How To: Publish A Cookbook

PHOTO COURTESY PRIYA KRISHNA

Priya Krishna is a talented food writer with two published cookbooks under her belt. Her first, Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks, is a book all about taking everyday dining hall food and making it delicious. Her second, Indian-ish, is a collection of her mother’s recipes that combine influences of traditional Indian and American ingredients, as well as inspiration from her travels around the world. So who better to ask than Priya how to publish a cookbook? Below are her helpful tips:

1. Write a great proposal. A proposal is what you or your agent sends to different publishing houses to sell your book before it’s written. It should include a summary of your upcoming cookbook, explain why you’re the person to write it, and share your vision. Including a few recipes is always a good idea! 

2. Shop it around to agents you love. An agent can be your most important asset in getting a cookbook published. Priya recommends “opening the back of cookbooks that you like –– people usually acknowledge their agent.” The importance of an agent is not only their connections to getting your book published, but also that a good agent “will be your advocate, and tell you not what you aren’t or what you lack, but what you bring to the table.”