Dianne Jacob over at Will Write for Food wrote an interesting post on self publishing cookbooks in the new digital media. She makes some interesting point about digital publishing in general:
More than 2 million people already have the free Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List iPhone/iPad app. It’s got to trickle down to food writers releasing inexpensive apps and e-books. Got a plan? If you have a recipe database and videos, it’s a start for an e-book.
Wasn’t it just two years ago that the publishing industry was telling us that self publishing was dangerous, and that self published authors risked black-sheeping themselves for future big-house publications? I think even Dianne herself recommended against it when I took her class a few years ago.
But in the short time since then, the digital book industry has changed quite a bit. The Kindle took off, Amazon started its own powerful self publishing system, and the iPad was released to mass fanfare. The print-publishing industry has noticed marked decreases in sales (except the cookbook industry, of course), leaving authors scrabbling for new book contracts. In this era of new media, content is king – no publishing deals or physical page turning necessary.
Dianne’s post is timely, as I’ve just returned from a conference that brings journalists and techs together to build on the iPad platform. As a team of five people, we built an iPad app in one weekend that rivaled many apps that I’ve played with to date. With a few more weeks under our belts, we’ll be releasing a robust app that’s not only filled with great content, but can easily be ported over to anyone else’s content as well. We started out writing a pretty, compelling way to deliver recipes, and unwittingly ended up developing a salable self publishing media product.
While this shift might cause panic for more old-school writers, those of us who grew up in the internet age are seeing the floodgates of opportunity bursting wiiiiiiide open.
Yay, new media indeed.
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This is really exciting, Stephanie. I think it would be great to have an e-cookbook for the kitchen. Not that I don’t love book-cookbooks, I do. But the ease of having a device where everything is searchable with a keystroke sounds great.
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Definitely! I’m trying to think on ways to make it the next great kitchen tool, and it’s definitely a race to the finish.
Oh, that is big news, Stephanie. Look forward to learning more about your food focused iPad app. You’re such a techno whiz and you have the culinary chops too, so it’s bound to come in handy for home cooks. Congrats!
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Thanks, Sarah! I’d love to pick your brain on this, actually. Let’s get coffee soon.
Stephanie, these are exciting developments. I can picture an iPad resting on the kitchen counter displaying my recipe as I cook, no more index cards getting in my way. I’ve also seen a demo of a musician using an iPad to read music as she played the piano. Personally, I’m inspired to see the writing industry move with technology rather than against it. Now where’s the next app class? I’m read to sign up.
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Wow, the piano thing I hadn’t thought of. I just got a piano – I’m see another iPad use in my near future!
And they might plan another app event in your area – check it out:
http://hackshackers.com/
Great that you are in the forefront of this wave!
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Stephanie, nice to see a foodie on the cutting edge. I can’t wait to see what you come up with. Glad to have inspired you to post.
Thanks. You’ll definitely have a sneak peek sometime in the near future!
Stephanie,
This is very exciting – especially since hubby just got an IPad and he is absolutely enthralled with it (kind of like he used to be with me..:)
What a great way to deliver recipes and other cooking news!
Heh, maybe you need to give him a nice iPad wallpaper that’s a photo of you.
interesting that you could learn to build a good app so quickly. I look forward to hearing more.
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It’s not so hard if you’re familiar with the SDK – which I’m not terribly, but HTML5 is also very helpful!
Wow! Completely intrigued by your “robust app” and “salable self publishing media product,” remarks. Would love to try apha or beta version (& give feedback, if desired)–how/when can I get my hands on this????
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Hi Nancy,
Will definitely let you know when it’s ready for testing. Stay tuned.
I love cookbooks but I would be more interested in iPad applications for easier and more comfortable cookbooks. Can’t wait to have it.
Gabriel, what features would you most like to see in an iPad cooking app?
That’s very exciting news, Stephanie, I look forward to seeing the new application. You are truly blessed to have both food and tech skills! It’s too bad no one creates similar applications for those of us unable to use an iPhone. On a related line, I wonder, do you think there are university students who’d take on creating an application for a company like mine?
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You know, I’m thinking that we’ll port our app to Android as well. What kind of phone are you using?
You might be able to find students who would create an app for you – if you offer it as an internship. Maybe talk with your local university’s CS professors and see what they say. What do you want your app to do?
I’ve noticed people are no longer saying “self” publishing but calling it “independent publishing,” which doesn’t have a pejorative connotation. I think it’s fascinating to follow these changes, though I fear it’s all leaving me behind the times… I do notice that I use A LOT of recipes from the Internet all the time. That said, I still love my cookbooks (but when is the last time I bought one? Probably years and years ago…)
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Hrmm, hadn’t really thought of it as a pejorative connotation, but now that you bring it up, “independent publishing” does have a much nicer, more professional-sounding ring to it. Will have to think on that… thanks for future post material.
