No. 3: How do cookbooks get made?
Plus February's smorgasbord featuring ghostwritten memoirs, low-ABV sips, and gentle wake-up calls
On average, it takes two years to make a cookbook. That’s a standard, comfortable timeline between signing a contract and seeing a book in stores, and it’s the one we editors give authors to set realistic expectations. In our increasingly digital world where instant gratification abounds, that timeline seems to surprise a lot of people. And I get it. What takes so long?
I figured it might be fun (for me) and interesting (for you, hopefully?) to share more about what goes on behind the scenes during those two-ish years, and to reveal how a cookbook gets made. But to really paint a picture, let’s start from the very beginning, from the moment an idea pops into someone’s head.
So: An author has a dynamite idea for a cookbook. What then?
Author creates a book proposal: In the world of nonfiction, you don’t have to write a manuscript before submitting your book idea. All you need is a proposal that clearly outlines your idea, with an overview, a book table of contents, a sample chapter or selection of recipes, and your bio. And that’s pretty much it! Once authors have a working proposal, they can start submitting it to literary agents in the hopes of finding representation.
Many publishing houses don’t accept book proposals without agent representation, and the ones that do (like the house I work at), usually won’t pay as high an advance for unagented submissions. Agents charge a ~15% fee of the total amount the book sells for, but even with that taken into account, an author is likely to get more money if an agent is in their corner (and of course, they’re more likely to get published at all!).
Agent shops the proposal: A good agent will help an author hone their proposal before sending it out widely to various editors they think might be intrigued. The agent will then set up calls with interested editors so the author can meet them, and evaluate which team and publishing house feel like the right fit.
Editor evaluates the proposal: Editors receive multiple book proposals per week. We read and evaluate them, and bring anything we’re excited about to our weekly editorial meeting, and then to our acquisition meeting to discuss with the entire team. If we want to move forward, we’ll ask the agent to set up a call so we can meet the author.
Generally, we look for cookbooks:
With a strong hook (a unique concept, a steal-the-show title, both; a distinct perspective, a great story…)
With a good value proposition (versatile recipes, will teach you a skill…)
By an author with legitimate credentials and a platform of some kind, such as a popular newsletter, a large social media following, a TV show in the works, etc.
Editor/s make an offer: Assuming the team discussions and author call go well, editors prepare to make an offer. We put together a profit & loss statement to determine how much money we can reasonably afford to pay for the project, and make our case internally to get approval from the powers that be. Then we draft up an offer letter. In addition to spelling out terms for the project, offer letters are often a declaration of passion and commitment to the author, and a sales pitch: Here’s why our house is the right house for you. Once sent, editors sit tight and hope for good news from the agent, which, if we’re really jazzed about a competitive project, can be a nail-biting few hours or days.
Sometimes, books go to auction: If a proposal doesn’t get much interest the first go-round, the author and agent might revise the proposal and try again. Often, a project will get some interest, and one or two editors might make an offer to buy it. Occasionally, a project will get A LOT of interest, which leads to a book auction.
Auction rules vary, but essentially, all interested editors submit an offer at the same time, and each editor is given a chance to top the highest bid, which continues in rounds until every house has submitted their best and final offer. The agent will negotiate better terms on behalf of the author, and ultimately advise them to accept one (usually the highest bid, though sometimes it comes down to the house the author is most excited about or the editor they liked best).
I always feel like the process of meeting an author who has a popular proposal is a little like sorority rush: You want to put your best self forward; you’re competing, but against whom you don’t know; and it’s not just a question of whether they like you, but also of whether you like them. The evaluation goes both ways.
Once you have an accepted offer in hand, it’s officially a “done deal.” Whew!
Author writes the book: Time to actually write the book! On average, we give authors 9-12 months to allow plenty of time for research and writing and, in the case of cookbooks, testing recipes with seasonal ingredients. Partway through the writing process, the author sends pages to their editor for feedback and a progress check-in.
Book gets a copyedit: The author delivers their final manuscript on the agreed-upon date. The editor does a developmental edit, reviewing for structural, organizational, and big picture issues. Once major queries are resolved, we send the manuscript out to a freelance copyeditor who does a line edit for grammar, punctuation, etc.
