This may seem a bit out of the norm in this forum...but i have a few ideas about an introduction of a fat-free/step by step guide to indian cooking...any suggestions on how to go about publishing this kind of thing ie) pictures/editing etc?

Hi Deepa,

Good Idea. The main challenge with this will not be the formulation of the recipes - I am sure that these will result in healthy, attractive and tasty dishes - but in the marketing of the idea and the final production.

You can think about self-publishing but there will be a need for lots of colour printing and the quality and 'feel' of your finished product will be very important.

Most recipe books have a 'hook' upon which to hang the contents - a famous person is the most common (and it works).

You may be thinking of a different 'structure' within the book, an original way of setting out the recipes. However certainly make contact with Recipe publishers (remember Supermarket chains may be interested) but a greast deal will depend, not so much on the recipes themselves (I take your point about fat) but upon this 'hook' I mention.

Len

Hi Len
Thanks for this...without sounding unknowledgable, what do you mean by a "hook"? Do you mean the books unique selling point?

I understand that the feel of the book is probably the most important thing, i have contacted various self publishing houses who do not offer graphic support - i would need to take my own pictures...i do not feel that i have the expertise as an amateur, to produce clean, contemporary food images as would a professional!!!

Yes, the 'hook' - I do mean the U.S.P's but the most important of these unique selling points is the single theme, the prime purpose, the one main (may I say it again... hook) that ties together the contents. The most common is the 'celebrity' approach (either the author or a well-known person providing the testimonial support.)

I do understand your point about photographing foods and dishes. When I was associated with Supermarkets I was amazed how much false colours and sprayed wax coverings had to be used to produce those mouth-watering pictures - but that's all part of the game. It is not easy.

I suspect (with reference to your mention of fat) that your theme may be 'health'? Remember that most people associate healthy eating with having a good figure and 'appearances'.

Sorry I seem to be back to my marketing days. Keep plugging away.

Len

Without sounding vain ... i am nearly 30 years old, have a slim figure and weigh six and a half stones (sorry, sounds like a dating ad!!!!) I have been eating this type of food for my whole life as I am of Indian origin - I am living proof!!!

Friends and family love this type of food, but find the books on the market not very easy to follow...so the main theme of the book is not only low fat cuisine, but step by step pictures of how to produce the recipes with pictures - using natural ingrediants only..not the red colouring and oil you get from the traditional indian take-away! Each ingrediant required for the recipe would also have a small picture next to it as a guide

A contemporary book, which produces quick, easy and tasty authentic recipes - aimed at todays nation who is becoming obsessed with the concept of healthy eating!!

Sounds good, Deepa.

Make it vegetarian and I’ll definitely buy it!

Dee

Dee

Thanks for that!!

Heres an example of what the book is about:

A step – by – step guide with colour pictures on how to:


Make healthy samosas / bhagees (inluding how to make the pastry, and create the triangular shapes for the samosas)


A guide to which recipes can be combined in order to meet the governments recommended “5 a day” portions of fruit and veg*


Captions underneath each recipe which details how some of the recipes contain ingredients to ward off common ailments such as colds / headaches / promote good digestion etc *


Calculation of total calories


How the preparation can be done with using everyday utensils as oppose to purchasing a new ethnic cooking kit!


Sources for where to purchase the ingredients from


Vegetable and meat preparation


On the ingredients section: each ingredient is accompanied with a small picture as a guide


The pages can be removed and hung on notices boards etc…


Time taken for the recipe


* Example:



PAN FRIED WHOLE AUBERGINES AND NEW POTATOES STUFFED WITH GARLIC AND GINGER



CAPTION UNDER THE RECIPES WOULD BE SIMILAR TO:



EATING AUBERGINE MAY HELP LOWER BLOOD CHOLESTEROL AND HELP COUNTERACT SOME DETRIMENTAL BLOOD EFFECTS OF FATTY FOODS / POTATOES ARE HIGH IN POTASSIUM THUS MAY HELP PREVENT HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE AND STROKES / RECIPE ALSO CONTAINS TOMATOES – A MAJOR SOURCE OF LYCOPENE WHICH IS AN AWESOME ANTIOXIDANT AND ANTICANCER AGENT


CONTAINS THREE OF THE DAILY RECOMMENDED AMOUNTS OF VEGETABLE INTAKE IN THIS DISH (Aubergine, Potato and Tomatoes)

Deepa,

It sounds good, you sound good and the recipes 'smell' good.

