Wednesday, 15 October 2008

Head to head with Delia

Great news: I've finally got a couple of advance copies of the book which looks really amazing. This is the 18th book I've written (must be mad!) but it's always a thrill when you finally get your hands on the first copy*. A bit like having a baby - it makes all the pain worthwhile!

The not such good news is that Delia is reissuing her Frugal Food at the end of the month which means we're up against the mighty Delia publicity machine - tough for a small publisher and a non-celebrity author. In Borders yesterday there were posters trumpeting 'Delia's back!'

I gather it's basically a re-issue of her 1985 paperback, presumably with photography given the cover price of £17.99. Loads of people will buy it simply because it's a new Delia but I do hope they - and the media - give 'Frugal' which is very much written from a 2008 perspective, a look-in too.

Matt, the designer, has done a really terrific job on it as you can see above.

* You'll have to wait a couple of weeks longer, I'm afraid. Books should be in the shops by the end of the month.
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8 comments:

  1. Jean15 October 2008 at 13:08

    Your book sounds and looks great. 18 babies eh? That some going Fiona.

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  2. Anonymous15 October 2008 at 22:09

    Well, hopefully the general public will see through Delia's latest piece of " recycling " ... I have no objection to updating or reissues of cookbooks but not when its little more than a cynical marketing excercise. Which both this and that " How to Cheat " debacle were.

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  3. Fiona Beckett16 October 2008 at 09:45

    Certainly would be, NSM! Four is bad enough!

    I'm not anti-Delia greenlady - she's taught a lot of people how to cook and her recipes are always reliable - I just have issues (as they say) with the fact that the media always tend to focus on what celebrity chefs are doing and the expense of authors who may possibly have given the subject more comprehensive thought ;-)

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  4. Shey16 October 2008 at 09:59

    I agree with greenlady67. I will admit to having the old version of Frugal Food and it is good (try tomato sauce for pizza). If it was an update with more recipes, fine, but a straight reissue to take advantage of credit-crunch-cash (just made that up!) just annoys me.

    So, to push back at the marketing beast. Anyone reading this with a blog make sure that you have this site on your blog roll, and write an article about this site, and be sure to mention the book and Fiona's name, and link to this blog in the article. The more people who are talking about this site and the book, the higher up on Google it will appear when people search for 'frugal cooking' or similar.

    I've just realised how long a comment I have written. Sorry to hijack your comments area Fiona! I love the blog and can't wait to get hold of the book. You at least have one of your readers gunning for you! :-)

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  5. Fiona Beckett16 October 2008 at 13:40

    Don't apologise, Shey! That's a really positive suggestion and a very kind thought.

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  6. Anonymous17 October 2008 at 09:30

    Oh I certainly didn't use to have objections to Delia - The How To Cook series were very clear and I imagine very helpful to many people. But the last few years I have grown increasingly irritated at the amount of general lack of ingenuity and honesty in the world of cookery writing and presenting. That's why I am always delighted to find a genuine author who is writing because they love, enjoy and believe in the subject.

    I agree with sheymouse - word of mouth via the internet can be very powerful, even against the worst infernal machines of other media :) I am not currently blogging for various reasons but once I get back to it I will certainly make a post about the site =)

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  7. shoegazer26 October 2008 at 01:02

    Hi Fiona,

    Just in case you missed it, there is an excellent review of The frugal Cook in today's Dail Mail Weekend magazine. Looking forward to devouring more thrifty recipes!

    Also, do you have any radio interviews lined up to promote the book?

    I'm always taken with the quality of your photos in the blog as well - impressive!

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  8. Fiona Beckett26 October 2008 at 12:16

    No, I hadn't spotted that, shoegazer. I wasn't expecting the article till next weekend so thanks for tipping me off.

    Should be doing some radio interviews too . . .

    And thanks for your kind comments about the photos. It's one of the pleasures of doing your own blog.

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