Writing A Low Carb Cookbook

[Widget]

My husband has been bugging me for months to write a low carb cookbook, so I finally said I'd do an e-cookbook. I have already done quite a bit of work on it. Has anyone here written one? After it is finished, what do I do next?

Wish I could just write it then hand it over to my husband and make him do the rest since it is his bright idea, but he can't even turn on a computer.

[Jennifer Eloff]

Marketing is key. You would need a blog and need to build up readership, plus you would need a Facebook presence and other social media marketing. It is a lot of work for sure!

[Widget]

Guess I could just put it up for sale at Amazon, then when it doesn't sell I can tell my husband, "See, I told ya so."

[gharkness]

You should look on Amazon for all the LC cookbooks that are available in ebook form.

Additionally, Jennifer is right: it takes a LOT of promotion to get noticed.

Third, writing recipes is one of the hardest things I've ever done (and I've not even published a cookbook either). I have thought about doing a recipe book and find it to be a daunting prospect. Jennifer and her friends have collaborated to write and publish a very good cookbook, with more to follow. I know some of the authors personally, and they tell me it's hard to do. The thing that makes the difference is that they have been in the LC community a long time and they give away more than they sell. They have strong credibility.

Fourth, even my friend Dana Carpender, who has sold over a million copies of her cookbooks in real and digital form, works her butt OFF getting things right. She tests her recipes over, and over and over again. It is a very difficult job.

While I am not trying to discourage you, somehow it appears the idea has gotten around (erroneously) that there is a ton of money to be made on Amazon with cookbooks in ebook form. Trust me, all it takes is one or two bad reviews to kill your sales, and all the work you went through will be for naught.

[Widget]

Thank you both for the good advice. Actually, that's pretty much what I thought you gals would say. I never thought I could make a cent selling cookbooks, but my husband won't listen. After reading your posts, I have decided I will go to a website where you can type up your cookbook and order printed copies. I'll make hubby pay for the prints (which he already said he is willing to do) then put them up on Amazon and Ebay and prove to him that it isn't that easy to sell cookbooks.

The good part about it is I'll have a printed copy of my cookbook in book form, plus a few other copies that I can give as prizes at our family gatherings when we play Bingo. Sounds like a plan to me.

[sligh]

I found your post so humorous because it sounds EXACTLY like my husband. He begs me on a regular basis to write a low carb cookbook and thinks people will just flock to it and everyone will lose weight and I'll be famous. Now mind you, I can't even make myself calculate calories and carbs because it's too much trouble and all my recipes really belong to someone else - and my best marketing line is, "you don't want one of these do you?" - so it's not going to happen, but i sort of enjoy his enthusiasm for it. It's a real compliment, don't you think? Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

[Widget]

Yes, it is a compliment, but I wish he would compliment me on something that doesn't require so much work!

These are my own recipes because most of the low carb recipes I've seen include ingredients I don't consider to be 'common' and I'm a down-home type cook.

I checked into the cost of printing cookbooks, doesn't look like there is any profit in that. Now I'll look into printing on my computer. That would require binders and plastic page covers. Not great, but less expensive. Hubby might not let me get by with notebooks, though. This is a nightmare!

[twilight]

Don't print books. That would be way too expensive. Check out Createspace. There is no need to buy a bunch of books these days. Just sell them online. It's very easy and cost effective to publish these days.

[Widget]

I can't find a cost on Createspace. I don't need help creating an ebook, it's almost finished. I'm thinking of going back to my original idea of making it, then sticking it on Amazon. I just want to get this over with.

Wish I'd never agreed to this, but there is no way to get out of it now.

[Jennifer Eloff]

Widget - you can look up a blog called, "I breathe, I am hungry." Mellissa has a very popular blog and an e-book that just came out. Hope that helps!

[Jennifer Eloff]

Thanks, Georgene.

[Widget]

Last night I looked at the ebooks on Amazon and ebay to see how much they are selling for. Most were 99 cents, some were free. I showed my husband, told him that isn't worth all the effort. He reluctantly agreed, so I told him I was going to delete the book and not to bug me any more about making a cookbook. He didn't like it, but I'm glad this whole experience is over.

Thanks to all of you for your help. I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

[Jennifer Eloff]

Widget, keep your recipes. I will send you a PM.

[Star73]

If your heart isn't in it then don't do it. If you decide to do it and you don't care about making lots of money then just set it up as an ebook through Amazon and see how it does.