At this past Wednesday's #foodistachat, Adam Salomone of The Harvard Common Press took questions on publishing, ebooks and digital cookbooks as our featured guest. The recap of the one-hour chat follows:
Please welcome Adam Salomone (@hcpdishes) from The Harvard Common Press. He's here to answer your Qs on ebooks & publishing. #foodistachat
— Foodista (@foodista) July 11, 2012
@foodista I think a lot of the misconception is around ideas and bloggers struggle with how a cookbook augments brand #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
By that I mean, why am I publishing a cookbook and how does it reflect the brand I've built online? #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
I also see trend in uncertainty around how to get started with digital publishing, but there are a lot of options out there #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Think about how it extends your brand, is there a way to use it to reach a new audience? #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
Author Solutions, FastPencil, even CreateSpace from Amazon all offer the opportunity for a blogger to pub digitally #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Or better yet, can it help a blogger build new business? Show off recipe development prowess, attract sponsors, etc #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@ThoseYoungMoms Good question, I think it does seem easier because you don't have the traditional pubs to deal with #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@ThoseYoungMoms But I think it depends on your reach…it's difficult to market a new ebook because it's not physical #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@ThoseYoungMoms Here's an exercise, think about how you discover ebooks and whether you think you can drive sales that way #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient The idea first and foremost, something that has a "hook" or an angle. Also a strong author voice and backstory #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient Our cookbooks are about more than just recipes, they include the headnotes which give context and add narrative #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley @foodista Very true, I think with memoir + recipe, it's all about the stories, the finished dish photo is less imp #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Food blog is tough though because it demands photos…use your words and other creative flourishes to highlight voice #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Think of your blog as business, every business knows it's audience, has a mission statement, bloggers need one too #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista "Mission"... why are you blogging, why are you unique? And who is your audience? Answer those questions to find voice #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley There is, I think it's a smaller segment of the marketplace, because it is so personal, where recipes are universal #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Relating is important, remember that when readers cook your recipes, you give they oppty to connect with experience #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley If you can make that experience more universal or relatable, you'll have a better chance to engage readers #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Move towards health-conscious topics (vegan, GF, etc), also the influx of appliance cookbooks, as well as overlays #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista "Overlays" could be something like gluten-free slow cooker, covers two topics for a narrower focus #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@haveamaryday social marketing of blogs is tricky, but again remember your audience, where do they hang out? #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@haveamaryday Can you go to them with your content rather than trying to force them to come to you? #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@haveamaryday I've also seen pinterest drive a ton of traffic around blog content with photo-heavy stuff #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@GFDougie @foodista Agreed completely, it should be seen as a business and the opportunity that's there #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient I think depends on the topic, if you do that, make sure it's highly relevant and also content that has high value #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient Hard to give content free on blog and charge for it somewhere else, but the value could also be in the compiling #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Plant-based is big right now, but remember that you won't have to appeal to all, about your specific audience #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@cookingjoe @foodista In the traditional sense, yes, but think about all the social searching we do via social networks #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@cookingjoe @foodista Much of that is organic, for things that we perhaps didn't know we were searching and can be multimedia #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient And I think selling repackages is a volume business, not big retail amount. Think $0.99 per repack #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient Inclination w/ repacks to choose 10 most popular blog posts, seems like a mistake to me, those posts may not relate #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista A few first steps, first figure out the goals of why you want to write…extra revenue? Branding? #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Next is thinking about topic, come up with subject you're passionate about, reflects blog and has general interest #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Then put together outline or proposal to prove out the concept and put in place steps towards writing the book #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@jaysgrilltweets Not particularly, though remember that depending on where you sell it, some readers won't render photos well #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@jaysgrilltweets Original kindle reader is an obvious example #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@jamesonfink If there's a way to do both, that's best…ex/ is gluten-free…very specific to an audience, but everyone wants it #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@jamesonfink Don't think you can be completely original, try to have unique slant (think of how many cupcake books there are) #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley And if you can use those stories and make it so that people experience their own stories through yours, it's a win #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley You feel like you get to know someone on personal level, which makes the constant interaction on blogs very powerful #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Do your research, know what the publisher pubs, other books in the backlist, reference those in any outreach #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Realize how your book fits in with their list, put together a bang-up proposal that will impress #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Proposal includes short exec summary of idea, author bio, proposed TOC, audience analysis, competition research #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista sample chapters with recipes and other intro text to gauge writing style, marketing and publicity plans. #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista If you have a platform, talk about it loud and clear in proposal and why it's a fit with the book…! #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley @foodista Doesn't have to be finished cookbook, better if not oftentimes because pub will want to shape with you #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Also depends from pub to pub if you can walk in with an idea, some bigger houses don't accept unagented ideas #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Smaller pubs tend to be more open to that stuff though and you can more easily approach with ideas. #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Good chapter, yes definitely, that helps a lot. Pub may still want to work with you on how chapters are organized #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley And crafting the narrative arc that flows from one chapter to the next #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient Self-publishing is good for the right ideas, many are drawn to it because they think there's more $$, yes and no #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient Something to be said for having a publisher sounding board if you can get in the door #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@efficient Also something to be said for being able to self-pub in a number of months vs a few years with a traditional pub #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Ohh! Sorry, I see…yes and no, pubs want writers who are unique and have a story, but not everyone is the same #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley It's about building each author as a unique brand, they share strengths (strong voice) so they appear similar #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Similar voice and similar subject can go together, I'd say yes, pub will also have a sense of how to work with you #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@LysRiley Oftentimes, if author has similar voice to yours, there's oppty to build brands in tandem, it can be very effective #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 11, 2012
@foodista Of course, I was glad to participate and so pleased to be in the company of smart and enthusiastic folks! #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 12, 2012
@LysRiley Of course! I think even if you find inspiration from others, you bring your own experience to table to make unique #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 12, 2012
Take care everyone, and feel free to @ reply me with questions or other thoughts…! #foodistachat
— Adam Salomone (@HCPDishes) July 12, 2012
Have a great evening, everyone! Don't forget to follow @hcpdishes to stay in touch. #foodistachat
— Foodista (@foodista) July 12, 2012
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