Every time I wrap up another phase of my cookbook, it always feels so, so close yet so, so far away. We’re still months (like, six months) from the official release, but since half that time is spent in printing, we’re much closer to the finish line than it seems.
This week, the blurbs are starting to come in from authors I’ve long admired (I’m still stunned they’ve agreed to review my book!), the final tweaks are being made on the book layout and design, and the front cover is set. in. stone. !!
May I announce my soon-to-release first book from Voyageur Press, The CSA Cookbook: Thinking Inside the Box.
Just like it says on the cover, this book gives you “No-Waste Recipes for Cooking Your Way Through a Community Supported Agriculture Box or Backyard Bounty.”
Those of you who’ve been following the blog for some time are likely familiar with my approach to farm-to-fork meals. I like to utilize all the unconventional parts of vegetables that most people toss away, such as broccoli leaves, tomato leaves, carrot tops, and nasturtium pods.
But in this book, I go beyond those recipes and introduce more vegetables you might not have known were edible, from the tender tips of your squash vines to the leaves on your sweet pepper plants.
I give you ideas for using up those leftover bundles of herbs from your CSA share and a guide on storing produce for maximum freshness. And I’ll show you how almost anything green (including stems, stalks, and flowers) can be turned into a pesto!
Trying to convey all of this in one image — the cover, and the first impression someone has of the book — took a few rounds between the publisher’s team (my editor, art director, designer, marketing people, and ultimately the CEO) and my own team (just the photographer and me).
As you might remember from my other cookbook shoots (here and here), my talented hubby, Will Taylor, photographed all the recipes. We were given creative free reign with the front and back covers, which sounded like a dream at first but proved to be a challenge.
Adding to that challenge was the fact that the cover was one of the first elements of the book to be finalized, long before the manuscript was ever turned in or the recipes ever shot. It lands in the publisher’s catalog and starts being pitched to our distribution channels (here and abroad) before it actually becomes a book. Talk about the pressure of making a right first impression!
We had only submitted a handful of images by that point, so the publisher tried a variety of recipe shots for the cover and the designer played with a variety of typefaces and placements.
But how do you choose that one recipe to represent an entire book? Was a salad appropriate for something called The CSA Cookbook, or should we show a box full of vegetables? Would that imply a raw or vegan book, or should we use a cooked recipe? What if someone hated carrots, or thought the watermelon were tomatoes?
I can tell you that I was completely stressed at this stage, worried that we wouldn’t have time to submit a cover concept, worried that they’d go with one of the initial recipes we shot when there would be 75 more to choose from if they’d only wait a few more weeks.
We weren’t 100 percent absolute on any of the picks, so Will and I put our heads together. I looked at what must have been hundreds of book covers on Amazon, making notes on what I liked or didn’t like. I bounced ideas back and forth with my editor and relayed the best ideas to Will.
Through it all, we agreed on one thing: We wanted the cover to show a glorious assortment of fresh produce (in case anyone wasn’t familiar with what a CSA was) as well as a finished dish that would have wide appeal.
It started with a few sketches, a trip to the farmers’ market, and a rummage through our backyard to source all the food and props needed for our scene.
We shot five different scenes using more or less the same vegetables (a bounty of summertime farm fare) and the same dish (zucchini noodles with roasted tomatoes), but arranged a little differently each time. It might look like we just piled a bunch of produce together, but you wouldn’t believe how long it took to position each piece!
Every tomato, every pepper, even the twisty ties wrapped around the greens were meticulously and deliberately placed. We wanted the colors to work in harmony and the lines to flow smoothly, directing your eyes around the image… and yet, we wanted it all to look very natural and approachable.
A week later, the publisher sent us three new mockups: the one that was ultimately chosen, and two more from our submissions.
For me, it was a toss-up. I liked them all for different reasons… but in the end, the publisher went with what they believed had greatest marketability and shelf appeal.
I don’t know how it works at other publishers, but at Quarto Publishing Group (the parent company), the author is just one of many voices in the book-publishing process… a small voice, at that. So while my feedback was considered for the cover, the final pick was heavily favored by the sales and marketing departments. After all, they know what sells.
Out of curiosity, I did an informal poll of 20 friends and family (of all cooking abilities, and even some that were non-cooks) after the cover was chosen. I showed them the three different covers and asked which one caught their eye the most. Seventeen of those 20 chose the winner, so it seems we made the right choice!
I am beyond excited to see the book taking shape and can’t wait to hold a real paper copy in my hands. It shouldn’t be long before I’m able to share some teasers from the book, so I hope you like what you’ve seen so far.
Thank you for your continued patience and overwhelming support while I’m on this wild book-writing journey!
Read the full “Making of a Cookbook” series:
- El Libro: It’s Happening!
- The Making of a Cookbook: Writing the Manuscript
- Behind the Scenes of a Cookbook Photo Shoot (Part I)
- Behind the Scenes of a Cookbook Photo Shoot (Part II)
- The Making of a Cookbook: The Cover Shot
The cover turned out perfect! I am re-reading your “making of” series as I am in the process of writing my first book now (on edible gardening). After many months we have settled on the title and now it is time to make the cover. Like you, I find the process very stressful and can only hope the result will be as gorgeous as yours. Thank you for the sharing!
