Linguine with Olives and Parsley Recipe

by Maria

Linguine with olives and parsley recipe

I was flipping through a copy of Bon Appétit a few weeks ago, when I spotted this recipe. Don’t ask me what issue it was, because I don’t want to have to admit how many months I fell behind this summer. It was a 2015 issue, though. So, almost okay.

But I saw this recipe and I knew, right away, that this was The One. The One is that recipe that you think about for days and weeks until you finally scratch the itch and cook it and eat it and revel in it.

There’s been a lot of reveling over this recipe in our house. I cooked it two weeks back-to-back, and I may be bold and cook it AGAIN next week. I know, big stuff!

Read More

6 easy steps to the best nonfiction book idea

by Maria

A literary agent on the 6 easy steps to finding the best nonfiction book idea–the easiest process for landing on the best nonfiction book idea for you!

Is it spring yet?!

I’ve had enough of this cold, and the rain, and the grayness, and I’m ready for deep sunshine and sitting on the porch.

best nonfiction book idea

Aaah. Heaven.

Until the weather breaks, I wanted to chat about book ideas, which is one of the things I see authors most struggle with. It’s not easy to find the best nonfiction book idea for you, and as an agent, it’s the pits watching an author flounder for inspiration.

Maybe you have a zillion ideas and don’t know which is the best? Maybe you have one idea but don’t know if it would sell? Maybe you have no ideas just yet?

It should seem easy enough to find the best nonfiction book idea. Just find an idea you love, then write about that, right?

Except that a book isn’t for you. A book is for readers.

Ideally, the readership you’ve already built through your platform. And why spend nearly 2 years going through the publishing process if your book won’t make readers’ lives easier and more enjoyable?

A publisher also isn’t likely to invest in your book if they don’t think readers will find value in it. They’ll want you to pinpoint a clear problem you’re solving in the reader’s life and have a unique, interesting way to solve it.

So, how do you find that perfect intersection between what you love to write about and what readers will love? How do you find the best nonfiction book idea for you?

Here’s the exact process I use with my authors to help them find the best nonfiction book idea for them. Usually we walk through this research together, but today, you and I can go through it together digitally. ☺

best nonfiction book idea

 

6 easy steps to the best nonfiction book idea

Read More

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

by Maria

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

Easy Freezer Breakfast Sliders Recipe

by Maria

Freezer Breakfast Sliders Recipe

Do you cook breakfast every morning? Of course not. Who does that? There’s something about busy weekday mornings that leads to cutting some corners, and the corner I always cut? Breakfast.

As I wrote about here, I’m a coffee-as-breakfast kind of gal. A nice hot cup of good coffee with soy milk is usually enough to get me through to lunch. But because I’m trying to 1. Eat more vegetables, 2. Be less lazy, 3. Stop being so jittery in the morning, 4. Get my damn act together already, it was time for a change.

And by a change I mean being lazy in a creative way. By freezing easy breakfast options. So one weekend we cooked a big batch of these healthy double chocolate zucchini muffins from my lovely author, Monique, and a giant batch of freezeable ham and egg breakfast sliders.

These freezeable sandwiches will be your new breakfast best buds. For one, they are cute, and sometimes that’s the most important thing, right? But they’re also protein-packed, healthyish, easy, veggie-infused, and delicious. And cute. Did I mention that?

Read More