I have written a cookbook....

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kawsakimx6

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From my adventures around the world and from being a chef in a former life, i have a collection of recipes, as well as some experiences that i have written into a 'cookbook'. I was wondering if anyone knew of a place that i could 'publish' it online to share with all. I have no interest in making money from it, but would love to share the recipes, and give others access to the wonderful food i have tasted in life.

If this is in the wrong section, sorry.

Thanks
 
There are more than a few cook book publishers that non-profit groups use in fund raising by the sale of cookbooks. Do a search, find one that uses a format you like, order the books and you'll get a pile of books and can do what ever you prefer with no intention of marking up the price to make a profit.
 
From my adventures around the world and from being a chef in a former life, i have a collection of recipes, as well as some experiences that i have written into a 'cookbook'. I was wondering if anyone knew of a place that i could 'publish' it online to share with all. I have no interest in making money from it, but would love to share the recipes, and give others access to the wonderful food i have tasted in life.

If this is in the wrong section, sorry.

Thanks

You were a chef in a former life? How do you know of this? I have of a former country but not of a former life.

And if you have been around the world, what places did you visit? I have been to many places of this world.

This is a free cookbook? I am not sure of this. It is nice of to share, but when people write of books, they are not free.

With love,
~Cat
 
You were a chef in a former life? How do you know of this? I have of a former country but not of a former life.

And if you have been around the world, what places did you visit? I have been to many places of this world.

This is a free cookbook? I am not sure of this. It is nice of to share, but when people write of books, they are not free.

With love,
~Cat

Cat, I don't think he means a former life, as in if he'd been alive 200 years ago, was a chef, and had been reincarnated as something else 200 years later, I think he means that he used to be a chef in this century before he began working somewhere else. I could be wrong, though.
 
Cat, I don't think he means a former life, as in if he'd been alive 200 years ago, was a chef, and had been reincarnated as something else 200 years later, I think he means that he used to be a chef in this century before he began working somewhere else. I could be wrong, though.

I have had thoughts of this. If I were to write a cookbook, I would give it away for free also. I would give it for free especially to all of my friends here.
I take away my thoughts before. I apologize.

And I think it is a good thing to give away a nice cookbook. So many families have such of very small budgets and to give away a cookbook would save for them very much money.

I apologize for to be so harsh. This was not nice of me and I am sorry.

With love,
~Cat
 
From my adventures around the world and from being a chef in a former life, i have a collection of recipes, as well as some experiences that i have written into a 'cookbook'. I was wondering if anyone knew of a place that i could 'publish' it online to share with all. I have no interest in making money from it, but would love to share the recipes, and give others access to the wonderful food i have tasted in life.

If this is in the wrong section, sorry.

Thanks

Ever thought of getting a website building program? If you publish your own site, you could control content and even be interactive with visitors.
 
I have a number of "self-published" books on my Kindle (not written by me--downloaded for free). One of the things I've noticed is that very few have undergone the editing process. I do know of people who have self-published on LuLu and then been picked up by a publisher. Those who have were people who had their e-books copy edited professionally before self-publishing. That might be s/thing to consider if you would like to see the cookbook picked up by a publisher. I edit non-fiction for a living and know the value an editor contributes to a manuscript. My dad self-published two books--it wasn't until the 2nd one that he let my brother (also an editor) and I edit the text. We're still working on getting him to let us edit the 1st book before he re-releases it...
 
I have had thoughts of this. If I were to write a cookbook, I would give it away for free also. I would give it for free especially to all of my friends here.
I take away my thoughts before. I apologize.

And I think it is a good thing to give away a nice cookbook. So many families have such of very small budgets and to give away a cookbook would save for them very much money.

I apologize for to be so harsh. This was not nice of me and I am sorry.

With love,
~Cat

Oh, Cat, there is nothing to apologize for, and you certainly weren't harsh! You were curious and trying to get clarification, nothing wrong with that!
 
I have a number of "self-published" books on my Kindle (not written by me--downloaded for free). One of the things I've noticed is that very few have undergone the editing process. I do know of people who have self-published on LuLu and then been picked up by a publisher. Those who have were people who had their e-books copy edited professionally before self-publishing. That might be s/thing to consider if you would like to see the cookbook picked up by a publisher. I edit non-fiction for a living and know the value an editor contributes to a manuscript. My dad self-published two books--it wasn't until the 2nd one that he let my brother (also an editor) and I edit the text. We're still working on getting him to let us edit the 1st book before he re-releases it...
I couldn't agree with you more; editing is crucially important. People think that what is in their head is what actually makes it onto the page, which is not always what happens. The author's eye skips mistakes, fails to notice that an ingredient in the method isn't in the ingredients list, or vice versa, doesn't realize that the instruction is open to interpretation, and so on.

