Cookbook Update: Manuscript Submission!

Posted October 18, 2017 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Blogging / 9 Comments


Hey, everybody! We’re due for another cookbook update, and what a grand one it is: I FINISHED MY MANUSCRIPT!

I’ve spent the last month or so making final tweaks to recipes, fine-tuning instructions, and finalizing photo choices. My perfectionist streak truly made itself known. I can’t tell you how much time I spent staring at two virtually identical photographs, trying to decide which one I liked better!

Then at 2:20 am (!!!) on Monday morning, I hit send on the final document. It was such an incredible moment…but also strange, realizing I’d completed something I started over a year ago. All of a sudden, I felt like a real author. Despite the early hour, the Little Mister was awake for the occasion…which I’m sure was because he wanted to share the big moment with me. 😉

I haven’t gotten word yet from my editor about what she thinks, but I’ll probably hear from her by the end of the week. There’s still a lot of work ahead, but it’s such a relief to have cleared this first big hurdle!

Here’s a rundown of some new things I added to the manuscript:

 

Cookbook News

  • A change of title! After consulting with the marketing rep, we decided to make a slight change to the title of the book. The original title and subtitle were A Literary Afternoon Tea: 55 Savory Nibbles, Bite-Size Treats, and Custom Teas for Book Lovers, but now it will be A Literary Tea Party: Blends and Treats for Alice, Bilbo, Dorothy, Jo, and Book Lovers Everywhere. I think the new title is a lot more fun, and the addition of character names makes me feel like I’m about to sit down to have tea with my favorite fictional friends. 🙂

    Here’s the updated cover! You’ll notice it says “Frodo” instead of “Bilbo,” but don’t worry, it’s getting fixed. Evidently the marketing rep wasn’t as big of a Hobbit snob as I am. 😉
  • Teas as far as the eye can see! Remember how last time I said we decided to have 22 tea blends instead of the original 5? Now they’ve got their own section too! There’s a page explaining the different varieties of tea and steeping instructions, and each blend has a 1-2 line description and suggested food pairings. I’m glad we included so many, because it allowed me to provide a wide variety of flavors. There’s a cranberry almond black tea, lemon peppermint herbal tea, cherry green tea, and loads more!
  • Guess who’s writing the introduction! A little while back, I asked the lovely writer Sara LeTourneau if she would consider writing the introduction for the book, and she said YES!!! She’s been a follower of my blog for a while now, and I always look forward to seeing her posts for DIY MFA. As a fellow lover of books, fiction foods, and tea, I felt like Sara was the perfect person to  introduce this cookbook. I’m thrilled to have her on board for this project! 🙂

I’ll try to post another update once I’ve heard from my editor
and had a chance to implement some of the changes she suggests.
I’m not sure exactly when that will be, but hopefully soon! 🙂

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9 responses to “Cookbook Update: Manuscript Submission!

  1. (*blushes*) You have no idea how honored I am to be part of your project, Alison. But you know what I’m even more excited about? Seeing the finished product! When it’s ready, of course. 🙂

    Thanks so much for inviting me to write the intro in the first place.

    • Thank you so much for accepting! I think when I actually hold a physical copy in my hands for the first time I’ll probably dissolve into a pile of glitter. Or cry. Or have all future conversations in the form of song. Something along those lines.

      • Or maybe you’ll do all three. 🙂 Hey, anything is possible, right?

        Let me know via email if you receive any comments on my intro from my editor. Also, is now a good time for us to communicate (via email) about a future guest post at my blog to coincide with the cookbook’s release?

        • AHHHH I’m so sorry I’m replying to this so late! I was all “My manuscript’s submitted and now I’m gonna make sure to reply to comments at a reasonable time”…and then that totally didn’t happen. I haven’t forgotten about it, though! No word yet from the editor (I should hear something later this month), and I’ll email you later today about the guest post. Sorry again for the wait! I can blame my baby and not my poor time management skills, right? 😉

          • You’re not alone! I’d been meaning to email you myself for a week or so, but, well, I haven’t gotten around it yet. *lol* That’s life in general, right?

            Anyway, I’ll keep an eye out for your email!

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