Monday, April 30, 2012

Following My Dreams

You know that phrase, "Follow your dream"'? Well, I've officially decided to grab the bull by the horns and pursue a dream I've had since elementary school.
When I got a poem of mine published in an anthology in fourth grade, I wanted, more than anything, to see my name in print again. For years I attempted to do so in vain, and eventually started this blog to be able to share my thoughts and write for the masses. My blog led the way for me to get my magazine column, but still... Blog, magazine column- I want something a little more permanent than that- something like a book.

You may have noticed that as much as I like writing about saving money , my real passion is cooking- frugally, of course. (That's how I ended up with so many cooking related posts!) I like to collect recipes, both that I created on my own, and that I tweaked to suit my dietary needs, and have amassed a huge amount.

Would it come as a surprise to you if I told you that finally, finally I'm doing what people have been telling me to do for so long- that I'm compiling a cookbook? Honestly, I'm surprising myself as well, as I have ADD brain and procrastinate... But I'm finally working on my book and am even making progress!  I even  already had a meeting with a graphic designer friend to get her to start working on certain things I need for the book!

So the plans are as follows:

Its going to be a complete "from scratch" cookbook, frugal recipes, special diet friendly. I'll be including many variations within most recipes, so you can either make it as cheap as possible, or as healthy for you as possible. I'll be including a key to the special diets; in the index there will be a marking next to each recipe which diets it is good for.

The diets it'll include:
Gluten free
Dairy free
Egg free
Nightshade free
Peanut free
Tree nut free
Corn free
Fish free
Vegetarian
Vegan
Refined sugar free
Sweetener free (no honey, etc)
Grain Free
Paleo/primal
Whole grain
Low fat
All recipes are shellfish and soy and processed food free.

I'll also include some frugal cooking tips and other useful bits of kitchen advice.

If my estimate is correct, I'll probably have somewhere close to 200 recipes.

The goal is to first put together an e-book, and once I have that put together, approach a publishing company about doing it in print. (No, I have no intention to self publish.)

So, I have some questions for you.
1) Anyone have any ties to a publishing company that does cookbooks, or have suggestions who I should approach? 

2) What should I call it? I was thinking maybe something like 'From the Penniless Kitchen' or 'Something From Nothing' but I'm open to other suggestions. 


3) Would you buy such an ebook or know someone that would? Would you buy a print version (that may or may not come out, depending on publishers)? If you would, what aspect of it would most appeal to you? 



4) Are you on any special diet? If so, what type?

5) How much should I charge for such an e book? How much would you be willing to pay ?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!

Linking up to Fat Tuesday, Traditional TuesdayFreaky FridayFresh Bites FridayFight Back Friday, Frugal Days, Sustainable WaysAllergy Free WednesdayReal Food Wednesday

2 comments:

  1. I dunno if anything ever came of this, but I'd definitely buy an e-book of a recipe book if you made one. I'd probably expect to pay between $10-15 for it.
    I probably wouldn't buy a print version myself (I'm always loathe to spend money for myself on recipe books), but I would definitely add it to the list of things I wanted for my birthday from family.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Where are you now with the book? This sounds great. I know I could use a book like this.

    ReplyDelete

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