How does it work?

Our Greenlight cookbooks are those that we fund on your behalf once we have presold enough copies to determine the initial print run. Our authors will promote the book via their social media channels while we presell to our buyers in order to ‘greenlight’ the project. It’s a simple process and all we need is an initial order of at least 500 copies to kickstart production.

Step One – Marketing

We help you create marketing assets, including a front cover, recipe spreads and retail information. This will involve a short photoshoot with one of our experienced freelance food photographers, and a collaborative design process to put your cover and recipe spreads together. Once these assets are ready, we’ll promote the book together for an initial period of pre-orders.

Step Two – Greenlight!

Once presales reach a minimum of 500 copies, we greenlight production and an initial print run of 2000 copies. At this stage, you’ll receive 15% of the presales and then once the book is in print, you’ll receive 15% of all sales every quarter.

Step Three – Production

During production, you’ll provide us with recipes and imagery – or work with one of our experienced freelance food photographers – to create the book content. We will agree realistic deadlines for this, allowing you time to finish testing and writing up recipes as needed, and create a style guide to ensure the format is consistent. We will then edit and proofread your content for consistency and accuracy, offering creative input where needed, while making sure the style and tone stay true to your overall vision. We can also create or edit other editorial content for you as needed. If you’re having a photoshoot, we will help you to plan this in advance. Generally, the shoot will take a week or two but will depend on how many and what style of recipes your book includes.

Step Four – Printing

Once editorial and photography are complete, your book will be laid out according to the designs created for your initial marketing assets to produce a visually coherent and accessible end result. Once complete, the book will then be proofread by us and a final version will be approved by you before we send it to the printers and gear up for the publication date!

Step Five – Retail

On the back of your pre-orders, we will work closely with you to follow a coherent strategy that combines your sphere of influence with our extensive network of contacts to continue selling the book through large distributors and independent businesses all over the country. We will also talk you through typical retail discounts, strategies for finding the best retail opportunities, how to use your sphere of influence and any other creative ideas. As of 2022, we have Australian and North American sales and distribution as part of our offer, so we will explain the discounts and profitability of selling overseas to ensure it works for your title.

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“Our best sellers have always been books whose authors collaborate with us to reach the people who most want to buy it, whether this is an existing fan base or your target market.”

FAQs

How long does the whole process take?

The first stage of the process, where we create the initial presales content, is usually completed within one month. We then allow a further month for the initial sales period and assuming the book is greenlit, on average it takes a further six months to create and publish your book.

How much say do I have in the creative process?

Whilst we would determine the spec and print run of the book, we would involve you in the creative process throughout to ensure we publish a book that you are completely invested in.

What retailers do you work with?

Our books can be found in a range of bookshops, gift shops and supermarkets – the exact retailers will depend on your book’s target market so we can always make sure it’s in front of the right audience. Our books are often stocked in Waterstones and WH Smiths and we frequently work with Selfridges, Booths, Harrods, Waitrose, Oliver Bonas, The V&A Museums, The Natural History Museum, Daunt Books, Toppings, Books for Cooks and many more.

Can you sell my books abroad?

Yes – our wholesalers distribute abroad and will make the book available on Amazon.com and Book Depository, who ship worldwide. We have a distributor in Australia and North America too, which specialises in making sure the relevant books appear in bookshops and gift shops. We also work with a foreign rights agent, and we can discuss this further if this is the right avenue for your book.

When do I get paid?

We will send you a breakdown of the book sales every three months after publication, and you will be paid the following month.

How does the commission structure work?

It depends on the deal we agree with you, but your standard rate of commission will be 20% on all sales.

Do you pay for PR & Marketing?

We have an in-house PR and marketing team with an extensive network of contacts. As a rule, we do not pay for extra publicity and instead use our connections and content to arrange free press and interviews. However, if an opportunity arose that seemed pivotal to the book’s success, it would always be up for discussion.

Do you employ a food stylist for your photoshoots?

No, we don’t use food stylists on our photoshoots. The photographers we use have a wealth of experience with food styling and can usually provide props and backgrounds for the shoot, along with plenty of creative ideas to make your food look its best.