Don't let anything or anyone deter you. Try every avenue possible; it's an ambitious undertaking but I am sure you will succeed.

I did envisage a loose-leaf type binding... good idea but is can be costly although this leads to the mention I made of possible Supermarket distribution.

Len

Deepa, supposing you found a good photographer and got your book published, you’d still be lacking the USP that your target audience look for – I'm assuming you’re not a celebrity in disguise… – people mainly go for cookery books by celebs or famous chefs.

Without this, you need something else. For instance, if your book was vegetarian, you could approach the Vegetarian Society for some funding. Or the Soil Association if you use 100% organic ingredients. The thing that really rocks at the moment is Fair Trade, so you could try that.

I have no idea whether any of these organisations would give you any dosh, but I work in the vegetarian wholefood industry, so I do know that healthy eating, organic, ethical, fair trade is a fast expanding sector.

As for help with editing – you can start off here. I'd be happy to help in exchange for a few recipes!

Dee

thanks for this dee...do you think its better to self publish (if so, can you recommend anyone)? or should i seek a literary agent?

the book will be supporting the governments initiative of eating 5 portions of veg/fruit a day, and the recipes will indicate how many portions are included in one recipe.

what sort of recipe would you like?

Deepa, it's always easier with an agent, but I don't know anything about publishing non-fiction. Have you got the Writer's and Artist's Yearbook? It lists all the UK agents.

Dee

hi dee, no i havent, but i'll certainly look into getting one

Hi there - this is just a thought and I've no experience in this field - but how about getting in touch with newspapers/magazines and serialising the recipes? - Especially if you're bilingual, (I've always thought that must be a tremendous advantage when trying to publish) and that would definitely widen the market you could reach. Anyway, all the very best of luck with the idea.
Yours,
unhealthy, overweight, chip guzzling Mags.

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Oh, and there's always a copy of this years writers and artists book in the local library.

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Was the "indian housewife" Madhur Jaffrey? I remember her as being very good but that was twenty years ago and presentation styles have changed - but she was tremendously successful.
cheers - off to get some chips.
Mags.

Although I take the point about celebrities, if you go to the cookery section of a big bookshop, it will still be well-stocked with books (albeing smaller, and less glamorously produced) whose USP is not Nigellas' tits, or Nigel's camp, or their recipes, but something else that a reader wants: barbecuing for vegetarians, low-carb in less than 30mins, Italian food in the microwave, whatever. Often they're part of a series which has an identity, under the banner of a glossy mag, or some such. And Sainsbury's Cookery Books used to be very good. You might be able to offer to write one for such a series, although it might be for a fee, rather than royalties. (It is possible to have a contract which is a fee, but with provisos about another fee if sales go over a certain amount, or when they want to exploit the material elsewhere/online/etc.) Good Housekeeping is an Institute as well as a huge circulation glossy, and their advice line may know who you could consult about how all these things work.

Good luck with self-publishing, but highly-illustrated books are staggeringly expensive to produce, or look very amateurish, and I suspect cookery-photography is more expensive still. Most will be co-editions with publishers in other English speaking countries, and printed in Singapore in vast numbers with years of lead-time, to keep the costs down. And who will do your marketing and distribution?

Deepa, I don't want to sound gloomy, your project sounds so promising: delicious, and very much in the current style too. If you do think of getting an agent, the acknowledgments pages of cookery books you like the look of might give some clues as to suitable people to approach, once you can make a good case for your USP, and what the gaps in the market are. My only worry is that you should give some thought to protecting your idea before you approach publishers and agents. The Society of Authors could advise.

And when it is published, I'll be first in the queue to buy one. Yum!

Emma

I remember a book way back by 'an Indian housewife' (whose name escapes me, but this was how she styled herself)) published by, I think, Elliot 'Right Way' books. It was a good practical work (no pictures though). Dee suggested Writers and Artists - and a quick perusal of the Writer's Handobook (panmacmillan) shows up a lot of entries under 'Cookery:Publishers' - so either of thes is a good place to start.

Joe