We cover information about the challenges of balancing a blog, job, and family while writing a cookbook and how to meet deadlines despite setbacks.
Listen on the player in this post or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your favorite podcast player. Or scroll down to read a full transcript.
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Courtney Carey is the creator of Cake Me Home Tonight, a baking blog designed to help home bakers elevate their baking game! On her blog and social media, Courtney shares easy and delicious dessert recipes along with baking tips and tutorials to make baking fun and stress-free. Courtney recently released her debut cookbook, Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes, an 80’s themed cookbook featuring cupcake recipes inspired by nostalgic and classic snacks and desserts. She enjoys sharing her love of all things dessert and all things 80’s because there is nothing sweeter than nostalgia! |
Takeaways
- Plan and organize thoroughly: Carefully evaluate your work style, schedule, and responsibilities to set yourself up for success when writing a cookbook.
- Break down the process: Create detailed checklists and spreadsheets to break the book-writing process into small, manageable tasks.
- Leverage your strengths: Allocate tasks based on when you feel most energized and productive to maximize your efficiency.
- Seek help from your support system: Don’t be afraid to ask your family and friends for assistance to balance the workload.
- Outsource tasks you’re less confident in: Consider hiring professionals for photography, editing, or other areas you may struggle with.
- Expect the unexpected: Be prepared to adapt when life throws curveballs.
- Embrace imperfection: Understand that perfection is unattainable, and focus on creating a high-quality product rather than striving for flawlessness.
- Take mental breaks: Recognize when you need to step away and recharge to avoid burnout and maintain your productivity.
- Prioritize your commitments: Be willing to temporarily scale back on other responsibilities to dedicate the necessary time and attention to the cookbook project.
Transcript
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EBT608 – Courtney Carey
Supercut 00:00
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Intro 00:10
Food bloggers. Hi, how are you today? Thank you so much for tuning in to the Eat Blog Talk podcast. This is the place for food bloggers to get information and inspiration to accelerate your blog’s growth, and ultimately help you to achieve your freedom. Whether that’s financial, personal, or professional. I’m Megan Porta. I have been a food blogger for 13 years, so I understand how isolating food blogging can be. I’m on a mission to motivate, inspire, and most importantly, let each and every food blogger, including you, know that you are heard and supported.
Megan Porta 00:53
We have recorded plenty of podcast episodes here on Eat Blog Talk about the process of creating a cookbook, but we’ve never covered exactly this angle of putting a cookbook together. So this is a really unique and awesome episode. Courtney Carey from Cake Me Home tonight, recently published a cookbook, and she talks to us about how she strategized in the beginning, how she planned and organized. She created an awesome sheet where she broke down all of the pieces of writing, the cookbook, into teeny, tiny components, so that it never felt super overwhelming to her. I loved that tip she talks about how to ask for help, who to ask for help, from how to find balance, how to prioritize, and, most importantly, how to overcome perfectionism and ditch that urge to make everything perfect, because it never will be. It was such a good conversation. I think you’ll find so much value in it if writing a cookbook is on your agenda in the future, it is episode sponsored by RankIQ.
Sponsor 01:54
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Megan Porta 02:59
Courtney Carey is the creator of Cake Me Home Tonight, a baking blog designed to help home bakers elevate their baking game! On her blog and social media, Courtney shares easy and delicious dessert recipes along with baking tips and tutorials to make baking fun and stress-free. Courtney recently released her debut cookbook, Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes, an 80’s themed cookbook featuring cupcake recipes inspired by nostalgic and classic snacks and desserts. She enjoys sharing her love of all things dessert and all things 80’s because there is nothing sweeter than nostalgia.
Megan Porta 03:31
Courtney, it is so good to have you on the podcast. How are you doing today?
Courtney Carey 03:35
I’m doing so well. Thank you so much for having me.
Megan Porta 03:38
I am super excited to talk to a fellow 80s girl. I love all of your 80s themed your site and your cookbooks and all the colors. It’s so inspiring to me.
Courtney Carey 03:49
Thanks so much. I’m definitely a big fan of the bright colors, and yeah,
Megan Porta 03:54
It’s a lot of fun. My favorite sweater as an 80s child was my hot yellow like neon yellow sweater. It was a V neck. I wore it all the time. And the hot pink too. I always loved hot hot pink as well. So yes, I feel the 80s vibes.
