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Successful Cook Book Writing
Cook book writing is a cultural statement: some of the recipes may be hot and spicy, but the message itself is always understated. The identities of regions, nations, and whole civilizations show just as plainly through diet as their music, architecture, and other arts.
Are Cookbooks Literature?
No. Cookbooks aren't literature any more than sheet music, or blueprints. However, the best cookbooks are more than formulas and procedures to be followed. They are insights and experiences from the one providing the recipes to the one receiving them.
Remember Your Audience
It's a staple of great writing. Writing for people who don't know how to cook (or who have no “talent” for experimentation), is different for writing for chefs and other wizards in the kitchen. Basically, people in the first group enjoy eating rather than cooking. Those in the second group enjoy cooking and then eating. Either way, you want your readers to be eager to try those recipes once they've finished reading. It's important to tailor your cook book writing to the audience.
Make sure your cook book writing has a theme
What do your recipes have in common? Were they your grandmother's? Are these recipes foolproof enough for college freshmen? Maybe these were treats you would've sold your little brother for when you were younger. (You'd sell him even now—for a higher price, of course.) It doesn't even matter if the recipes all start with the letter “Z”, just as long as a clear theme shows through.
Just Another User's Manual?
Readers who aren't good cooks want to make good food, quick and easy. Recipes that require long preparation times, specialized cooking utensils, and exotic ingredients won't go over well with this crowd. Play up your theme, but keep the recipes simple.
Or The Right Tools For The Right Job
Engineers can make just about anything—as long as they have the right tools. That's what cookbooks are to readers who can cook. For this group, the recipes aren't formulas to be followed with scientific precision. They're ideas meant to stimulate their own creations. Exotic recipes are acceptable, but you'd better be spot on with your research.
The Demand For Cookbooks?
Of course, grand cultural statements were never the purpose of cook book writing. Rather, it's more important to exchange the best recipes within a given community or pass them along from one generation to another.
There will always be a demand for cookbooks.