Cookbook Writing 101: What’s Cookin’?
with Cal Orey
When I wrote a weekly diet and nutrition column for Woman’s World magazine, I often worked with a nutritionist and interviewed diet gurus about food and health. I also wrote dozens of Mini Mags such as “Burn Fat 24 Hours a Day,” “Carbohydrate Lover’s Weight-Loss Plan,” “Strong Women, Strong Bones.” Each and every one of these little books included reader-friendly recipes.
In addition, I co-authored a self-published book, “Just Cook It!” which included recipes without measurements sprinkled throughout the pages. Plus, my bestselling book, “The Healing Powers of Vinegar,” boasts dozens of good-for-you delicious recipes which I got straight from famous spa chefs nationwide. (But I rewrote the order of the copy to make it a good read.)
While I never planned to be a cookbook writer (I don’t even like to cook!), I fell into the lucrative world of writing about nutrition, health, food, and recipes. The fact is, consumers are always looking for a new cookbook. It’s fun to do, but there is a knack to doing it. And I can teach you the tricks of writing about food and recipes. Take a look at some delicious ingredients we will discuss—step by step:
•Developing the Cookbook Formula: So what’s your premise? You don’t want to toss a bunch of recipes together. Instead, you want to have a to-die-for theme. Then, it’s essential to include original, entertaining, and informative text paired with delightful sensory detail (i.e., sight, touch, taste, etc.), and weave tasty recipes into your cookbook.
•Whipping Up Tasty Menu Plans: There is a garden-variety of menu plans and a creative way to write these and incorporate them into a cookbook with a theme. I will show you exactly how to create a One Day Diet, Two-Day Diet, Holiday Menu Plan, 7-Day Meal Plan and much mor
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•Writing Cool Recipes: Recipes should be written in a concise, easy-to-follow, reader-friendly way. Also, consistency is important. And yes, there is an art to writing recipes and I will teach you how to do it.
•Cooking Up a Hot Book: There are creative ways to create a one-of-a-kind cookbook (i.e., get recipes from celebs; glean recipes from your roots; include recipes from health-related organizations, etc.).
•Teaming Up with Experts: I will explain how to find and work with nutritionists who can help you make your dishes tasty, healthful, and analyze each recipe: fat grams, calories from fat, sodium, etc.
•Adding Artwork: Graphics can certainly help make a cookbook appealing. There are ways to include photos, graphics, charts and more. We will discuss how these can work to make your book eye-catching.
By the end of this class, students can expect to have a grip on how to write a cookbook and know where to submit it, whether it is the right agent, traditional publisher or self-publish.
Start Date: Contact Instructor
Duration: Six Weeks, One Hour Classes; Three Weeks, Two Hour Classes
Class Materials: Instructor will provide
Tuition: $100
Contact Cal.
Check out Cal's other courses: Long Story Short School of Writing
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