Courtney Carey 04:12
Yep, the brighter the better.
Megan Porta 04:14
Yep, brighter the better, exactly. Well, I’m super excited today because you have some knowledge to share with us about writing a cookbook, which I think is so valuable right now. Before we get into that awesome topic, I would love to know if you have a fun practice, share with us?
Courtney Carey 04:29
I do. So since my blog and my brand is 80s themed, I figured I would share something that kind of reflects that. So obviously, I’m a huge fan of the 80s and 80s music. So when I was 18 years old, I actually won a local radio contest, and they flew me out to Atlantic City to be on stage at a Bon Jovi concert.
Megan Porta 04:52
No, that is the coolest thing ever. Did you get to meet Bon Jovi?
Courtney Carey 04:58
So I didn’t get to meet. Meet him face to face, but I was right on stage with him. He was within an arm’s length, which was amazing. I actually am a huge Bon Jovi fan. When I was 20, I got a Bon Jovi tattoo, so oh my gosh, I love it. Very intelligent, very mature decision at the age of 20. But you can’t say that I’m not fully dedicated to the 80s, because it’s on my body.
Megan Porta 05:21
Okay, that is the best ever. I love it. Where is your tattoo?
Courtney Carey 05:25
It’s right on my my leg, near my hip. Oh, nice. Yeah. So great. I can hide it when I need to.
Megan Porta 05:31
Yes, how cool that you were on stage with him. Though he is such a good performer, I went to one of his concerts, actually, not. It wasn’t too long ago, I would say maybe eight years ago. And even as like an older man, I mean, he’s not, you know, youthful anymore, like he used to be, but he was a really good performer. It was such a good concert.
Courtney Carey 05:52
Oh yeah, it’s always very high energy, and you can’t help yourself but sing and dance the whole time.
Megan Porta 05:58
And you can tell he’s just a generous spirit and just a kind person, just from his concert, I thought I don’t know it was really good concert, absolutely well, love knowing that about you. I feel like it connects us in a little way. So Cake Me Home Tonight is your blog also a reference to an 80s song, right? Yeah, don’t you tell us a little bit about your blog, just to give us a background?
Courtney Carey 06:19
yeah, of course. So I started cake. Me Home Tonight in 2020 I had just had my second baby, and I wanted to, so I used, I used to actually be a home Baker. I ran a little baking business out of my home, and I couldn’t keep taking and fulfilling orders because I had two little ones, and I was also working a regular, full time job, so I decided that I was just going to start a blog and share some of my recipes, not thinking that it would really become anything. But the more I did and the harder I worked, I got on social media, and eventually it took off in the summer of 2021 so since then, I’ve just been working hard to try and establish myself in that industry, and I’ve had a lot of fun doing it. So it’s definitely been a roller coaster, but it’s been a good one. Yeah,
Megan Porta 07:12
roller coaster is the best way to describe blogging, I think, back down all around, back up, back down. So you have an awesome cookbook that just came out? Or when was the cookbook published?
Courtney Carey 07:23
Yeah, so I published my first cookbook. It came out in May of 2024, so little while ago. And it’s called, Girls Just Want to Bake Cupcakes because, you know, obviously we have to go at that 80s. And it’s an 80s themed, all cupcake cookbook. So there’s 80s references, quotes, song lyrics throughout the entire book. Lots of fun. Colors. All the cupcake recipes are paired with an 80s song, so you can jam out in your kitchen while you’re baking. It’s just a lot of fun. It is definitely not your average cookbook.
Megan Porta 07:58
Courtney, I need this cookbook. I’m ordering it right now. I’m not kidding. This is like my dream come true. I cannot wait to get this.
Courtney Carey 08:06
Yeah, even if you’re not a baker, I feel if you love 80s culture, you will love this one.
Megan Porta 08:12
Oh, I cannot wait to get this. Okay, super excited. And congratulations. Writing a cookbook is no joke. So congrats on getting that done.
Courtney Carey 08:22
Yeah, thank you.
Megan Porta 08:23
Yeah. So, how has the cookbook transformed your business? Has it made it more robust? Are you making money in what ways has it changed everything?
