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