Pick A Theme:

The sky is the limit when it comes to choosing a theme for your cookbook. Will it be centered around a specific region, say, the peasant fare of Northern France? Or are you just going to put together the favorite recipes of members of your church or other organization? Deciding the theme of your cookbook is the first thing you will want to do, as this will guide the rest of the process.

Gather Your Recipes:

If you are putting together a cookbook for an organization that features the recipes of its members, you will, of course, need to make sure that you get as much participation and cooperation as possible. The first thing you might want to do is to make some sort of announcement in person in front of the group in question. At the end of your announcement, send around a sign-up sheet and gather as many emails as you can – and phone numbers too, as they will help you when it comes to deadline time. Start sending out group emails letting your participants know what kids of recipes you are looking for, and when you will need to have them submitted. Don’t expect every single person who signs up to give you their full cooperation, but also don’t be afraid to send out friendly reminders or to make a few calls to ensure that your cookbook is a success.

If you are creating your own cookbook with your own recipes, create a schedule for yourself that will help you stay on task and keep your momentum going. Have your “foodie” friends and family try as many of your recipes as you can and give you constructive criticism.

Organize and Edit Your Cookbook:

You may have received submissions that are all over the culinary map. This can be a good thing for a group cookbook, as it will appeal to a broader audience. Once you have your recipes in hand and printed out, you can start to organize them based on the type of dish. You can have a chapter for Appetizers, Main Courses, Salads, and Desserts, for instance, or you can organize the book according to other criteria.

Whatever you decide, you will want to make sure that your recipes are free of typographical errors, and that they are all clear and easy to follow. You might want to try as many of the recipes as you have time to, just to make sure they are all written correctly.

Layout And Design:

Find or take some high quality photographs of at least some of the dishes, and take some time to design an attractive cover. If you need some help with this part, ask your contributors if they know anyone in graphic design that may be able to assist you.

Put together the recipes and photographs in MS Word, or better yet, a program such as Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, or QuarkXpress.

Printing and Binding:

Use a high-quality, four color process digital printer for your pages. As far as binding, there are a few different directions you can go. Plastic Comb and Spiral Coil binding offer hands-free functionality, while Twin Loop does this while adding a touch of elegance. Thermal (hardcover) binding gives you a bookstore-ready finished product. All of the above methods can be done at home with the purchase of an inexpensive, easy to use binding machine. Having your own machine on hand will allow you to create books whenever you want, and to save some money in the process.

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Category: Arts and Crafts
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