Courtney Carey 08:32
So, I mean, I basically wrote the cookbook in 2023, so throughout that entire year. So it was a little bit of a balancing act between my blog and business and also getting the cookbook done. It’s been really exciting though to see how well people are enjoying the book, and I have a lot of my followers posting about it and trying out the recipes and posting the recipes. So I feel like it’s really fostered an even closer community with a lot of my closest followers and a lot of new people as well. I think it’s, it’s kind of shown itself to a different audience, perhaps, and I think that’s been really exciting.
Megan Porta 09:14
Yeah, that whole like finding a different audience is something we don’t often think about when we do projects like cookbooks, but it really can bring out new people in your community, right? I think that’s such a cool piece of doing a project like that.
Courtney Carey 09:29
Yeah, originally I was marketing it to mostly just home bakers, but I’m like, wait a minute, I have a whole other market of people who just love 80s stuff that I keep focusing on. So I’ve had a couple people say, Hey, I’ve never baked a cupcake in my life, but I bought your book because it just looks like so much fun.
Megan Porta 09:46
Right? And they might fall in love with making cupcakes you never know are so fun and they make everybody happy. So why not try it? Right?
Courtney Carey 09:55
Exactly.
Megan Porta 09:55
I’m ordering it right now. I just pressed submit. So thank you. So
Courtney Carey 10:00
Thank you.
Megan Porta 10:01
Yes. Okay, so I want to know what you learned about writing a cookbook, because it is definitely a process. I’ve been there. It’s a lot of work, and you’re going to share all of this knowledge with us. So what would you say is, like the biggest piece of advice going into writing a cookbook, if somebody’s interested in doing it themselves.
Courtney Carey 10:21
Well, I definitely think that, you know, obviously, it’s a huge undertaking. You’re writing an entire book. You’re taking on a massive project. So, you know, the biggest things that I think that we can do to set ourselves up for success is to really plan and organize yourself and get a good visualization of what that process is going to look like. I think that sets us up for the greatest success when we’re writing.
Megan Porta 10:50
When you created a plan for your book, what did that look like? Was it like writing a whole, you know, like all the chapters, all the recipes out? How extensive was that?
Courtney Carey 10:59
Yeah, so the first thing I did was I kind of just evaluated my own work style to kind of incorporate that into my planning and workflow. So I think we all can set ourselves up for success by working the way that we work best. So cookbooks take, obviously, a lot of time and effort, and I think if you develop a strategy that works well for you and run with it, then you’re going to do great. So you know, the first thing I did was I took into account my schedule, my life, my responsibilities, because not only am I writing a cookbook, but I’m also a mom and a wife, and I also work a regular job as well, so I needed to obviously take all that into account, and then I also had to plan around what the needs were for the book. So figuring out, what were my deadlines, what could I realistically accomplish in a day and a week and a month? I also took into account the times of the day or the days of the week that I felt the most energized and motivated, so that I could capitalize on when I felt the best, because usually when we feel the best, we’re working the best and producing the best. And then I also kind of figured out what life tasks and responsibilities I had to kind of weave into that process as well. So I think for me, the first step was just taking a step back and analyzing, okay, what are the next six months going to look like, and how can I set myself up for success?
Megan Porta 12:28
How long did you give yourself, just out of curiosity, to complete it from start to finish?
Courtney Carey 12:32
So I actually, I didn’t create the deadlines I had. I worked with a publisher who created the deadlines, so it was already kind of preset for me when I had to have my manuscript completed, when the editing process was going to take place, when the photography needed to be done, so I kind of worked around those parameters. So the book writing itself took me about four months. So that was developing the recipes, writing, all the recipes, the introductions, and then there was about a three month editing process as well. And during that time, too, I had to complete all the photos and have those submitted as well.
Megan Porta 13:12
Did you find that you were like, was this too much for you, or was everything okay? And were you standing at the end of the process.
Courtney Carey 13:21
So I had a very unique process. I loved every moment of this, but toward the end of when my manuscript was due, about three weeks before my manuscript was due, I broke my leg, and I had to have surgery, and it was quite, quite the disaster. So it was a little bit challenging, because I obviously didn’t plan that, and that put a huge, huge wrench in the plan. So I loved the whole process, but there was definitely a very steep uphill climb toward the end for me.
Megan Porta 13:56
Oh my gosh, yeah. You just never know when those life things are going to happen, right? You can’t plan for those Yes, yeah. So you can plan and organize your life away, but then something could happen, you just never know, but you were still able to stay on track pretty much?
Courtney Carey 14:10
Yep, I met all my deadlines despite that. That is so awesome.