How exciting to be deep in the process with your own book! Good luck in the final stretch! I’m sure everything will fall into place. 🙂
Thank you kindly, Lisa! I’m pretty fired up at this point in the process, knowing we’re close to shipping it off for printing. It will feel so surreal when they send me that first copy! Looking at PDFs all day just doesn’t compare to holding something tangible.
Behind-the-scenes look at the publishing process and how a cover is chosen. The Making of a Cookbook: The Cover Shot http://t.co/DX0iM3rQeN
Ever wondered how a book cover comes to fruition? The Making of a Cookbook: The Cover Shot http://t.co/4gNxqy0efa #behindthescenes
I’ve been a graphic designer for a very long time and have worked on design/layout for more projects than I can count…all this to say that I feel your pain! Every project enters the “this-will-never-be-over” stage, but I promise there will be an end. The cover layout is perfect – very compelling – and the photography is stunning. I can’t wait to get a copy of my own. Great job!
Thank you so much Kathy! Means a lot to hear that from a fellow designer who understands the process. I am counting down the days! (To what? I’m not sure yet… there are still a few milestones to tick off!)
I cannot wait for this! A cookbook like no other!! Do you have a release date yet? Can I pre order a copy?
P.s. I like ALL the covers, they are all really enticing lol
Aw, thank you Rozzie! The expected release is Spring 2015 and preorders should start in fall. Once we officially kick off preorders, I should have a more exact release date.
Were the pugs not tempted to eat all those glorious vegetables on set?
Only one of our pugs is an omnivore. We satiated her with treats of tomatoes and radishes. 🙂
Congratulations! It must feel so awesome to know what your cookbook will look like. The cover is beautiful (kudos to Will on that) & I can’t wait to get my own copy! It’ll be perfect timing for the beginning of next year’s CSA boxes.
We’re aiming to release the book right when CSA farms start delivering in the spring, so you’ll find plenty of uses for all that fresh produce!
I love the cover! The wooden box is perfect and the vegetable array is stunning. I’m a big proponent of limiting food waste, so your concept of using the unconventional parts of the plant really intrigues me. (Sweet pepper leaves, huh?) Too bad the book won’t be released in time to put it on my Christmas wish list!
Yes, pepper leaves, bean leaves… lots of different parts that many people usually overlook in favor of the fruits. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Preorders should start in fall, so maybe a little raincheck on Christmas gifts…? 🙂
Awesome! Will it be available on Amazon?
Yes! As well as many major and independent booksellers. I should have more information on this over fall/winter.
Can’t wait to read your book! Hope you’ll have an ebook version. Great job!
From what I’ve heard, yes, there will be an ebook version!
I absolutely love the cover (my mouth is watering) and I’m so thrilled you’re getting published!! I look forward to buying and reading it when it comes out. Warm Congratulations.
P.S love the pugs in the background of the photo shoot 🙂
I so appreciate the love! As for the pugs… We call them forepugs, always overseeing the work we do. 😉
Proud to announce we’ve picked a cover! The Making of a Cookbook: The Cover Shot http://t.co/WB3WfY2YXK #behindthescenes #thecsacookbook
The cover is awesome- well done! I love the final choice but I can’t believe we have 6 more months to wait for the book. Worth the wait for sure. I really love the “behind the scenes” action but the best part was the pug supervision, I hope they kept you both on task! Waiting patiently for your fantastic book, it will be perfect with my community p-patch veggie garden.
I’ve been saying it’ll be out “soon” since the day I signed the deal. (New Year’s Day… so it’s been 9 months of waiting for me so far! Or 11, if you count back from the initial talks with the publisher.) Spring can’t come soon enough for me! I’m looking forward to sharing the book with you.
Congratulations. What an amazing accomplishment! That cover definitely catches my eye. As a gardener, it makes me want to aspire to being able to grow beautiful veggies like that, and as someone who likes to cook, that plate looks like something I want to make. I would definitely stop and pick up that book in a bookstore.
And just because I’m curious… how in the world did you learn how to make all those recipes and know to use all the parts of a vegetable? I can’t wait to get a copy!
Thank you! Your feedback made my day!
As for all those recipes, I do give a back story in the book as to what I ate and cooked growing up in a Vietnamese/Chinese household… short answer is, a lot of rather exotic vegetables (to Westerners) but what was just day-to-day food for me. Combined with my travels, a love for experiencing other cultures, and an adventurous appetite, I’ve come to discover and appreciate food in all its many forms (and parts!). I’ve also learned so much from growing my own food vs shopping for it in the store. With all the work that we put into our gardens, I think it makes us a little more mindful of the waste we produce. It’s astonishing when you realize how much is actually edible!
I love the cover you chose. Very appealing and you definitely needed the box to be on the cover. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
Thanks so much for your support!
Congrats! I’ve loved your blog for years now and will be adding this to an amazon order soon 🙂
Thank you! I can’t wait for this to make it into your kitchen!
Blogged on Garden Betty: The Making of a Cookbook: The Cover Shot http://t.co/Y4ZpSGQwdr