Tips on self-publishing a cookbook

Have you ever flipped through a cookbook and thought “I could better myself”? Or perhaps you’ve gathered recipes for years and want to memorialize them to pass on to others. Maybe you have a “great idea” for a new and different type of cookbook. Whatever your motivation, if you’ve considered self-publishing a cookbook, Kendra Aaronson, writing for indexed blog Food52, shares insider tips on how to self-publish a cookbook.

The story is a follow-up to an earlier article where Kendra, author of The San Luis Obispo Farmers’ Market Cookbook, lays out the basics of putting together a cookbook. In this installment, she delves into designing a cover for maximum impact, timing for recipe photo shoots, proofreading tips (print it out, in a terrible font!) and putting together a media kit to showcase your work.

The advice, while practical, is a sometimes bit thin on details. Kendra advises setting up a Kickstarter or other crowdsourcing platform to help fund the book’s development, but doesn’t offer any tips on how to go about setting up such a campaign. If you’ve ever wanted to dip a toe into the waters of self-publishing, however, you’ll probably find some good ideas.