Megan Porta 14:14
Good for you. Yeah. Okay, so you planned and organized well, and then kind of worked around the publisher’s schedule that they set for you. You were saying at the end, you’re still here talking. You must be relatively okay. What were some of the other things you did during the process that really helped you get through?
Courtney Carey 14:33
Yeah, so I’m an organizer and list maker by nature. So I found that one of the ways that I best stayed organized was to keep very detailed lists. I actually created spreadsheets with Google sheets that kept me organized and helped me follow a framework so that I could stay on schedule and on target. So I had one spreadsheet where I, essentially laid out the book. So I figured out what the chapters were. I figured out what cupcake flavors I wanted to do, what frosting filling, even down to the garnishes and the decorations, exactly how I was going to make the cupcakes and present them. And then I also had a list that was essentially a checklist, to do list where I listed out every single component of the book. So I had to write a book Introduction, I had to write a dedication, I had to write an introduction for each chapter. I had to write all the recipes, and then I also had to write recipe introductions. So I broke that down into really small, manageable steps, because if you think, Okay, I gotta write a book that seems very scary and very overwhelming and a huge task to undertake. So I broke it down into the smallest possible components, and I as I completed them or worked on them, I was able to check them off, which not only helps me stay motivated, but it really helped me stay organized and on track.
Megan Porta 16:00
I think that is probably the smartest thing ever for a big project like this, because it can be so overwhelming, like, there’s no way I can get 75 or however many recipes you have done, right? Like, in your mind, you just think that’s way too daunting. But if you have these super small things to check off, like, I have to write an intro, well, that is very doable. So you can just kick that out right away and check it off right?
Courtney Carey 16:25
And going back to what I was talking about, knowing how you work best. If I had a day where I just wasn’t feeling super great, or just a lower energy day, I would turn to writing or maybe focusing on something where I’m not baking on my feet and recipe testing, I might just work on writing an introduction on that day, or the days when I was feeling super energized, you know, let’s, let’s tackle a bunch of cupcake recipes. So it’s also kind of going back to that knowing how you work and really assessing how you’re feeling and how you can work to those strengths.
Megan Porta 16:58
Did you ever fall behind and and then just feel like, I don’t, know, overwhelmed by your list at all?
Courtney Carey 17:05
I didn’t really feel overwhelmed by the list. I definitely fell behind after I broke my leg, because I still had, I think, a dozen recipes that I was still working on, and I had three weeks to perfect the recipes and get them written out. So, I mean, I was in a boot. I couldn’t walk, so I was propped up in my kitchen on a stool and doing my very best to try and develop these recipes so I could at least get the manuscript done. So that was definitely stressful, because I certainly, I’m somebody who needs to have everything done three weeks early to feel like it’s done on time. So that totally threw me off. But to be quite honest, that list really helped me, because I was able to visualize, okay, this is what you have to do. Just focus on this component. Don’t worry about taking the photos yet. Just get the manuscript done, and then you can move on.
Megan Porta 17:58
Yeah, sometimes hiding yourself from the big picture saves us. I feel like, yes, and good for you for just keep continuing to go through that, even though you had a huge hiccup, I can just picture you like getting all your stuff done in your kitchen with your leg. Oh, you’re a trooper.
Courtney Carey 18:15
I should have taken pictures, but I should have it wasn’t pretty.
Megan Porta 18:18
Yeah, no, that’s the part that people like, though, right? The real pieces of life, those little bits that are real but not necessarily pretty, yes, definitely. How much help did you get with this process?
Courtney Carey 18:32
Yeah, so I actually was fortunate to have a lot of help. Not only did I work with a great publishing company who was wonderful at guiding me through the whole process, but I also was able to get the help from my husband and my in laws and my mom in terms of, you know, my husband would take the kids if I needed a little bit of extra time to work on something, or my in laws or my mom would watch the kids if I needed to focus on the book. My mom also helped me with those last few recipes. She was running around the kitchen getting ingredients for me so I could develop them. So I feel like I know probably a lot of bloggers and people in our industry often like to have control over things and like things a certain way and and to follow their brand and what their vision is. So it was kind of difficult for me to ask for help and to try and, you know, get the support from other people, but it was absolutely essential in finishing this project.
