To blog or to cookbook? How about both.

I may soon be joining the industry I was suppose to destroy.

On Monday, I took part in a Cookbook Proposal Workshop hosted by MediaBistro in New York City. It was an opportunity to pitch and workshop an idea for a cookbook with Harriet Bell, a former VP at HarperCollins who has helped published some of my favorite authors including Deborah Madison.

I got some great feedback and learned about the industry from a certified 'player.' And while I'd like to stay silent on my idea for now, I think it's got a shot. True, times are tough in the industry, but they still need good ideas. And I'm pretty sure that you, dear reader, will love it!

There is something very appealing about seeing one's name in print and knowing that your book is being used in kitchens across America. I will still continue to find and try recipes over the Internet, as will I refer to Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone when I encounter a vegetable in my CSA share that I'm unfamiliar with. There will always be a place for cookbooks, just as there is for newspapers - hopefully for more than just a collector's item.

Now I must get centered and starting writing my proposal. I find it good to set deadlines for these kinds of things. So let's say by the end of February.

Other insightful tidbits from class -

• The proper style for writing recipes is to list ingredients in order in which they are used. Am I the only one who didn't know this?
  
• There are no intellectual property rights for recipes. Still it's probably good that you write your own.
  
• '1/2 cup chopped parsley' means something different than '1/2 cup parsley, chopped.' Can you tell the difference?
  

Special thanks to Heidi Swanson (101 Cookbooks), author of Super Natural Cooking, and Clotilde Dusoulier (Chocolate and Zucchini), author of Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen, for blazing a path for us food blogger-writers. I never thought it was possible until you did it!