I met Craig Fear in a business networking group, and after we became housemates, we also became great friends. While we no longer even live in the same state, we remain close. Craig was a skilled nutritional therapist when I met him, and he transitioned into food writing and blogging. He now has three cookbook titles to his name, the most recent being New England Soups from the Sea, published by Countryman Press. Craig is meticulous. His recipes are delicious and promote good health. I was pleased to be a taste tester for many of the recipes in the latest book. And while I did not help Craig with his manuscript, I did edit the impressive proposal that got him the agent who connected him with Countryman Press. In last week’s blog, Craig talks about how he became an author, and he tells us about his new book. In this second blog, he discusses the differences between self-publishing with Amazon and having a publisher now. (Food photos in this blog are by Lynne Graves.)

You used Amazon to publish your first two books, and you had a publisher this time. What were the pros and cons of each process?

The pros of self-publishing are that you get to keep all the profits. You don’t have to split with a publisher or book agent. I wanted a traditional publisher on this one, obviously because they have a lot more reach. You can get your book into bookstores a lot easier. Hopefully, you get a good publisher—and mine has been very good so far—so hopefully you get someone who is good with the marketing promotions as opposed to it being all on you. Generally speaking, the production was much more professional. I had a team of people putting it all together. They had the knowledge and experience on how to do all the pieces involved, such as designing the cover. There is a certain kind of respect when you go into a traditional publishing contract.

Tell us about the creation of photography for the book. How did that work?

I hired a local photographer and stylist to do the photography. The photographer was Lynne Graves, and the stylist was Ann Lewis. We did all of the photography over a three-day period at Ann’s house in Westhampton. That was a big project; I prepared two weeks ahead of time, planning which recipes I was going to make and actually making them—and making sure they were photogenic. With a soup especially, some of the ingredients will sink in and won’t be presented well.

When was your book launch, and how did you prepare for it?

The book came out on March 8. I prepared for it by doing as much as I could on my end to get the word out about the book. I’ve been doing national podcasts, looking into a few publications, and I have been blogging and working on some SEO—search engine optimization—so my recipes will show up higher in a Google search to get the word out. I had to do a sales page for my book, which I think turned out well. I did a little bit of Facebook advertising before the book was launched just to make people aware of it. Newsletters in my newsletter list. As much as I could do on my end. 

You already had a very strong online presence with your website and social media platforms. Do you think that was appealing to your agent when he read your proposal?

Agents and publishers certainly want to know your website traffic stats, newsletter size, and social media follower numbers. They also look to see how often you engage with your followers. By no means do I have a massive following, but the fact that I regularly post blogs, write newsletters, and engage on social media was certainly appealing.

How much is the publisher helping you with marketing? What is the breakdown of who does what?

They are getting the book into physical bookstores, which is not something I can do on my own. And they are finding booksellers to stock the book. They also did all the work to get the book listed on online sites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and to do all that is required to stand out on those sites. They have done some online marketing as well. Also, they reach out to some podcasts and publications in the New England area to get the book featured. 

What else would you like readers of Janice’s blog to know about you and your book?

My big message in my book is that it is much more than just about soups. I’m very proud of the soup recipes. I love them. For anybody who loves seafood soups, chowders, bisques, and stews there is a little something for everyone. There is also the message of sustainability and that is important to me—to educate people on where their food is coming from.

The post Learning from a Cookbook Author who has Self-published with Amazon and Recently Published with Countryman Press appeared first on Beetle Press.

I met Craig Fear in a business networking group, and after we became housemates, we also became great friends. While we no longer even live in the same state, we remain close. Craig was a skilled nutritional therapist when I met him, and he transitioned into food writing and blogging. He now has three cookbook titles to his name, the most recent being New England Soups from the Sea, published by Countryman Press. Craig is meticulous. His recipes are delicious and promote good health. I was pleased to be a taste tester for many of the recipes in the latest book. And while I did not help Craig with his manuscript, I did edit the impressive proposal that got him the agent who connected him with Countryman Press. In this first of two blogs, Craig talks about how he became an author, and he tells us about his new book. In the second blog, he also discusses the differences between self-publishing with Amazon and having a publisher now. (Food photos in this blog are by Lynne Graves.)

Craig Fear, food writer and cookbook author 

What is your background in the food industry?

I started out as a nutritional therapist and consulted with clients with digestive issues for many years. During that time, I created a blog and started writing about digestive health. This morphed into creating recipes, so I was doing both for a while. Then I wrote my first cookbook based on soups for digestive health issues. I started growing my blog audience and slowly transitioned into being a full-time food blogger, food writer, and cookbook author. I stopped meeting with clients several years ago. 

What inspired your writing and books?

One of the foods I promoted to my clients was bone broth, which has a lot of medicinal value for the gut and soothes the gut lining. That’s why our grandparents used to give us chicken soup when we were sick; it has a lot of immune-boosting qualities. I was seeing so much benefit when people would consume these broths that I decided to write a cookbook with some of my recipes. That was back in 2015. My first cookbook was called Fearless Broths and Soups. I didn’t think I was going to write another cookbook, but I traveled to Southeast Asia and fell in love with the cuisine. I had the chance to go back to Thailand a second time, and I studied the cuisine and then wrote The Thai Soup Secret. 

Tell us about your most recent cookbook. What does it offer in terms of recipes?

New England Soups from the Sea includes 80 seafood soup recipes. I decided to write it because, in almost any New England-area restaurant, if they serve seafood soups, 99 percent of them will only offer you New England clam chowder and lobster bisque. Those are delicious. I love them, and everybody loves them, but I knew just from growing up in the Northeast and living in New England and exploring New England cuisine, that there were a lot more worthy recipes. I wanted to bring back these old-school recipes and show people how much you can do with seafood. I’d say half the recipes are maybe old-school chowders and stews, but half are soups and stews I created and had fun with in my kitchen. I teach people how to make different stocks and broths with seafood that can be really creative and have fun. 

How did you develop the recipes in your book? How did you decide which recipes to use?

I researched existing soups, chowders, bisques, and stews and started testing those recipes in my kitchen, putting my own spin on them. I tested them. I also had people test them for me. I even had a few tasting parties where I would have people come over, and I would make anywhere from five to seven different types of soups. I asked for feedback on what they liked, didn’t like. Then eventually, I settled on 80 recipes. What is important to me in addition to the recipes is connecting people with local New England seafood. I want to encourage people to purchase seafood that is local to them. That’s kind of an important message in the book. It’s about soups and supporting seafood that is caught and raised the right way on a small-scale sustainable level. All around the country, we aren’t really buying local as much as we could be and should be. A lot of people are only aware of a handful of different species. Maybe four or five that they’re comfortable with. I wanted to show people that there is a lot more beyond, for example, shrimp, salmon, cod. 

How does your knowledge as a nutritional therapist enhance your books and the information you can offer readers/cooks?

I understand the nutritional difference between doing it yourself and buying store-bought brands. When you make broths yourself, you’re creating a superior product that is nutrient dense and flavorful. I took that knowledge into seafood, which is not as understood. Making fish stock is something I have been doing for years, but very few people do it at all. So I brought my own experience into the seafood realm. 

Next week: The pros and cons of self-publishing with Amazon versus publishing with a traditional publisher. 

The post Learning from a Cookbook Author who has Self-published with Amazon and Recently Published with Countryman Press appeared first on Beetle Press.