Art + Design: We send the cleaned-up manuscript over to our colleagues in Design, who make it look pretty. If the author isn’t delivering photography or illustrations themselves, our Design team will commission the art. For cookbooks, this often entails a multi-day photoshoot in a studio and/or on location. Designers then flow the text into PDF layouts, incorporate the art program, and suddenly it looks like an actual, usable, finished cookbook! We proofread the book layouts four or five times, making corrections along the way, until it’s 100% print-ready.
Printing: Books get proofed, printed, and shipped to the warehouse. For the author, this usually means a lull in book stuff. The “make” process is finished, and it’s too early to begin promotion. A couple months before publication, the author will receive advance copies of the book—the first real-deal hardcopies!
Promotion: Three or four months before publication, the in-house marketing and publicity team, in conjunction with the author and their PR team (if they have one), launches a promotion campaign to get the word out about the book. This might include media features in print and online publications; TV or podcast appearances; social media advertising; an influencer mailing; and more.
Publication: Your book goes on sale, yahoo! Promotion continues with things like a book launch party, book signings, virtual talks, cooking classes, more media features, etc. Our marketing and publicity team typically focuses on each book in the few months before and after publication. If the first few months of sales are strong, that usually indicates a strong backlist life for the book (i.e. sales continue steadily for several years to come).
And that’s how it’s done!
Onwards to February’s Smörgåsbord!
🎧 Taste podcast episode 183 with Hetty McKinnon: If you followed Books to Cook in January, you’ll know we cooked through To Asia, With Love by Hetty McKinnon. Well, Hetty was recently invited on the Taste podcast, and I just got around to listening to the episode this past weekend. She’s as charming as you’d expect, and I loved hearing more about her upcoming book, Tenderheart, which is a love letter both to vegetables—from kale to daikon to seaweed—and to her late father.
🎾 Open by Andre Agassi: OK, I’ll admit this is a really cold take (the book came out in 2009), but it was new to me, and I was surprised how much I liked it. Apparently many people think this is the GOAT of sports memoirs, but because the height of Agassi’s fame preceded my awareness of celebrity culture, or maybe because I’m not an avid tennis fan, I was only vaguely aware of it before reading. I came to it through this article about esteemed ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer, after Prince Harry’s memoir Spare failed to interest me as much as the online banter about it. (J.R. Moehringer ghostwrote both Spare and Open.)
Open is a soul-baring tell-all that doesn’t shy away from the nitty gritty of Agassi’s strained relationship with his father, his difficult childhood, his drug use, his failed marriage to Brooke Shields, his happy one to Stefanie Graf, his wins, his losses, and his complex feelings about the game of tennis. I imagine this would’ve been a super juicy read when it was first published and Agassi was still a relevant cultural icon, but it still holds up.
*This book pairs well with Break Point, the docuseries on Netflix about up-and-coming tennis stars. 🏅
🍸 Lillet and Tonic: I have yet to find a low-ABV cocktail as delicious, refreshing, and easy as this one. And because it’s not too boozy, it’s a great weeknight option. To make, add a single big ice cube to a rocks glass, fill halfway with tonic, and top off with Lillet Blanc. We buy mini cans of tonic to avoid waste. (Shoutout to our friends who clued us in to this winning combo!)
*This cocktail pairs well with kettle chips and/or castelvetrano olives! 🫒
⏰ Oneclock: To stop myself from looking at my phone first thing in the morning and last thing at night, I asked for an alarm clock two Christmases ago, and my mom *delivered* with this handsome clock, which I’ve been using ever since. It wakes you up with spa-like music that starts quietly and increases in volume, and changes slightly every day to prevent alarm fatigue/dread. I think it’s really improved my quality of sleep!
🎥 The Menu: I feel like there are fewer high-quality movies coming out these days, so I’m always excited to find one, especially one that surprises me. The Menu is the first new movie I’ve seen in 2023 that I genuinely enjoyed and that held my attention the whole way through. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy, it is creepy, thought-provoking, and wholly original. I won’t say more because I don’t want to give anything away, but it’s definitely worth a watch if you can stomach a bit of suspense.
*This movie would pair well with a really good cheeseburger (wink wink)! 🍔
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you at the end of February for a review of Molly Yeh’s Home is Where the Eggs Are (hope you’ve been following along)!
xoxo,
Claire