Book Deal Announcement: The Add a Pinch Cookbook by Robyn Stone

Add a Pinch Balsamic Beef recipe
Photo via Robyn Stone, AddaPinch.com.

You know what’s fun? Announcement Day.

Announcement Day is the day that an author finally gets to announce to her readers that she’s been brewing up a book behind the scenes. It’s definitely one of the 6 moments to celebrate on a publishing journey.

We usually try to keep the book-brewing process (can I call it that? I’ve decided yes) under wraps until the publishing contract is signed. But since everything in publishing works at a slower pace, this can mean months of pent-up excitement with nary a soul to gush to. So, let the gushing finally begin! As Robyn Stone of Add a Pinch wrote in her announcement post:

I am writing a cookbook.

Lord have mercy, just typing those words thrills me and makes me a nervous wreck all at the same time!

The cookbook, being published by Clarkson Potter, is based on the blog and will be filled with brand-spanking new recipes (and a few favorites) that I think y’all are absolutely going to love!

Lord have mercy is right! Robyn and I had so much fun cooking up this book proposal, and I know this cookbook is going to be really special. Not only because it will have Robyn’s great stories throughout (you can practically hear the Southern twang when you read her writing!,) but also because her food is just so darn good.

So, as always, let’s talk about the food.

Read More

The Good Stuff: A Book Deal with a Side of Cheesecake

how to publish a book

As I mentioned last week, August is the month of The Good Stuff around these parts. My main post each week will be focusing on all the moments that are worth celebrating in the publishing world: everything from stories about successful book deals, to writing inspiration, to the 6 moments you should celebrate on your publishing journey (coming next week!)…

So let’s talk book deals, and let’s talk cheesecake. (Mmmhmmm!) I’m excited to officially announce a new deal that’s been in the works—Cheesecake Love by Jocelyn Brubaker, the wonderfully talented blogger behind Inside BruCrew Life.

Here’s the official deal listing:

Screen Shot 2015-08-03 at 1.47.36 PM

It’s so much fun to hit this stage in the publishing journey, because it’s the culmination of lots of hard work on the part of the author, editor, and agent. Jocelyn worked hard for years to build such a dedicated and loyal readership around her blog, and she’s such a pro at both sharing recipes and sharing stories with her readers.

One of the first things I always want to know when I’m considering signing a new author is their creation story. How did they get where they are? What got them started on blogging, or whatever other channel they use to build a platform?

Here’s a snippet of Jocelyn’s story, in her own words:

Read More

Deal News: DAMN DELICIOUS by Chungah Rhee

damn delicious book deal chung ah rhee

I realized this weekend that I’ve been doing a terrible job of announcing The Good Stuff. I’m always so focused on trying to help writers improve their craft and their platforms, but in reality, The Good Stuff can be just as inspiring as any practical advice. After all, the dream of getting a book deal is what makes all the long days and hard work of platform-building worth it.

So one of my goals for 2015 will be to share all The Good Stuff that’s happening behind the scenes of my day-to-day work. And today I’m excited to officially announce a deal that’s been long in the works: Damn Delicious by Chungah Rhee, to be published by Oxmoor House in Fall 2016!  Here’s the official Publishers Marketplace announcement:

Damn Delicious Book Deal

The book will be a gorgeous collection of the quickest, easiest recipes that have won Damn Delicious its huge readership. It will be published in association with Cooking Light, which means every recipe will include handy nutritional stats and be rigorously tested by the experts at the Cooking Light test kitchen.

I’m especially excited about this project because, while working with Chungah on the proposal and deal, I became completely addicted to her food. Seriously. Her recipes keep us fed around here. And yes, maybe I am not the most unbiased person to be raving about this, but I really am continually blown away by how easy, flavorful, and fun her recipes are. Here are a few favorites that have become part of our weekday rotation:

Read More