How to self-publish a cookbook

Thanks to the Internet, creating a self-published cookbook is a simple and inexpensive project. You don't need formal culinary training programs to accomplish this project. With the right dedication, anyone can do it.

In fact, to self-publish a cookbook for you only need five things: a cookbook theme, a collection of recipes to fit your theme, photos and images, an account on Lulu.com, and plenty of time to create the book.

Get creative and pick a theme

All books require one strong theme that can be strung from the first page to the last. Choose a theme that's meaningful to you, or -- if you're creating the book as a gift, meaningful to the recipient. Here are a few examples:

* Top 20 recipes from the year I was born

* One hundred and one recipes that do not include garlic

* Easy evening time snacks your Bunco friends will love

Once you have a theme, you can write the introductory page or foreword with that theme in mind. You should also start thinking about what the cookbook cover should look like.

A collection of recipes you love

Collect your recipes and make sure to include only those foods you love and that will fit your theme. These recipes can be new or they could be old favorites you grew up eating. Find new recipes by visiting an online cooking community or various recipe websites.

Create a plan

Now that you have a theme and recipes, take a trip to the bookstore and browse through a few recipe books to see how it's done. Pay attention to the table of contents, the way the pages are laid out and organized and the pictures. At this point you should outline your cookbook and make notes of how you will organize the book and what type of content to incorporate, including images. This outline is your plan.

Images of food and cooking

A great place to start your search for food-related images and photography is on a stock photography website such as Flickr.com or StockXpress.com. Scour these sites for unique images that will complement the recipes you've chosen (and your theme). There are plenty of culinary info websites that can help you gather ideas for your imagery.

If you know someone who is good with a camera, you may even ask him or her to take photos of you while cooking the recipes in your book.

Create the self-published cookbook

Lulu.com is one of many self-publishing sites to consider when self-publishing a cookbook. Many prefer this site because it is a one-stop shop that makes it easy to load content and design pages. If you are not crafty enough to design a book cover, then Lulu has a book cover design service too.

Don't wait until the very end of your project to look at the website and start uploading your content. In fact, you should look at Lulu.com very early in the process so you know how to format your documents and the image specifications. Find out how much your book will cost (based on length, dimensions, etc.) and how long it will take to produce.

This article is presented by Le Cordon Bleu in North America. Le Cordon Bleu offers culinary, patisserie and baking, and hospitality and restaurant management training programs across the United States. To learn more about the class offerings, please visit Chefs.edu for more information. Le Cordon Bleu does not guarantee employment or salary. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. Le Cordon Bleu (R) and the Le Cordon Bleu logo are registered trademarks of Career Education Corporation.

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