Editing is definitely worth the investment, and I don't say that just because I edit cookbooks, but because I like to eat and I want the recipes I use to be accurate and clear. I wanted to make some biscotti the other day, using a recipe from a book donated by a friend. As I read through it for the second time, I realized that the fat necessary to bind the dough was missing altogether. This was in a book published by a big name firm, so imagine what gets missed in a self-published cookbook.
 
Personally I find E-books to be a nuisance. If you want your recipes to be seen and enjoyed why not use Pinterest, Tumbler or, hey, here's an idea, Discusscooking.com.
 
Skipping mistakes

The author's eye skips mistakes

Absoutely. I always have to print out everything before I can be sure I've got it right. When I see it on paper I often find many mistakes that did escape my notice while I checked everything only on a screen. Recently I thought I'd found all typos but a spell checking found many more... :ermm:

We have a saying in Germany: Sometimes you don't recognise the forest in front of you ...because of all the trees. :wacko:
 
The author's eye skips mistakes

Absoutely. I always have to print out everything before I can be sure I've got it right. When I see it on paper I often find many mistakes that did escape my notice while I checked everything only on a screen. Recently I thought I'd found all typos but a spell checking found many more... :ermm:

We have a saying in Germany: Sometimes you don't recognise the forest in front of you ...because of all the trees. :wacko:

Edit of the above post:
Absolutely is spelled wrong, as is the word - recognize.

In the university I attended, it was po9unded into my head that the manuscript, no matter the subject matter must be proofread at least five times before submitting it as a first draft. It is then edited by someone not familiar with the work, so as to have a fresh pair of eyes.

Also, what makes you cookbook special? What is unique about your recipes verses the hundred thousand other cookbooks out there. Is it whimsical? Is it authoritative? Does it have regional interest, or is it a cookbook that encompasses a broad spectrum of techniques and recipes? Are there beautifu pictures that makes the reader want to use your recipes?

These are all things you have to think about before self publishing a cookbook. And don't forget to create a table of contents, an index, and maybe even a glossary. You will have to get permission from the owners of copyrighted names if you are using brand-name products, and then include those names in you bibliography.

Writing a book isn't just writing down some recipes, adding pictures and saying, wow, I've written a cookbook. I'm gonna be rich.

There is a reason that only a small percentage of authors ever make a living from writing. That's because it is truly labor intensive work. If you're willing to learn the craft of sentence structures, punctuation, what is useful in your book and editing out that which is superfluous, then write that book. Be passionate about it. Just know that it is a lot of work.

Example: I wrote term paper for a professor at the university I attended. The paper was about the inherent benefits of using FET transistors in a stereo amplifier. There was one paragraph that my professor outlined in red pen. To the side of it, she wrote; "This is one of the finest paragraphs I have ever read. Unfortunately, it does not belong in this report."

I'd written this perfect paragraph that was completely useless. After re-reading it myself, I had to agree. You have to be able to take constructive criticism for what it is, help and training, and be thankful for it.

I sincerely hope you succeed with your project. Then again, I hope I succeed with my writing projects as well.


Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North
 
Edit of the above post:
Absolutely is spelled wrong, as is the word - recognize.


Sorry for the typo in "absolutely". The word "recognise" I wrote deliberately with an "s" because I learnt British English. Most Germans are spoilt that way.

Currently I read an old book which drives me nearly insane because the layout is so carelessly sloppy. It was published by a certain house in Munich which was notorious for "shooting from the hip". When chess was en vogue because Bobby Fischer had just become world champion, they published a manual written by a grandmaster. It explains how to win during the middle game. On each page there a typos and sometimes there are whole chess pieces missing on the diagrams... Terrible. Some lections are nearly incomprehensible because of that. So I do understand the fear that in a cookbook ingredients could be incomplete...

By the way, I don't think anybody expects to become rich by writing a book about cooking. I suppose it is meant as a future reference and as a nice embellishment for a CV. I consider that a good idea!
 
If anyone has a cookbook they'd like a bit of cross promotion for, me and a mate have a cooking channel on Youtube (see link in the sig block) if you'd like us to film ourselves making your recipes! We're always on the lookout for new recipes, but we've been toying with the idea of taking a single cookbook and filming ourselves cooking each of the recipes, but in our Two Aussie Dads style ! :)
 
I put together a compilation of family recipes in a book last Christmas as a gift to our daughter. She was thrilled to have them all in one book. I typed them out (too many scratch pieces of paper and some were pretty worn), placed each one in a plastic sleeve (so when you use the recipe it stays clean and dry) and used dividers in the binder identifying each category; i.e. Appetizers, Beef, Chicken, Dessert, etc. As I come up with new recipes, I make copies for her book. It's a lovely way to preserve family recipes and pass them on. Oh, I also made a fun, family cover with photos of my dishes.
 
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