I have my grandmother’s recipes, they are written on index cards, in my family it’s a very treasured item, I have wanted to turn it into a book for along time. My goal is to put this book together this year.
I have already written one cookbook over 550 recipes writing the second I'm at over 400 recipes I just haven't had the nerve to publish I'm affraid that they won't be too enough. I have alot of doubts in myself since my husband of 42 years just recently passed away he used to tell me all the time honey I didn't get this beautiful because you can't cook that's for sure!! But I'm terrified now thank you for your time and your teaching I will try to apply it God bless and stay safe!
Lori, this is fantastic! That's an amazing amount of recipes. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of as the only judge in that "it isn't enough" is you. I promise that your friends and family will all purchase the book and that will feel amazing enough. I will be the first in line for sure! I'm terribly saddened to hear about your husband, but I think he would still love to see you get yourself published. You can do this!
Omg. I’ve watched SO many videos in search of this information, only to come away without any more knowledge than when I started. THANK YOU for your simple, direct & honest “how to”! I just subscribed to your channel and am ready to be inspired even more! 😊
OMG! Yes! So helpful!!!! I just shared your video with my sisters! Everything my sister cooks is hands down the best! Can’t wait to come back in a few months and share her cookbook success with you!
Thanks so much this really helped me with great ideas. Im writing my first cook book🍗. My speciality is SOULFOOD. I wrote down my notes from your CZcams to get started. Thanks🧑🍳
I love your fun approach to writing i think its more important nowadays to convey more of your personality in cookbooks instead of the same old same old. Well done and thanks for sharing!
I’m starting. Y first cook book. My mother made everything from scratch. So that’s all I know how do cook. Thank you for sharing on what I need to do. 😘
I am also working on a recipe book and I did these steps. Stuck in printing and distribution. I decided to go with the amazon option. But my recipe book has a lot of photos and photo print quality is not good with amazon. Now I need to look for another printing option.
Ohhh, great tip. Yes, I did not add photos to my book because the cost of Amazon printing black & white was so much less expensive. Good to know. Please share if you find a solution.
Thanks for the breakdown of information. I didn't realize it could be this simple! This is something I've thought about doing for a while but was worried of how daunting it could be.
My pleasure! I was surprised how easy it was as well and couldn't wait to tell the world. Feel free to share the news about your book once you've put it together.
This is my first time of coming across this channel, I am already tempted to subscribe. I want to be a cookbook author. I have written two already but I still need help.
Perfect!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I have wanted to do this for sooo long and you have inspired me to JUST DO IT. Lolol.... Thank you again friend. Sammie-B.F.H.
OMG thanks so much. You made this very easy to understand. Believe it or not, I was a little confused when I was trying to understand the steps in write my cook book on Amazon. You made it very plain. Thanks a BUNCH.
Thanks Rose! I hope your cookbook gets out there and you receive much success from it! Feel free to share the link here when it's ready so we can all be proud of you together😘
Hello Virginia! Fantastic video! You were so informative and clear with the directions! I have always wanted to do a recipe book! I am so excited! I will watch this video several times..lol Congratulations on your recipe book! Is it ready for ordering? Best wishes on your channel! Have a blessed day!💖
Thank you Nicole! I was hoping others would see the video and publish their own cookbook as well. I remember when I had tried to publish maybe two years ago, but didn't have the $5K to get it going. Finally, we have an alternative that is FREEEE. Please share your link once you get yours together. I'm already looking forward to it! Yes, my book came out in July 2019 - amzn.to/30erz0G and it's so exciting!
@@VirginiaStockwell Thanks for paving the way! I am really happy for you! I can't wait to read the recipes! I love love tacos..we are in Texas and that is a very family favorite! When I get it do I have your permission to talk about it and do a review of it with out showing detailed recipes and let them know how they can get it and support your channel?
@@nicolesdiy Let's all support each other! Yep, I'm from Southern California, so know how important tacos are to a family! Please share! You're welcome to cook and repost a recipe as well (just leave my name and channel for credit). You're the best!
