February 2007

Updating Your Media and Sales Materials

 

One low-cost way to revive stale sales and marketing campaigns is to revamp your media and sales materials. Think of the life of a book like the life of a person. Is your book wearing the same hairstyle it wore in elementary school? If so, it may be time for an update.  Click here for the entire article.

Congratulations to these FRP self-publishers on their new book titles:

Congratulations to these FRP self-publisher on their recent cookbook reprint or repackage:

Click on the topic of interest for full details:

FRP Cookbook University 2007 Join us in Boston! Registration is now open. Deadline is March 23, 2007.

Did You Miss an Issue of Table Talk? Check out our archives.

CBMP Publishers - Here's a Co-op Ad Opportunity! Be part of our ad in theMarket! Magazine. Deadline is February 26, 2007.

 

Kitchen Testing 101

 

Many of our publishers are interested in kitchen testing their recipes before publishing them in a cookbook. FRP has had vast experience in this area, and in this three-part series, we'll share just a few guidelines and tips regarding the kitchen testing process. We hope this information will make your testing go as smoothly and successfully as possible.

 

This month, Part 1 - Planning is Everything. Click here to read the rest of this article.

TOP SELLERS IN DECEMBER

  1. Tables of Content - Junior League of Birmingham, AL
  2. Eating Well Through Cancer - Holly Clegg
  3. River Road Recipes - Junior League of Baton Rouge
  4. Mardi Gras to Mistletoe - Junior League of Shreveport-Bossier, LA
  5. By the Sackful - White Castle Hamburgers
  6. Calling All Cooks Two - Telephone Pioneers—Birmingham, AL
  7. Calling All Cooks Three - Telephone Pioneers—Birmingham, AL
  8. Par 3: Tea Time at the Masters® - Junior League of Augusta
  9. Tea-Time at the Masters® - Junior League of Augusta
  10. Calling All Cooks - Telephone Pioneers—Birmingham, AL

It might be cold outside, but our publishers are hot when it comes to publicity this winter!

Congratulations to the following FRP Publishers, who were recently awarded with Tabasco Community Cookbook Awards.

·        Third Place National – Tastes, Tales and Traditions / Palo Alto Auxiliary – Menlo Park, CA

·        Midwest Regional – Popovers to Panache /  The Village Club – Bloomfield Hills, MI

·        New England Regional – Entertaining Newport Style / Preservation Society of Newport County – Newport, RI

·        South Regional – Tables of Content / Junior League of Birmingham – Birmingham, AL

Karen Porter, a member of the Junior League of Austin, is going to appear on an episode of The Martha Stewart Show on April 3, 2007. She'll be there to promote her custom cakes (www.tillyscakes.com) but plans to take copies of the League’s cookbook, Austin Entertains, to give away as audience gifts. Great PR!

 

The Birmingham (AL) News featured the new cookbook from the Junior League of Birmingham, Tables of Content, in its January 31, 2007, issue. To date, the League has sold 20,000 copies and was able to pay the full cost of publishing in the same month that the book was released (October).

 

The Salt Lake Tribune featured a small mention of the Junior League of Salt Lake City and its cookbooks, Always in Season  and Heritage Cookbook. The League is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2007.

 

Lake Austin Spa’s title, Fresh, was mentioned in an article on www.mywesttexas.com (Web site of the Midland Reporter-Telegram), featuring spa cookbooks.

 

An article appeared in the November 27, 2006, edition of the Courier News (NJ) about Rose Marie Bratek’s memoir cookbook, Searching for Watercress. Ms. Bratek was also a special guest at a “Wellness on Wednesday” program at the Dowd YMCA, where she gave out samples of a cupcake recipe from her cookbook. Her book is being carried by many local bookstores, and she has been scheduled for several book signings.

 

The Detroit Free Press featured the new cookbook from The Village Club, Popovers to Panache, as a great gift idea in their December 20, 2006, edition.

 

The Junior League of Sarasota continues to be busy with public relations efforts for their new cookbook, Simply Sarasota. Over the last three months, the book has been featured in SRQ magazine, in The Herald-Tribune, in West Coast Woman, in the Pelican Press, and twice on ABC7’s “What’s for Dinner” segment. The Sarasota Convention and Visitors Bureau recently designated Simply Sarasota as the “Official Cookbook of Sarasota and Her Islands.” New gold foil stickers will soon be appearing on book covers. In November, the League set up a booth at the annual Sarasota Reading Festival and sold 60 cookbooks! They also sold 350 copies at their annual Holiday Tour of Homes. In January, committee members sold 25 books at the cookbook’s first appearance at the Farmer’s Market. They plan to sell again in February and March. To date the group has sold more than 50% of their inventory – 6,200 copies, which is a true testament to their hard work. Congrats!

 

The ASSISTANCE LEAGUE® of San Antonio’s cookbook, Serving San Antonio, was recently reviewed in the San Antonio Express News.

 

Are you an FRP Publisher with good news to share about your cookbook? We want to hear about any media coverage, successful events, or goals reached. Please send your news to marketing@frpbooks.com, and we will put it in the next issue of Table Talk.

Business of Cookbooks - Payment Procedures and Policies

An obvious, but sometime overlooked, area of selling cookbooks is setting up payment procedures and policies. Click here for a few tips regarding this area of your cookbook business.

 

The following titles are available during the month of February at a 20% discount when ordering on line with us at www.cookbookmarketplace.com. (State sales tax and shipping will be added to your order upon checkout.)

Use the discount code ZTT-FEB07-20% when checking out on the following titles…

The Charlotte Cookbook – Regular retail $16.95 – 20% off price = $13.56

Charlotte Cooks Again – Regular retail $16.95 – 20% off price = $13.56

Home Again, Home Again – Regular retail $22.95 – 20% off price = $18.36

In Good Company – Regular retail $21.95 – 20% off price = $17.56     

Meet Me at the Garden Gate – Regular retail $21.95 – 20% off price = $17.56

Pride of Kentucky – Regular retail $27.95 – 20% off price = $22.36

To Market, To Market – Regular retail $18.00 – 20% off price = $14.40

Wild! Wonderful! – Regular retail $18.95 – 20% off price = $15.16

Watermelon Works

It’s February—do you know who is thinking about sweltering summer cooking? Magazine editors! This month, we hope you will take advantage of the opportunity to have your book included in an article we'll write and send out to dozens of magazine editors across the country. If you are chosen to participate, you'll receive a copy of the article and a list of journalists who inquired about or used the article. Learn more by clicking here. (Deadline is March 1, 2007.)

The First “Best of FRP” cookbook a success!

Cooking Up a Classic Christmas was the first cookbook in a series to be published by FRP Publishing. Favorite holiday-appropriate recipes were solicited from cookbooks self-published by FRP clients. The beautiful holiday artwork of Ralph J. McDonald was just icing on the cake, so to speak. Despite a short selling season due to the holiday theme, more than 3,400 copies of the cookbook were sold. Many were sold at a special discount to the recipe contributors, and these organizations in turn sold the cookbooks along with their cookbook as an additional fund-raiser. Several received a write-up in their local paper for their own cookbooks as a result of having recipes selected for this compilation cookbook.

Thank you to everyone who participated and helped to make Cooking Up a Classic Christmas a true winner for everyone involved! Look for information coming soon on the next FRP Publishing compilation project.

2007 FRP, 2451 Atrium Way, Nashville, TN 37214
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