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The mb One-day Workshop: How to Write a Cookbook Proposal

Course is closed.

WHEN
Tuesday, November 29, 6:30 - 10:30 p.m.

WHERE
mb classrooms
494 Broadway, 3rd Floor
(between Spring and Broome)
New York, NY

WHO
Ideal for any food writer who has considered writing a cookbook

PRICE
$125 ($100 for )
more info

Course Details

A dynamic cookbook proposal not only increases the chances of a publisher buying your book but makes it easier for the author to write the book once it's sold. This four-hour workshop will cover an overview of the cookbook publishing industry, followed by a breakdown of all the elements that go into writing a well-crafted proposal. Special attention will be focused on the art of writing recipes, the heart and soul of every cookbook. If a recipe is sloppily written, or worse yet, if it doesn't work, your proposal is doomed. For chefs this means writing recipes using ingredients and techniques a home cook can follow. Whether you're just beginning to think about writing your dream cookbook or you have a preliminary draft, this is the workshop for you.

In this intensive one-night workshop - limited to 10 students - participants should bring in a summary of their cookbook concept and a sample recipe with headnote to be workshopped in class. Students are also encouraged to bring a sample table of contents, list of recipes, intro from one chapter, and bio.

In this workshop you can expect to learn how to:

  • Analyze your book's concept for its originality, reader appeal, and marketplace competitiveness.
  • Judge a cookbook's overall selection of recipes for balance and reader appeal.
  • Write precise, easy-to-follow recipes with informative headnotes.
  • Develop skills for testing fool-proof original recipes especially when the recipes come from interviewing other cooks.
  • Create a voice that makes your cookbook unique.
  • Write a bio that demonstrates your qualifications for writing this cookbook and how you can effectively promote and publicize the book once its published.
  • Determine if visuals should be included in your proposal.

Instructor Bio

Grace Young's Courses

No courses available at this time.

Grace Young
Grace Young is a cookbook author and food writer. Her newest book, The Breath of a Wok: Unlocking the Spirit of Chinese Wok Cooking Through Recipes and Lore, by Grace Young and Alan Richardson (Simon & Schuster) won the 2005 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) International Cookbook Award and the Jane Grigson Cookbook Award for distinguished scholarship. It was selected as one of the best cookbooks of 2004 by numerous magazines, newspapers, and websites including Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, The Chicago Tribune, and Epicurious. Grace's first book, The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing, won the 2000 IACP International Cookbook Award, and it was a James Beard International Cookbook Finalist. Her work has appeared in Gourmet, Copia, Gastronomica, Metropolitan Home, More, Eating Well, Fitness, Home, and Health magazine. For seventeen years she was the Test Kitchen Director and Director for Food Photography for over forty cookbooks published by Time-Life Books.


Testimonials


Grace is incredible, inspiring, thoughtful, caring, and real. Her tips and suggestions are detail-oriented, and well developed. She is a pleasure to listen to for four hours, the time flew by. She didn't sugar-coat cookbook writing, but also let you know that publishing a book could be within your reach. Grace was open to all questions and was very conscientious about answering each and every one. -- Rebecca French

"I took the workshop expecting to just learn how to write a cookBook proposal letter. Grace taught us so much more and gave us many resources. The small class size really lent itself to some great interaction. The four hour workshop flew by." -- Joseph Silva, Photographe

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