Virginia Stockwell yay!! That’s so exciting! I will definitely do that! Can’t wait! We had chicken tacos last night..Lol! I put the meat in the pressure cooker.. falls apart .. delicious! I will start thinking of laying out my recipes! Also, we are big fans of cooking and baking! My daughter took culinary arts for 2 years in H.S. She won a competition best cupcake ever! So much fun! It was a root beer float cupcake! Yummy good! She will love your channel!
I have been thinking about it. I do videos on youtube,and a cooking group on facebook. I would love to turn some of my best recipes into a cook book and try. so hopefully i can use you info. now im gonna start collecting the recipes and make a theme. thanks for your info
Thanks for sharing, this was very informative. I'm working on my second book but this is my first cookbook! What if I want to design a cookbook with pictures? Is that a hard process? Does Amazon copyright your recipes and is it a charge?
Color is not a hard process as very similar to the black and white process, but it's the cost that's prohibitive. Printing in color is $$. You may want to run through a cost analysis before proceeding. I found that I'd have to charge like $50 or more for color, which would be a difficult price to get someone to pay. Amazon is definitely not responsible for any copyrighting at all. Recipes actually cannot be copyrighted. The stories accompanying a recipe are yours, but you cannot copyright a recipe. Here's what the government says, "A mere listing of ingredients is not protected under copyright law. However, where a recipe or formula is accompanied by substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, or when there is a collection of recipes as in a cookbook, there may be a basis for copyright protection." In summary and reality, forget about the copyright. Even if you did copyright anything in your life, all it does is put a stamp on it. You would still have to hire an attorney to protect the copyright infringement. Is it worthwhile financially?
How does the printing work? Do they only print when someone requests a printed copy, or does KDP print X amount to have on hand at a time? Do you sell it as an ebook on KDP too?
@@VirginiaStockwell interesting! Ok, next question :) If I use KDP for either print or ebook, so they own the rights? Meaning, would i be able to sell it through other channels or only KDP?
I used KDP, which is Kindle Direct Publishing to upload it into Amazon. They'll let you know the formats you need to make everything uploadable for their platform.
I kept my cookbook as simple as possible and did not include photos. Of course, the feedback I received was "hey, next time, you really need to include photos." Ha! Of course. I actually take food photos on a daily basis, so have a ton. I think if you're just putting together something for your friends and family, then no need for the photos. If you're looking to use it as a social proof tool, definitely include photos. Keep in mind it's the photo printing that is going to make your book more costly and decrease your profit margin, however.
Hi there. I'm inquiring for my father. He's ready to publish but is shopping for the best deal. Would you say your exposure is equal to that of a traditional publisher? We don't have any experience with this yet. He just wants to get out there and market properly without any surprises.
A self-published book is completely exposure YOU create, since you're the self that is publishing. However, even if you obtain a traditional publisher, you will have to market just as much. The publisher may have connections, but you'll be paying for it. Also...you have to know a publisher to get published. They receive hundreds of manuscripts a day asking to be published, so really only choose one if recommended by someone they know.
From the moment your words are written on paper or digital file, your work becomes protected under intellectual property law. It doesn't require any formal registration. If someone does copy it, however, you would have to hire an attorney to defend it.
So I wrote my cookbook but I have been having so much trouble with formatting my cover and manuscript! i have paid 2 different people to help me on fiver with no success! how did you get it formatted?
You got this! As we talked about and for anyone reading, I used Freelancer.com to get it formatted correctly, paying someone after I received approval that the formatting is correct. The formatting seems to be the most difficult part!
Not random at all! Yes, you can put any and all recipes in your cookbook. Recipes are not protected under copyright. The story above a recipe, however, can be copyrighted.
Great question! Once you've uploaded the book into KDP, you have the option to choose black and white, size and quality of paper. By choosing any of these, they instantly provide you with cost so you can see if it's going to be worth it and what kind of price you need to charge to ensure you are receiving some sort of profit.
I did try to trademark the name! I spent about $600 filing paperwork and they still wanted more money and more paperwork, so truly I gave up. I think if I were to do it again, I would hire an attorney. I imagine it would cost about $3K to trademark total. The paperwork is extremely complicated. From my own experience, I wouldn't recommend trying to do it on your own without an attorney's help.
