What Can I Do?

[jenni belle]

First of all, I'd like to thank you Mr. Bayless, for coming to cheftalk and spending time out of your busy schedule to answer our questions. I love your show and have many of your books. Being from southern Colorado, I can most identify with a lot of your dishes!

Anyway, I'd like to ask you a simple question. I have a personal goal of publishing a cookbook by the time I'm 30, but I don't really know how to go about that. What kind of advice can you offer me?

Thanks again for everything,

Jennifer

P.S. If you're ever in Souther Colorado at the end of September, drop by my hometown of Pueblo for our annual Chile & Frijole Festival. It's quite an event!

[Rick Bayless]

Hi Jennifer,

The system can be quite tough if you don't have an agent that can shop your book around for you to different publishing houses. I would start with getting an agent and that automatically puts at least one more person in your corner. Of course, everyone has their own story of how they got their foot in the door, I just didn't have that kind of luck! After you publish your first book, and if it does well, then it does become much easier. The business is tough because there is so much competition. We continue to promote all of my books at events, through television and the like. Even my first book, Authentic Mexican is still in print and selling well because we continue to promote it. I feel that you can't forget about them once they have the big release and the push when they come out in a particular season. You have to continue to push the sales and keep the book in the forefront. Good Luck.