Don't think writing a cookbook is easy. Publishers don't want just pages of recipes. They want an angle, a hook, a theme, anything to make the buying public install your cookbook in their kitchens.
What are some cookbook themes?
You can aim your cookbook at a demographic group. For instance, cooking for kids, meals for one, Dad cooks (see Patio Daddy-O at the Grill - a real cookbook from Chronicle Books). You can target ethnic cooking, like Chinese, Italian or Swedish. Regional publishers look for cookbooks with recipes common to that area and you can always just pick a course: meats, salads or desserts. There are countless themes out there if you want to write a cookbook.
What can you add besides recipes to your cookbook?
You'll want to consider your theme, but it's really up to you. Laura Esquivel wrote a novel around her cookbook for Like Water for Chocolate. Darrell Huckaby's Dinner on the Grounds has old-fashioned potluck dinner dishes coupled with funny church stories and some favorite selections from the Bible.
How you organize and/or accessorize your cookbook is up to you. You could write a camping cookbook that includes cowboy campfire songs or all those goofy summer camp songs you learned as a kid. Or how about a Japanese cookbook with original haikus sprinkled through it? Just be careful to strike a good balance between the recipes and the fillers. Of course, be sure that any filler not written by you is in the public domain or that you have written permission to use it from the author.
Are you ready to get started?
All the publishers listed below will accept unagented queries or proposals. Browse their online catalogs and stores for samples of the cookbooks they publish. Click the publisher name to go to the guidelines page.
Caxton Press - "a long tradition of publishing Western Works of timeless appeal," might be the market for the cowboy campfire cookbook.
Chronicle Books LLC - publishes about 175 books per year including "best-selling cookbooks."
Cornell Maritime Press/Tidewater Publishers - are expanding two of their lines and are particularly interested is seeing books on cooking.
Cumberland House - latest catalog had an eclectic mix of cookbooks from recipes made with beer to daily dinner menus and recipes to fabulous but light and easy cakes.
Hill Street Press - books must "have something to do with the American South."
Montana Historical Society Press - publishes cookbooks with a regional tie and historic themes too.
Overmountain Press - seeks books focusing on the Southern Appalachian area.
Pelican Publishing Company - 50-60 titles a year, including "local and international cookbooks."
Rio Nuevo Publishers - cookbooks should be based in Southwestern regional cuisine.
Sandlapper Publishing - seeks books that will "educate the reader" about South Carolina, would rather see topics that cover the entire state, not just a region.
Ten Speed Press - very open to new ideas of all kinds but NO e-queries or proposals.
Whitecap Books Ltd. - Canadian publisher - typical themes include nature, the outdoors ad the region.
Willow Creek Press - specializes in nature, outdoor, sporting topics.
2 comments:
Thank you for your email Amy. I'm very happy to see there are more then 2 publishers out there that accept submissions without an agent. Thank you for doing all the work for me to locate them. There are a lot of publishers out there. You have given me hope.
You're welcome. Let me know if I can help further and good luck with your cookbook! Sounds like a great idea.
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