I published it on Amazon. No, selling a book will definitely not bring enough income for living. You can anticipate your personal network to purchase it, but not really beyond that. They say that the average book sells 500 copies in a lifetime.
How to Become a Personal Chef, step by step PDF available here: www.virginiastockwell.com/steps-youtubeMPB
I have my grandmother’s recipes, they are written on index cards, in my family it’s a very treasured item, I have wanted to turn it into a book for along time. My goal is to put this book together this year.
Yes! I look forward to checking it out once complete! Do it!
I have already written one cookbook over 550 recipes writing the second I'm at over 400 recipes I just haven't had the nerve to publish I'm affraid that they won't be too enough. I have alot of doubts in myself since my husband of 42 years just recently passed away he used to tell me all the time honey I didn't get this beautiful because you can't cook that's for sure!! But I'm terrified now thank you for your time and your teaching I will try to apply it God bless and stay safe!
Lori, this is fantastic! That's an amazing amount of recipes. There's absolutely nothing to be afraid of as the only judge in that "it isn't enough" is you. I promise that your friends and family will all purchase the book and that will feel amazing enough. I will be the first in line for sure! I'm terribly saddened to hear about your husband, but I think he would still love to see you get yourself published. You can do this!
"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me"
(Philippians 4:13)
I know you can do it, go for it. I'd buy your cookbook. 🧡 😊
I've published hundreds of recipe books and we can work together if you want. I can publish your recipe book.
You sound like me!
Omg. I’ve watched SO many videos in search of this information, only to come away without any more knowledge than when I started. THANK YOU for your simple, direct & honest “how to”! I just subscribed to your channel and am ready to be inspired even more! 😊
Yay! So great to hear. I tried to break it down and make it easy for you :)
OMG! Yes! So helpful!!!! I just shared your video with my sisters! Everything my sister cooks is hands down the best! Can’t wait to come back in a few months and share her cookbook success with you!
Awww, thanks! You're the best. And yes, please share the cookbook success!
Thanks so much this really helped me with great ideas. Im writing my first cook book🍗. My speciality is SOULFOOD. I wrote down my notes from your CZcams to get started. Thanks🧑🍳
This is wonderful to hear! I can't wait to hear about your successes!
I am currently writing one cookbook and the information I got here was really helpful..... thank you so much
My pleasure :)
I love your fun approach to writing i think its more important nowadays to convey more of your personality in cookbooks instead of the same old same old. Well done and thanks for sharing!
Jason, your compliment just made my day. You're the best! I wish you much success in your cookbook :)
I’m seriously considering writing a cookbook. Thanks for all this easy to understand info. Thumbs up given 👍👍👍.
Yes, yes, definitely write it! It makes my day that the video helped in the making of your future success :)
@@VirginiaStockwell😊👍
I’m starting. Y first cook book. My mother made everything from scratch. So that’s all I know how do cook. Thank you for sharing on what I need to do. 😘
Yes! I'm excited for you :) From scratch is far superior than processed foods as you already know. You're going to be amazing.
@@DigitalCourseFreelancer Thank you!
Thank you for your advice! I’m hoping for the best in my self published cookbook ❤
Yes! You can do this :) Best wishes to you! You're going to be amazing.
I am also working on a recipe book and I did these steps. Stuck in printing and distribution. I decided to go with the amazon option. But my recipe book has a lot of photos and photo print quality is not good with amazon. Now I need to look for another printing option.
Ohhh, great tip. Yes, I did not add photos to my book because the cost of Amazon printing black & white was so much less expensive. Good to know. Please share if you find a solution.
@@VirginiaStockwell ohhh yes. I will definitely share once i figure out something 🙂
Thanks for the breakdown of information. I didn't realize it could be this simple! This is something I've thought about doing for a while but was worried of how daunting it could be.
My pleasure! I was surprised how easy it was as well and couldn't wait to tell the world. Feel free to share the news about your book once you've put it together.
I’m working on my cook book as I type thank you for this be blessed
Yay! You got this! Post the link once it's complete so we can check it out.
