It's been a frantic couple of days - my last chance to read through The Frugal Cook before it goes to press.
It's a frustrating process because however many times you look at it - in fact, however many pairs of eyes go over it, silly mistakes always slip through. The author is the last person to spot them, being so familiar with the text.
The compensation is that you finally get to see what the book is going to look like when it's published and I have to say the design is simply brilliant, with wonderfully original, quirky illustrations. (Thanks to Matt, Claire and Andy!) You can't see it that clearly but you can get an idea from the image above of a sample chapter opener.
First copies should come through in a week or so and it should hit the shelves by the end of the month. Amazon for some mysterious reason has lost the cover and hidden it away below several other similar titles but you can find it here if you want to get your order in. (Course you do ;-)
I can't wait to have the final copy in my hands.
Fiona, how exciting! Many, many congratulations - I can't wait to see the book. It's very timely too; I think we'll all be pulling our belts soon in if we aren't already.
ReplyDeleteJulia x
Thanks, Julia. I always think writing a book is a bit like being pregnant. It's incredibly exciting when you first find out (or get commissioned), eight months into it you wonder why you did it then once the baby (or book) arrives it all seems worthwhile ;-)
ReplyDeleteHaha, yes I've heard that said quite a few times recently. And I guess you forget the pain the second time round - just like childbirth (or so I'm told!).
ReplyDeleteToo right! I do think blogging is changing the world of writing though. You get a taste for controlling your own output - writing about what you like, how you like.
ReplyDeleteThe timing of The Frugal Cook is perfect, the content (if it's similar to what you write here and the personality comes through in the same way) is spot-on and the recipes are delicious. I'm sure it'll be a success for you, Fiona.
ReplyDeleteMaybe your book publisher will collect your blog posts together into a compendium at some point; that's an increasingly popular thing to do of late.
Thankyou, career misfit, that's very kind. We did experiment with integrating extracts from posts into the book but it didn't feel right. There's an immediacy about reading them - or any blog post - which doesn't quite work in a book. But I'll carry on blogging anyway, even when the book's out and, who knows? - maybe there will be a Frugal Cook Mark II!
ReplyDeletePerhaps they could serialise the blog and get Billie Piper to play you in a TV adaptation of Belle Pêpper's exploits; a different kind of 'saucy role'. ;o)
ReplyDeleteGosh, two puns in one sentence - sorry about that.