Everything Cookbooks

Kate and Molly speak with author Alana Kysar and her editor Kelly Snowden about their professional relationship after working on two cookbooks together. Alana shares why she initially didn't think she had a second book in her and what she hopes this new vegetable focused book adds to the Hawaiian food conversation. Kelly talks about first connecting with Alana's proposal, the elements she brought to the project and the timeline of the process. Both of them discuss the lessons learned from book one and how they helped in the sequel's creation, how they worked together and some best practices for a strong, continuing working relationship. Alana talks about the recipe selection and testing, the design and structural decisions and the approachability of her photography while Kelly explains her thoughts on option clauses, comp titles and what she sees as her mission while working on a book.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Alana Kysar

Website

Instagram

 

Ten Speed Press

4 Color Books

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Aloha Veggies, by Alana Kysar

Aloha Kitchen, by Alana Kysar

Kimi's Kitchen, by Kimi Werner

Whole Food Cooking Every Day, by Amy Chaplin

Kristin and Molly speak with writer Ella Quittner about her new book, Obsessed with the Best, and the work and intent behind it. They get right into the nitty gritty details of the book; its origins, proposal, the research and testing involved and its unorthodox release date and promotional experience. Ella talks about blending personal stories and journalistic research, the vast testing process and how it was organized and a peek at her cookbook collection and its own organization. She takes listeners through the photography and design choices, the editing and formatting decisions and finally leaves us with how the experience of commodifying herself has led her to a more thoughtful, intentional approach to future projects.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Ella Quittner

Website

Instagram

 

Taste podcast interview with Ella Quittner

Cherry Bombe Radio interview with Ella Quittner

Milk Street Radio interview with Ella Quittner

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Obsessed with the Best, by Ella Quittner

More than Cake by Natasha Pickowicz

Molly and Kristin invite our very first copy editor to the show, Melissa Haskin. Melissa talks about getting started in the editing profession, her love of food writing and how her experience working with magazines like Cooking Light informs her work now. The hosts share some of their personal experiences and thoughts about copy editing and Melissa shares her own process and approach— the tiny details she looks for, the red flags she knows to avoid and the programs she uses to work. She discusses what it takes to be a good editor, what she's learned running her own freelance business and the projects she does, and does not, take on. Finally she tells us her favorite parts of the job and what led her to create an entire course on recipe editing.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Melissa Haskin

Website

Recipe Editing 101, 6-week course

 

Reedsy

PerfectIt

Susan McWilliams

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Single Thread, by Kyle and Katina Connaughton

 

Go to our Substack to find two downloads from Melissa: 1) A recipe editing reading list and 2) A self-editing checklist for cookbook authors.

POSTSCRIPT: During our interview, Melissa mispoke and cited a Susan Williams as her mentor at Cooking Light. It was Susan McWilliams. Melissa also misheard Kristin’s question about professional editor groups. She is part of many such groups, but none that specialize in cookbooks. In characteristic copyeditor fashion, Melissa sent us these corrections immediately upon hearing the episode.

Molly and Kate speak with Tanya Bush, the author of Will This Make You Happy, about her cookbook/memoir mashup and how the pandemic contributed to her decision to marry a personal story and a technical text. Tanya shares some the life experiences behind the book, her impetus to create and the themes she wanted to explore as well as the process of getting an agent, earning an MFA and how the project shifted since its origins. We get into her thoughts on why she wanted to write this particular blend of genres, how the recipes, the book's design and her real life experiences fit in and how important critical distance and play are to her voice. Finally she hits on her hopes for the work, the audio version and potential adaptations and a few thoughts on her print magazine, Cake Zine.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Food Friends Podcast Newsletter

Episode 162: The one in which we issue an apology and answer listener questions

 

Tanya Bush

Website

Instagram

Cake Zine

The Little Egg Restaurant

 

Why We Can't Stop Reading — and Writing — Food Diaries, Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker

Clare Mao, agent

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Will This Make You Happy by Tanya Bush

Kristin speaks with hosts Molly, Andrea and Kate about blurbs; the good, the bad and the questionable. The hosts define the term and share their first blurbing experiences before chatting about the purpose and goal behind these endorsements. They talk about a blurb's swaying power, what makes a good one, how to know if it is trustworthy and the etiquette and process of soliciting, editing and including them in the finished product. They each discuss their experiences on both sides of the request, their thoughts on how a blurb affects sales and the role they see the author, editor and PR team playing before getting into some of the practical procedures and personal relationships involved when creating a list of hopeful 'blurbists'.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

 

Mentions

"Blurb Your Enthusiasm" by Sally Ekus

"We Need to Talk About Blurbs" by Kathleen Schmidt

"Are Publishers Dropping Blurbs?" by Lisa Tener

"Here's How Social Media Is Changing Book Blurbs" (NPR, May 2025)

"Author Blurbs: Do They Matter?" by Alessandra Torre Ink

 

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

A Bird in the Hand by Diana Henry