This was really helpful! Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure :)
This is my first time of coming across this channel, I am already tempted to subscribe. I want to be a cookbook author. I have written two already but I still need help.
Wow, two books already! You're already an accomplished author. Def put out another!!
@@VirginiaStockwell Thanks mam, I am just a Begginer, please, can you help me with a review? I have published it on Amazon.
Perfect!!! Thank you so much for sharing this. I have wanted to do this for sooo long and you have inspired me to JUST DO IT. Lolol.... Thank you again friend. Sammie-B.F.H.
My pleasure, yay!
OMG thanks so much. You made this very easy to understand. Believe it or not, I was a little confused when I was trying to understand the steps in write my cook book on Amazon. You made it very plain. Thanks a BUNCH.
Thanks Rose! I hope your cookbook gets out there and you receive much success from it! Feel free to share the link here when it's ready so we can all be proud of you together😘
Thank you for this!!!!
My pleasure :)
Pretty interesting step by steps, thank you
My pleasure :)
Great tips. I am thinking about self publishing my first cookbook. Thank you for sharing!
Yes!! I look forward to hearing about it and your successes!
Thank you for the detailed explanation on how to publish cookbook in Amazon. Will fill your instructions to publish mine🙏🙏 thank you🙏
My pleasure :)
Hello Virginia! Fantastic video! You were so informative and clear with the directions! I have always wanted to do a recipe book! I am so excited! I will watch this video several times..lol
Congratulations on your recipe book! Is it ready for ordering? Best wishes on your channel!
Have a blessed day!💖
Thank you Nicole! I was hoping others would see the video and publish their own cookbook as well. I remember when I had tried to publish maybe two years ago, but didn't have the $5K to get it going. Finally, we have an alternative that is FREEEE. Please share your link once you get yours together. I'm already looking forward to it! Yes, my book came out in July 2019 - amzn.to/30erz0G and it's so exciting!
@@VirginiaStockwell Thanks for paving the way! I am really happy for you! I can't wait to read the recipes! I love love tacos..we are in Texas and that is a very family favorite! When I get it do I have your permission to talk about it and do a review of it with out showing detailed recipes and let them know how they can get it and support your channel?
@@nicolesdiy Let's all support each other! Yep, I'm from Southern California, so know how important tacos are to a family! Please share! You're welcome to cook and repost a recipe as well (just leave my name and channel for credit). You're the best!
Virginia Stockwell yay!! That’s so exciting! I will definitely do that! Can’t wait! We had chicken tacos last night..Lol! I put the meat in the pressure cooker.. falls apart .. delicious! I will start thinking of laying out my recipes! Also, we are big fans of cooking and baking! My daughter took culinary arts for 2 years in H.S. She won a competition best cupcake ever! So much fun! It was a root beer float cupcake! Yummy good! She will love your channel!
I have been thinking about it. I do videos on youtube,and a cooking group on facebook. I would love to turn some of my best recipes into a cook book and try. so hopefully i can use you info. now im gonna start collecting the recipes and make a theme. thanks for your info
Yay! I just subscribed to your channel, awesome. You should definitely put together a cookbook! Let me know how it goes!
@@VirginiaStockwell thank you! your video is great Im certainly gonna try ,but I have a way to go. thanks for subscribing
Hello this is my first cook book
Ohhh this is wonderful! I'm expecting many more from you in the future!
thank you
My pleasure!
How do i start
Thank you 💗🙏
Welcome!
Thanks for sharing, this was very informative. I'm working on my second book but this is my first cookbook! What if I want to design a cookbook with pictures? Is that a hard process? Does Amazon copyright your recipes and is it a charge?
Color is not a hard process as very similar to the black and white process, but it's the cost that's prohibitive. Printing in color is $$. You may want to run through a cost analysis before proceeding. I found that I'd have to charge like $50 or more for color, which would be a difficult price to get someone to pay. Amazon is definitely not responsible for any copyrighting at all. Recipes actually cannot be copyrighted. The stories accompanying a recipe are yours, but you cannot copyright a recipe. Here's what the government says, "A mere listing of ingredients is not protected under copyright law. However, where a recipe or formula is accompanied by substantial literary expression in the form of an explanation or directions, or when there is a collection of recipes as in a cookbook, there may be a basis for copyright protection." In summary and reality, forget about the copyright. Even if you did copyright anything in your life, all it does is put a stamp on it. You would still have to hire an attorney to protect the copyright infringement. Is it worthwhile financially?
