin spreadsheet template
• Bryan Ford

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

• Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes & Rituals from the Soul of Colombia, by Marian Velásquez

Kate, Molly, Andrea and Kristin begin the episode with an apology about a technical snafu that plagued our website's Contact page and some corrections. They go through some listener questions and discuss copyeditors and the other roles editors can play, share advice, ideas, theories and encouragements about a range of topics, share insights on how to survive the submission process and thoughts on genre mash-ups. This episode closes out Season 8 but we'll be back very soon with Season 9! Thank you for listening and participating!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Kristin Donnelly's Cookbook Coaching Services

Will This Make You Happy, by Tanya Bush

KitchenBookshelf on Instagram

CultFlave on YouTube

The Marketing Hustle Podcast Episode 70: Building a Global Brand Without Paid Media: The CMO behind Ottolenghi’s Growth Strategy

Publishers Marketplace

Sally Ekus' Substack

Jenna Helwig's Substack

Episode 122: Start With Who

Episode 137: Being a Cookbook Editor with Sarah Billingsley of Chronicle Books

Episode 158: Cookbook Marketing and Publicity with Brianne Sperber and Felix Cruz

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

• Dirt Candy by Amanda Cohen
• Heartland Masala by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon Mukharji
• Will This Make You Happy, by Tanya Bush

Kristin and Molly speak with journalist and cookbook co-author Korsha Wilson about her experiences in the world of food media. Korsha shares the magazine that sparked her initial interest, her educational approach and a behind the scenes look at some of her projects. She talks about her evolving views on recipes, what her hopes are for her work and how she approaches the research portion of a project. She discusses weaving together the design and content portions of a book, the process of mimicking voices in a collaboration along with establishing her own before sharing some freelancing insights and a peek into her upcoming project, ending the episode with advice she has for aspiring food writers.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Korsha Wilson

• Website
• A Hungry Society Podcast
• Instagram

What a Food Trip to Ghana Taught Me About My Black American Identity, by Korsha Wilson

Honeysuckle

Episode 108: Live at Cookbook Fest: Toriano Gordon and Anna Voloshnya

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

• Ghana to the World, by Eric Adjepong with Korsha Wilson
• Vegan Mob, by Toriano Gordon with Korsha Wilson

Molly and Kristin speak about merging the physical act of cooking with emotional and spiritual intentionality with Nicki Sizemore, the author of Mind, Body, Spirit, Food. Nicki shares her personal journey and the life changing process she went through that eventually led to this new focus. Battling creative burnout and the uninspired work of writing for the algorithm, Nicki learned to tune into her body, prioritize pleasure and get creative which eventually transformed her blog into a newsletter, podcast and this book. She talks about the thought behind its specific release date, the innovative recipe variations, mindful intentions, design and photography process and her aversion to the word 'wellness'. She then discusses her thoughts on audience outreach, promotion, the power of intentionality and the ripple effect of nourishment before leaving us with some advice.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Nicki Sizemore

• Substack
• Blog
• Podcast
• Instagram

Storey Publishing

These Cookbooks Explore the Link Between Mindful Cooking and Self-Care by Jamie Feldmar

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

• Mind, Body, Spirit, Food, by Nicki Sizemore
• Build-A-Bowl, by Nicki Sizemore
• Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker, by Nicki Sizemore

Molly and Kate speak with Anna Ansari, a London based Iranian American writer, about her new book Silk Roads and the major career shift that brought it about. A former customs attorney, Anna takes us from her childhood in Michigan to a stint in Beijing where she discovered Uyghur cuisine and how a move to the UK precipitated an interest in cooking and food writing. She shares how she got interested in this particular topic and geographic location, what the research process was like and what went into crafting her writing voice. She explains the thought behind the pitch and proposal, the process of recipe curation and research and why she decided to package the book the way it is before touching on the marketing and promotion strategy and what she is working on next.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Anna Ansari

• Website
• Instagram
• Substack

Bibliography for Silk Roads (scroll to the bottom)

MiGrateful organization

Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing, by Anna Ansari

Home Food, Olia Hercules

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

• Silk Roads: A Flavor Odyssey with Recipes from Baku to Beijing by Anna Ansari
• Home Food by Olia Hercules

Kristin and Kate get the inside scoop on all things marketing and publicity as they speak to the 'dream team' who worked on Kristin's recent book Turtle Island. Brianne Sperber and Felix Cruz — associate director of marketing for Clarkson Potter and Ten Speed Press and publicist for the same— discuss their specific roles and approaches to cookbook promotion. They touch on the differences between marketing and publicity, the role events have in promoting a book and share a peek behind the curtain at the decisions, meetings, timeline and teams that go into a project. They share invaluable insights into their thought process, what authors can contribute to a campaign and how they hope to work with them throughout the long game and moment to moment demands of a media blitz. They speak about tailoring messaging to an audience, the cheerleading role they often play and how they approach a collaborative relationship with all the moving parts involved in a book's life span.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Sean Sherman on Daily Show

Episode 36: Celebrating Colombia with Mariana Velásquez

Link in Bio substack

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

• Turtle Island, by Sean Sherman. Kate Nelson & Kristin Donnelly
• The SalviSoul Cookbook by Karla Tatiana Vasquez
• Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts by Crystal Wilkinson
• Bread of Angels by Patti Smith
• Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
• Revel by Mariana Velásquez

Andrea and Kate speak with Helen Goh about her thirty years of working in the food and hospitality industry and why she chose now to write her first solo book. She speaks about her time working with the Ottolenghi brand, her hesitation at embarking on a solo venture and the pros and cons of working alone or partnered. She's had many evolutions in the personal and professional spheres and talks about finding freedom in her work and her thoughts behind this book; its title, organization and how her psychology background informed its creation. She ends by sharing what baking means to her— its role in rituals and traditions— and ends with her experience juggling both of her careers, the cerebral and the tangible.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Helen Goh

• Guardian Column
• Instagram
  

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

• Baking and the Meaning of Life with Helen Goh
• Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh

Molly and Andrea speak with the iconic culinary historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris about her career and newest work, Braided Heritage. After discussing the 'more' than recipes that make a cookbook a cookbook, Dr. Harris also shares why this book is important at this point and what interested her about this topic and format. She speaks about the backbeat that motivated the entire project, how she went about commissioning stories and recipes from other people and why each genre she writes in requires her to wear a different hat. She talks about the long process of the book's creation, how her experience in academia informed it, the advice she has for future generations and her thoughts on being labeled an 'activist'.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Jessica Harris

• Instagram

High on the Hog Netflix Show

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

• Braided Heritage by Jessica Harris
• High on the Hog by Jessica Harris
• A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook by Jessica Harris
• Iron Pots & Wooden Spoons by Jessica Harris
• more Jessica Harris titles here