Writing Your First Cookbook and Feeling Totally Lost? Start Here

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“Where were you six months ago, when I was writing my cookbook?”

My new friend, who I met through a networking event, leaned over the table and waited for a response. I could only laugh because I didn’t have an answer, and the truth is, most people don’t even know that such a thing as a cookbook coach exists. Now, it’s my mission to scream it loud and clear from the rooftops.

So, if you’ve started your cookbook writing journey and feel totally lost, I’m glad I caught you here. The book writing process can feel like wandering in the desert, but there are some key mindset and practical tips to get you started and to keep you going. Here’s how to write your first cookbook when you’re feeling totally lost.

Use Your Book Proposal and Don’t Be Afraid to Mix Up the Writing Order

It’s amazing the amount of people who spend months creating a book proposal to barely return to it once they start the cookbook writing process. Before you write, pull that gem out of the drawer and spend some time with it. Remember why you want to write this book in the first place. 

Most people believe writing a book is linear, but it doesn’t have to be. Your cookbook proposal is the container for your ideas, and you can reference it whenever you need to know what to work on next. The beautiful thing is, you can choose your own adventure with your writing process.

Feeling inspired to write the essays in your entrée chapter, even though you haven’t even started on the appetizers? Do it. Did you have a spark of AHA about the essay in your soul chapter? Get it down on the page. 

Just don’t deviate too far from it, if you’ve already sold your book to a publisher. Contracts aren’t fickle things.

Read Other Cookbooks (and Just Books in General)

If you’re not reading something while you’re writing, you’ll get stuck. Reading not only increases brain connectivity and your vocabulary, but it reduces stress. And that’s something every cookbook writer needs when trying to meet a deadline. 

Grab cookbooks you’re interested in, as you can pick up inspiration for their narrative style and tone. Not sure where to start? Go back to the classics like MFK Fisher, Edna Lewis and Madhur Jaffrey, to learn something new. As a cookbook coach, I’m a firm believer in knowing where the tradition started, so you can know where you want to take it next.

Don’t be afraid of going in the other direction too. Whether its historical fiction or a poetry collection, opening yourself up to different writing styles will undoubtedly unlock new creativity.

So, how do you make time for that with everything else you have going on?

Aim for 15-30 minutes a day of reading. Only get through a few pages? It’s okay! Make it a practice, like in the evening before you wind down, and you won’t feel overwhelmed trying to get through a whole novel.  

Build Your Writing Schedule Around Your Current Season

Lean in close for this one:

Stop copying other people’s writing habits and trying to make them your own.

It’s one of the biggest mistakes writers make because they heard so and so wrote at 2am after they got home from work. Or your favorite novelist was a single mother who wrote after she got off of the graveyard shift. 

While it’s admirable and a solid example of what we’re capable of when we really want something, it’s not realistic to take someone else’s writing schedule and make it our own. 

Sure, take pieces of inspiration, but the more important part, beyond the schedule, is the mindset. 

If you hate getting up early, and feel like you need a few hours of being awake before you can sit down and write, don’t make yourself get up at 5am. 

Have young kids and once their feet hit the floorboards, you’re running all day long? Maybe, a 5am writing routine would work for you. 

Every season will have new requirements and rhythms, and you should account for where you know you’ll do your best work. Yes, it comes down to discipline and still your butt in the chair, but you can also make your practice work for you, not against you.

Get Outside (and Sweaty) When You’re Stuck

Another move that’s beneficial for your book and brain health: Getting sweaty. Research shows that regular exercise boosts your overall cognitive function and energy levels. You know, two things you need to sustain your writing practice for the long-term. 

Plan your workout to lead into your writing practice. Getting to work first thing in the morning? Workout before you start, so you can arrive with fresh ideas (and blood circulation). Coming to your desk after a full day? Squeeze in 20-30 minutes of exercise to separate the day, and reinvigorate your creativity for a productive session.

Hire Support Through the Process

After you’ve done all of the above, you’ll still need encouragement and direction. That’s where a cookbook writing coach comes in aka moi. You don’t have to wonder what the next 25 pages of your manuscript should be, or what to do with the introduction. I’ll guide you through the process, so you end up with a manuscript that shows more of who you truly are. 

Your story is important, and people are waiting for you to do the thing and get it out there. Grab your spot on my coaching waitlist here, and let’s get moving.