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Step 1
Take some time to plan what type of recipe book you'd like to create.
Do you want to do a general book or specialize with a specific type of food? Specializing may help you from a financial standpoint (there are tons of cookbooks out there, so you'll need to stand out). If you're doing this for yourself or your family, you can collect together your favorites. -
Step 2
Organize the recipes you want to include by putting each one on a note card.
This gives you physical props you can use to decide the layout of your book and how you want it organized. Most cookbooks are structured by the portion of the meal the dish is designed for (appetizer, entree, dessert, etc.), but you can be creative as long as there's a logic to it. -
Step 3
If you intend to self-publish your book, many companies offer templates you can use with your word process so the margins, font, and page numbers will look correct.
At the beginning of the book, you should also include a table of contents to allow for easy reference. Photos are a nice touch as well, but from a financial standpoint remember your costs of printing if you go the self-published route. -
Step 4
You can market your recipe book both online and in person with most self-publishing companies. The main thing with that is to make sure up-front costs are minimal to non-existent as an author--you make money when a book sells, but you're not stuck with dozens of copies sitting around if it doesn't. This can also be a good fund-raising project for churches and non-profits if you understand the concept and plan it with a group of people.
