Part 1: Learn. The first session will be a recorded instructional workshop with an in-depth homework assignment to help you put the material into practice.
When: Friday, August 7, 1:00pm-2:30pm EST
Part 2: Implement. Bring your homework, your questions, your roadblocks, and your challenges. Together, we’ll review what you’ve implemented, troubleshoot challenges, exchange ideas, and get thoughtful feedback from both the instructor and other food writers working toward similar goals.
When: Friday, August 28, 1:00pm-2:30pm EDT
DIY Cookbook Proposals
Writing a cookbook proposal is different from writing a cookbook. It requires a different set of skills. But, they’re skills anyone can learn. Whether you’re a chef, recipe developer, food writer, content creator, or culinary professional, you can write a compelling cookbook proposal yourself. You just need to know what agents and editors are looking for and have a roadmap for getting there.
In this two-part Food Writers Business Lab workshop, cookbook collaborator and book proposal consultant Kelsey Erin Shipman will walk you through every section of a cookbook proposal, using a her proprietary Book Proposal Checklist, developed after years of writing and consulting on dozens of book proposals. Together, we’ll cover everything from your hook and audience to recipe organization, competitive titles, marketing strategy, and visual direction, with a focus on what makes cookbook proposals different from other nonfiction proposals.
This workshop is designed for writers who want to build their own proposal from the ground up. You’ll leave understanding not only what belongs in each section, but why publishers ask for it and how to write it in a way that strengthens your overall project.
You will come away from this lab with:
A clear understanding of every section of a cookbook proposal targeted towards traditional publishing
A cookbook-specific version of Kelsey’s Book Proposal Checklist to guide your writing long after class ends
A stronger cookbook concept and positioning in today’s publishing market
Strategies for organizing recipes, chapters, and the overall structure of your book
Practical guidance for writing your overview, author bio, audience, competitive titles, marketing plan, and sample material
A realistic roadmap for completing your proposal on your own
Whether you’re starting with a notebook full of recipe ideas or a rough draft of a proposal, this workshop will give you the tools, structure, and confidence to create a cookbook proposal ready for agents and publishers.
Participants will receive an in-depth homework assignment to help you put the material into practice.
Substack LIVE Cookbook Proposal Q&A
Watch the replay from this LIVE Q&A where Rebecca Blackwell and Kelsey Erin Shipman discuss some of the most important considerations when writing a cookbook proposal.
Here are just a few of the things we talked about:
The most important things to consider when deciding to write a cookbook proposal.
The importance of having a clear concept, and what “clear concept” even means.
What it means to build a platform and how to think about building your platform as a passion project not a chore.
Realistic timelines for writing a cookbook proposal.
Understanding when and how to reach out to an agent.
And, most importantly, where to start if you are feeling overwhelmed.
Having worked on dozens of proposals in her career, Kelsey is one of the most insightful and knowledgeable people you’ll meet on this topic, and in this LIVE Q&A she offers the kind of honest, inside information that can be difficult to find.
About Kelsey Shipman
Writer, Educator, Creative Partner
Kelsey Shipman is a cookbook collaborator and ghostwriter who has spent years helping chefs, recipe developers, and food writers shape cookbook ideas into proposals for traditional publishers. She is represented by Transatlantic Agency and specializes in cookbook and memoir collaborations. Kelsey is the co-founder of Write Up where she co-teaches an annual 12-week Book Proposal Intensive alongside food writer and author Hannah Howard.
Her food and travel writing has appeared in The Rumpus, The Chocolate Professor, ParentCo, Off Assignment, HuffPost, USA Today, and The Austin Chronicle. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing, has worked as an educator for more than seventeen years, and writes the Substack newsletter Cheese Toast with White People, which explores food, family, and the strange inheritance of Southern white culture.
Questions?
Here are some frequently asked questions and answers.
Send a direct message to Rebecca Blackwell, or leave a comment on this post.
This was such a great conversation. Thank you Rebecca and Kelsey!