Everything Cookbooks

Andrea and Molly chat with journalist and food writer Charlotte Druckman to find out more about what it means to create "good" work and how to measure success. Charlotte shares where her love of cookbooks began, the invention of the Piglet awards and how she feels about "Tastemakers". She reveals why we shouldn't take awards too seriously, her dislike of categories and the fallacy of objectivity....

Kate and Andrea chat with cookbook critic Paula Forbes whose reviews have run in Eater, Epicurious, Lucky Peach and Food52. She shares how she got started on her career path, how she selects books to review and what she loves to see in a book (hint:charts!). She describes her audience, the affect bad reviews have on book sales and how writing her own cookbook affected her critiques. Finally, she r...

Molly leads today's discussion with Andrea, Kate and Kristin through the opaque world of book sales. They talk about the challenges of getting accurate numbers, NPD BookScan, frontlist vs backlist titles and what makes a book "successful". They provide insights on improving sales as authors, Amazon rankings and the dangers of constantly refreshing. Finally, Kate shares a recent cookbook she's been...

Molly and Kristin have a quick chat with surprise guest, Jenna Kutcher. Jenna is a photographer, podcaster, entrepreneur and her debut book "How are you Really?" is available now wherever books are sold. She shares her approach to writing, her thoughts behind the "why" of ambition and some of the strategies behind her unique approach to promoting her debut. She also explains how she honed her writ...

On today's episode Molly, Andrea, Kristin and Kate sit down to answer listener submitted questions. They tackle everything from title choices, choosing an agent, becoming a recipe tester, stolen ideas and trusting yourself as an author. Finally, each host reveals a key concept they've learned from the last 15 episodes. Hosts: Kate Leahy + Andrea Nguyen + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly Editor: Ab...

Molly and Kate chat all things food writing with Dianne Jacob, freelance writing coach, editor and the author of "Will Write for Food" . Dianne shares her career trajectory and insights into crafting the four editions of her book throughout an ever evolving food media landscape. She believes the craft of writing is foundational and tells us why some bloggers are scared of her, the importance of vo...

Kate starts off today's chat recounting some event horror stories while Kristin, Molly and Andrea chime in with some of their own. They discuss publicity timelines, tips for getting comfortable with self-promotion and insights into how to expand an audience. They share how involved the publisher can be in book promotion, what has changed since 2020 and sing the praises of librarians and bookseller...

Kristin learns more about life behind the lens as she interviews author, photographer and food stylist Yossy Arefi. Yossy shares her career origins, her habit of self motivated learning and how she uses her food stylist talents as a photographer. She describes the unglamorous side of a shoot and provides some insights into the cover selection process before sharing the upcoming photography trends...

Kristin leads today's conversation about photography, its importance in the world of cookbooks and how it can bring a book to life. Molly, Kate and Andrea join in with their own stories of shoots gone wrong, how to find the right photographer, what all is included in the photo budget and the (sometimes contentious) cover image selection process. Finally, Molly shares a book all about the evolution...

Molly gets more insight into the cookbook design process as she talks with Alice Chau, former Senior Designer at Chronicle Books and now independent designer and art director. Alice shares what her first step into a project is, how to balance various inputs and all the elements to juggle when creating the look and mood of a cookbook. With a unique educational background, she shares how she got sta...

Molly leads the conversation about the design process, one of the more mystifying stops on a cookbook's journey to publication. With Andrea, Kate and Kristin's expertise, the discussion covers elements like trim size, typeface, bindings and paper stock as well as what to look out for in regards to form and function before revealing some personal experiences, regrets and advice. Finally, Andrea sha...

Andrea dives further into the editing process during her interview with Jennifer Sit, Executive Editor at Clarkson Potter which is an imprint of Penguin Random House. With over 12 years of experience working with both new authors and household names, Jennifer shares her insights into the author/editor/publisher dynamic and how she approaches these relationships to ensure a successful book. She tel...

Andrea leads today's deep dive into the editing stage of cookbook creation. Molly, Kate and Kristin each share their rituals, processes and insights as they discuss the different kinds of editing, how much leeway authors have and how to cope when tensions rise. We hear some personal editing woes and saves as well as learn all the final small yet essential elements that go into a polished end produ...

Andrea learns more about the visual side of recipe writing as she talks with Nom Nom Paleo's Michelle Tam. Michelle shares how her work is a family affair, the process of designing the unique format of her recipes and how her previous career influences her current one. She explains her thoughts about unique content creation for her various platforms and how the pandemic shaped the latest project....

Kristin gets into the fundamentals of recipe writing as she chats with Tina Ujlaki, her mentor and the former executive editor at Food & Wine magazine. Tina explains her recipe writing philosophy, how testing can be the antithesis to cooking and the what bothers her about the format's evolution. She shares her thoughts on voice, headnotes, titles and the top 3 things to do before sharing recipes w...

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 attri...

Andrea leads today's chat about selling a cookbook and all the nitty gritty elements that go into it. Kristen, Molly and Kate share some of their own insights and lessons learned about advances, royalties, contract negotiation, and how to keep the right amount of tension there. They discuss how to gauge the value of your idea, morality clauses and what to look out for when looking over a contract....

Kristin leads today's discussion all about the cookbook proposal, sharing her own first experience with the process. Molly, Kate and Andrea each describe their own firsts as well as how they format their more recent versions. They review all of the elements that go into a proposal, the three vital things to highlight, how long the process can take and how a project can morph as it leads into its f...

Molly starts out today's episode with an interview with Rica Allannic, a literary agent with editing experience. Then, Kristin and Kate share how they've navigated their own agent relationships while Andrea explains how she works without one. We get into the many roles of an agent, how to find one and the things to look out for as one moves along in their career. Finally, Andrea shares a recipe wr...

Kate leads today's discussion on the most important question to ask before you sit down to write your cookbook: Should you write a cookbook? Molly, Andrea and Kristin share their individual journeys as authors and provide some insights into what goes on behind the decision to move forward with a project. They chat about the importance of hustle, platform and studying the elements in your favorite...

Welcome to Everything Cookbooks! A podcast for curious writers, readers and cooks. Hosted by four experienced cookbook authors, this show will take you behind the scenes of the cookbook creation process. Each episode is an in-depth dive into what it takes to produce a finished cookbook and is full of insights, advice, tips and wisdom. Hosts: Kate Leahy + Andrea Nguyen + Molly Stevens + Kristin Don...