How does the printing work? Do they only print when someone requests a printed copy, or does KDP print X amount to have on hand at a time?
Do you sell it as an ebook on KDP too?
Amazon prints on demand. Kind of amazing, isn't it?! Yes, I also sell on KDP.
@@VirginiaStockwell interesting! Ok, next question :)
If I use KDP for either print or ebook, so they own the rights? Meaning, would i be able to sell it through other channels or only KDP?
What website did you use to make your cookbook?
I used KDP, which is Kindle Direct Publishing to upload it into Amazon. They'll let you know the formats you need to make everything uploadable for their platform.
where do you get the pictures from?do you just take your own?
I kept my cookbook as simple as possible and did not include photos. Of course, the feedback I received was "hey, next time, you really need to include photos." Ha! Of course. I actually take food photos on a daily basis, so have a ton. I think if you're just putting together something for your friends and family, then no need for the photos. If you're looking to use it as a social proof tool, definitely include photos. Keep in mind it's the photo printing that is going to make your book more costly and decrease your profit margin, however.
Hi there. I'm inquiring for my father. He's ready to publish but is shopping for the best deal. Would you say your exposure is equal to that of a traditional publisher? We don't have any experience with this yet. He just wants to get out there and market properly without any surprises.
A self-published book is completely exposure YOU create, since you're the self that is publishing. However, even if you obtain a traditional publisher, you will have to market just as much. The publisher may have connections, but you'll be paying for it. Also...you have to know a publisher to get published. They receive hundreds of manuscripts a day asking to be published, so really only choose one if recommended by someone they know.
Can you add pictures of the recipes in the book ?
Yes, you can cut and paste them easily into a Word document. Of course, it's costs a lot more to print a book in color unfortunately.
Do I have to register a copyright? Or is my work automatically protected?
From the moment your words are written on paper or digital file, your work becomes protected under intellectual property law. It doesn't require any formal registration. If someone does copy it, however, you would have to hire an attorney to defend it.
So I wrote my cookbook but I have been having so much trouble with formatting my cover and manuscript! i have paid 2 different people to help me on fiver with no success! how did you get it formatted?
You got this! As we talked about and for anyone reading, I used Freelancer.com to get it formatted correctly, paying someone after I received approval that the formatting is correct. The formatting seems to be the most difficult part!
May I ask what type of recipe book you put out?
That's Simple... CZcams how to write a book on draft 2 digital 😁
My cookbook is at amzn.to/30erz0G.
Be sure and share what your cookbook is about. I can't wait to hear about it!
Random question I have recipes from random sourced and my own can you legally put them in your cookbook to sell
Not random at all! Yes, you can put any and all recipes in your cookbook. Recipes are not protected under copyright. The story above a recipe, however, can be copyrighted.
@@VirginiaStockwell Thats what I thought. So I just have to change the wording of the directions and what not right? Thank you very much appreciated
How can I make the pages in color?
Great question! Once you've uploaded the book into KDP, you have the option to choose black and white, size and quality of paper. By choosing any of these, they instantly provide you with cost so you can see if it's going to be worth it and what kind of price you need to charge to ensure you are receiving some sort of profit.
Did you copyright the name?
I did try to trademark the name! I spent about $600 filing paperwork and they still wanted more money and more paperwork, so truly I gave up. I think if I were to do it again, I would hire an attorney. I imagine it would cost about $3K to trademark total. The paperwork is extremely complicated. From my own experience, I wouldn't recommend trying to do it on your own without an attorney's help.
I have mine copyrighted and printed, how should I publish it? Are you able to make a fair living off of this?
I published it on Amazon. No, selling a book will definitely not bring enough income for living. You can anticipate your personal network to purchase it, but not really beyond that. They say that the average book sells 500 copies in a lifetime.