Wednesday, June 29, 2011

An Exciting Announcement!

A few weeks ago, I went to work as usual, and in the afternoon, I picked up an email.  It was from the Cedar Fort Publishing Company.  Intrigued, I read it.  They had seen the Black Pot, and were impressed enough to offer to talk about doing a dutch oven cookbook!  I was stunned, and thrilled.  It was kind of a Julie & Julia moment for me.

As I’ve hung around in the LDS music and arts world, I’ve met a lot of writers, and they’ve all spoken highly of Cedar Fort.  I’d heard of them before, and in fact, I already owned two of their Dutch oven cookbooks!

Through the next couple of days, I tried in vain to get a hold of them, and we played phone tag.  Finally, the following Monday, I got through, and talked with one of their acquisition editors.  She asked me to put together a proposal that she could present to her team at their next Tuesday meeting.

Yes.  Yes, of course!

The only problem was that I had no idea how to do a proposal.  I mean, I’ve written proposals before, but not to publishers.  So, she sent me some good guidance to show me what they needed, an I spent the rest of that week putting together three proposals.

One book was to be a general, overall collection of great dutch oven recipes.  These would be drawn from the entries of the Black Pot, here.

Another proposal was for a compilation of more fancy, “gourmet”, and international recipes.  Also pulled from the blog, but supplemented by a lot of other new recipes.

Finally, the last proposal was a more instructional book about dutch oven breads.  It’s one I’ve been planning off and on for years.

So, I sent them in, and waited.  They met on that Tuesday, and on Wednesday, she emailed me to offer me a four-book deal!  Again, I was stunned.

Yes, Yes of course!

They sent me the contract, which seemed to be pretty standard.  After looking it over, talking it over with jodi, and praying about it, I signed it and sent it in.  I’d told some family and friends, but she had suggested that I not make any formal announcements, like Facebook, or here at the blog, until the contract is signed.  So today, I got the copy of the contract back from them with the company rep’s signature, so it’s now official!

The first one will be published sometime around March of next year, and there will one about every six months after that.  We’re starting out with the first proposal.  I’m already working on it, and very excited.

So, everyone vote!  Chime in to the comments!  What are your favorite recipes here in the black pot?  Which ones have you tried?  What were your alterations and adjustments?

Here’s to four great, new Dutch Oven Cookbooks!





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Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations! This sounds big time!

    One suggestion is lots of pictures. "Barbeque, Biscuits, & Beans" by Cliff Teinert & Bill Cauble is one of my favorite cookbooks because of the combination of great recipes & great pictures.

    Good luck.

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  2. That is really exciting News Mark! Your adventure over several years has been really fun to watch. It has been great to cook along side of you enjoying the many successes - and a couple of less successful dishes here. I am not sure which subject you are going to address first, but here are a few of the recipes that I have enjoyed over time:

    Herb Roasted Chicken (2008). This is simply one of the most comforting meals ever in my opinion. While I really enjoyed your Braised Chicken (2010), I just have to always go back to the Roasted Chicken. Probably my favorite Dutch oven meal ever.

    Brandon did a guest appearance in 2009 with the Baked Ziti. Not only a delicious recipe, but who can resist your son. He is quite a dynamic young man - and a good cook too!

    We really enjoyed the Farmers Market Pasta (2010) you did last year. Loaded with flavor and veggies. A very versatile recipe - good with many different combinations of what ever veggies are fresh and in season. I also like to use a "hot" turkey sausage in this, but that is just my taste.

    One last recipe that comes to mind is Chicken Enchilada Soup (2008). This is super easy and ALWAYS a hit when I make it.

    Good luck on the books.

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