Sounds great! I agree – the stigma of self-publishing is long gone!
This is an exciting time for content creators. Some types of content do better (still) in traditional format, whereas others do better in digital/self promoted and published. The trick is knowing what is what. I like calling it indie publishing as well.
Alisa, I’d love to hear your thoughts on what does well in the digital realm and what doesn’t!
Like Donna, I can see the day when an iPad takes a place in the kitchen–complete with the recipe, how-to videos and more. Count me as one of those excited about emerging digital technologies–especially when they come from Apple.
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Love this idea, and tech generally (and have 100+ videos/recipes on http://ChefMD.com/: would be interested in knowing if you think traditional cookbook publishers still offer value in amplifying the message…and how to measure that value.
I am being told that e-books within the pub industry are not ready (and will not be) for widespread adoption, and the majority of the market will remain hard cover, with trickle down to e-book as a 15% in 5+ years possibility.
Love the food-tech bridge you have created, btw.
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This is a great question. I think that like Alisa says above, some topics do better in digital while others do better in more traditional media. Food in particular shines in the digital world, because it’s such an interactive, sensory-driven experience; photos, videos, prose, they all bring out more for cooking than I think they do many other topics.
Also, it is SO much cheaper to produce a digital book, and if you’re publishing independently, you’re not beholden to the whims of a bigwig publishing house. At the same time, a lot of people still love their cookbooks. I’d say these days it’s ideal to offer both – a hard copy book and an interactive application or image-driven ebook – where one can be a marketing tool for the other. It’s also dependent on your demographic – if you’re catering to people over 50, then a hard copy book will be your best bet. If you’re marketing to ~30 or younger, a digital book will probably stand a better chance of doing well.
That said, the standard for e-books are getting much more demanding. Gone are the days of black and white drawings and simple images. Now people are expecting audio, video, interactive footnotes and dynamic links to more info.
The digital book surely isn’t at its peak right now, but it’s an idea whose time has come, and even if they’re not ready for adoption for another five years, ramping up for the future now is everyone’s best bet. The most successful are usually on the cutting edge!
Can’t WAIT to see what you come up! What an amazing concept!
I think mass books (the types that have potential to be NY Times best sellers) still do better traditionally because they need that mass distribution (ie brick and mortar bookstores/Target/Walmart etc). But niche books have always struggled with the traditional model. The audience interested in them is smaller, so getting only 15 percent royalty on a book that might only sell 1000-10,000 copies is a pittance. This is where the non-traditional indie model works in your favor, especially if you have an online following (blog/social media presence) that allows you to market your product. Now not all niche books do better digitally at the moment. Your audience needs to be online and be willing to buy an e book. So far marketing books have done well because the audience for marketing books is highly tech savvy. But I would expect that craft books (knitting etc) probably would not (just yet). The iPad is probably going to rapidly change all of this, making a lot more people willing to read an ebook. We’ve already seen this with ebook sales skyrocketing since its release. So some day, craft books might work well digitally, too.
Thanks for your response–been away & mostly off-line the last couple days. I totally agree that the cooking/how to book is ideal for digital format: audio/video capabilities make it so much easier to show how to do things. Some techniques taking pages & pages of text to explain can be presented quickly via a clip or sound bite. Plus “book” production/updating costs are so much less. Truly exciting things are ahead. I am def interested in an app that offers the capabilities you’ve mentioned above. Can’t wait actually! Thanks much for sharing your insights & expertise.
I look forward to seeing the new application. You are truly blessed to have both food and tech skills! It’s too bad no one creates similar applications for those of us unable to use an iPhone.
Cookbooks have a somewhat unique position in the publishing world, thanks to the great variety of types and and publication methods.
I look forward to seeing the new application. You are truly blessed to have both food and tech skills! It’s too bad no one creates similar applications for those of us unable to use an iPhone, Thanx.
Great Article! You are truly blessed to have both food and tech skills! It’s too bad no one creates similar applications for those of us unable to use an iPhone.
Well, a lot of people still love their cookbooks. After all, Nice article thanks for the sharing.
I love to see your cookbook and get some delicious recipe. Thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading your post.
I have a program for creating digital books. I also have a membership with cafepress… is it possible to make cookbooks and sell them for profit on the internet? What’s the best way? I am in need for meeting cost of living and can’t do it on my income so I desperately need to find something I can do or sell for extra income – and from home. Thanks so much for any ideas!
Well, You are truly blessed to have both food and tech skills! It’s too bad no one creates similar applications for those of us unable to use an iPhone.