A collaborator is like the contractor you might hire to remodel a room in your house. You can watch a few You Tube videos and try to do it yourself…or you can hire a skilled person who will do the big job correctly.
In addition to the over forty books I have written under my own name, I have worked on over sixty cookbooks to bring other authors’ cookbooks to life. I usually handle all aspects of preparing the manuscript from the original proposal onward. This provides the author with an overview for the project that continues to the first day on sale. After the proposal, there is recipe testing, recipe writing (often including conversions to metric and vice versa to support international sales), creation of the front matter (introduction, glossaries, headnotes, and sidebars), and writing to the individual publisher’s style sheet. I often work with the photography team on the many elements needed for the photo shoot. After the book goes into production, I work on correcting the various editing rounds from the top read through galleys.
Yes, that is a lot. My clients simply do not have the time to add writing a cookbook to their already busy schedules.
My clients include social media influencers, TV, movie, and music celebrities, chefs, restauranteurs, bakeries, bloggers, food and beverage companies, and more.
Writing a book (that is, working with words) is much different from creating online content where digital skills (video production and editing) are paramount. I have a working knowledge of the latter. But I know a lot about cookbooks.
To see a partial list of my clients, click here.
While I have sometimes been “just” the recipe tester on a book, it is better to have your collaborator handle every aspect of the book’s creation (not including photography). This gives the author a single person to work with whom is responsible for the book’s culinary content.
I find that while most social media influencers are talented with digital content, not many write precise recipes. The goal of a good social media post is to engage and entertain, while a cookbook recipe must be accurate so the home cook gets the same reliable results. Writing a good recipe takes skill, practice, and attention to detail. When I cook, it is with a ruler, a thermometer, and lots of pencils by my side.
I was a caterer in Manhattan for many years, and I became known by the food media when they attended parties at the French Government’s Cultural Affairs Office on Fifth Avenue and found out that the chef was a young American--me! From my contacts there, I developed recipes for various food companies and culinary magazines. I also began working in the test kitchens of the food magazines and production kitchens of television shows, which exposed me to many different cooking styles. I also traveled to study and cook in Paris (French cuisine), Zurich (chocolate work), and Vienna (pastry).
My life changed when I met a cookbook editor…at the gym! She recognized my name on the sign-in sheet and searched me out on the gym floor. She put me to work testing and writing recipes for her celebrity chefs who needed help with their books, and my career was launched. I was an actor in San Francisco, so I had an ear for someone’s voice, which was useful when writing copy. Soon I began writing cookbooks of my own but kept busy with collaborations.
Brand spokesperson work was another facet of my career, and I did countless television and radio appearances for many food and beverage companies. This taught me how to get a client’s message across. I was also one of the busiest culinary teachers in the country and traveled coast-to-coast to every important cooking school. In classes, I saw how to make cookbook lovers better cooks.
Being here is a good start. You can also look at cookbooks that you like that have collaborators and do online research on how to contact that person for their thoughts on your project. Interview the prospective collaborator in person or on a Zoom call to gauge your connection, as you will be spending a lot of time together.
I enjoy being the person on your team with the experience to make your dream cookbook happen. I also look forward to learning things from the authors I work with. As examples, Sarabeth Levine refined my croissant technique; Patti LaBelle showed me how to make great soul food; Frankie Avalon gave me Italian cookie recipes that I make every Christmas; and Chris Santos had me revive my training in restaurant dining.
If you are unfamiliar with the publishing process, it is a long and winding road from your concept to publication. It is imperative to have someone to hold your hand every step of the way, and that is my job. Because I have written many cookbooks on my own (which is not true of all collaborators), I know all the pitfalls and can share my experiences with you.
Typically, I work with the author to develop a complete outline of the book and a full recipe list before the creative process starts in earnest. We work out a schedule of deadlines for the materials we need to complete the manuscript in a timely manner for submission to the publisher (such as recipes and interviews). The book’s deadline can be scheduled for anywhere from six months to a year from signing. There are usually eighty to one hundred recipes contracted. If I am hired to be the recipe tester, I test them in my home kitchen and return them (with snapshots of the finished dish) to the author for review. After recipe testing and interviews for the front matter are completed, I write the manuscript.
The manuscript goes to the cookbook’s editor, where it is given an initial top read. Notes and questions on the manuscript are returned to us for our comments (this is all done on potentially unfamiliar digital platforms to you like Word, Adobe, or Google Docs). After this, the book is sent to the copy editor, who takes a deep dive into the book and looks for any typos or grammatical errors. After their work is done, the book is returned to us for more corrections and comments. At this point, the book goes into production and is handed over to the art director for the book’s design and layout. There are a few subsequent passes of the designed book, each time looking for inadvertent errors and necessary design tweaks.
In general, a cookbook can take at least sixteen months of your attention, so it helps to have a team member to assume responsibility for the project and keep it on track. Writing the manuscript is just the tip of the iceberg. From the time the manuscript is turned in to when it goes out for printing, binding, and delivery takes six to nine months. The actual printing and shipping add another three to five months.
My fee for cookbook collaboration varies. Some recipes are more complex than others. Some cookbooks have more recipes than others. Grocery expenses are the author’s responsibility, and I will estimate a cost cap before we move ahead with testing. Often, I base my fee on a percentage of the author’s advance. Financial details are worked out between our two literary agencies.