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Megan Porta 20:16
I’m so glad to hear that your family was such an integral part of your process. I think that’s really cool, that your mom helped you with some of the recipes and just kind of dove in with you. What tasks like actually, with the book did you outsource to get help with?
Courtney Carey 20:31
Yeah, so I’m somebody I’m getting better, but I’m somebody who’s pretty unconfident about my photo taking and editing skills, so I had initially considered just outsourcing the photography, but, you know, I thought about it, and it would be very difficult to do that, because for my book, I had to create 60 recipes, and in order to hire a photographer to take the photos, I would really have to try and make a bunch of recipes all at once, and just with my lifestyle and my time, I knew that was going to be impossible. So what I decided was I talked to a local food photographer who’s absolutely amazing. I love his work. His esthetic matches what I wanted for the book. And we actually talked about that I would take the photos and he would edit the photos for me, and photo edit. I’m less confident in photo editing than the photo taking, so it worked out absolutely perfect that he was able to help me with that. That was a huge help. And then after I broke my leg, I still had two chapters of cupcakes to photograph. So that was about 16 or so recipes, and I actually asked him to help me with those, those last couple chapters, in terms of taking the photos, just because I was in a boot I couldn’t walk. So at that point, he was so helpful, and it turned out perfectly. That’s all I can say.
Megan Porta 21:57
Yeah, that’s so good. I love hearing stories like that, where things just come together, and maybe not necessarily in a conventional way, but you just made it. You made it work, right?
Courtney Carey 22:07
Yeah, absolutely. You just kind of have to go with the flow. And you know, life is going to throw you curve balls, and you just have to try and respond to them the best you can.
Megan Porta 22:18
Gotta roll with it. Was there anything else you got help with outside of photography editing?
Courtney Carey 22:23
Just in terms of the book, my publishers helped me with the editing process. So I worked with a couple different editors who reviewed the manuscript. I had some people who helped me review the recipes to make sure everything was correct in terms of measurements and conversions. And then I also had people help me in terms of grammar and just making sure that everything worked out really well there. So the publisher was definitely very instrumental in in that process, in terms of getting having the book edited. And then they also helped, actually, they did all of the layout of the book, so I was able to provide them with the manuscript, the photos, and they helped with the design process, which was very helpful, because that is certainly not one of my strong suits.
Megan Porta 23:09
Yeah, that’s a huge perk of having a publisher print your book, publish and print your book, just not having to worry about those little details, especially if you don’t love them, if you don’t love doing them, yes. Okay, so you obviously had a blog to run. And do you have a job outside of your blog as well?
Courtney Carey 23:25
Yeah. So prior to starting my blog, I was, and am still, a licensed mental health counselor. So I used to do mental health counseling with individuals, but around 2019 I started doing psychological evaluations. So during the book writing process, and still, currently, I work one day a week in that capacity.
Megan Porta 23:47
Okay, so it is still work outside of your blog, yes, how did you balance it all when you were doing that job, your blog and your cookbook?
Courtney Carey 23:55
Yeah, that was, I would say, that was probably the most difficult thing in terms of writing the book, and to be quite honest, even now, I think finding balance is a real struggle, and something I’m actively working on. So, you know, obviously writing the cookbook takes a ton of time, your recipe testing, writing, editing, shooting the photos, designing the book, doing all these things so but you still have to obviously fill your roles in your life. Whatever those roles may be, they obviously look different from person to person. So traditionally, on my blog, my goal is to publish one new recipe a week, sometimes two during the holidays, you know, as many as possible. So what I did was I just realistically looked at everything and I said, Okay, minimally, I’m going to do one recipe, but if there’s a week where I’m a little bit behind, I might update and republish an old recipe. So just kind of meeting myself, where I was at with that, and in terms of on a more personal level, I had to prioritize the book a lot. Just because it took up so much time. So, you know, there were some things I unfortunately did miss out on it. I was writing the book during summer, so there’s a lot going on, but you know, I I had to force myself to also be present with my family and still fulfill those roles as well. So it definitely was a challenge to find that balance, but I think I became very skilled at just recognizing when I needed to step away and have a little bit of a mental break, even if it was just for one evening or one day. I think if we refresh ourselves a bit, we can be more effective when we’re writing or developing recipes or focusing on whatever it is we do need to take a step back in order to move forward.
Megan Porta 25:47
Oh, that’s so true. I’ve discovered that so many times in my blogging journey, did you encounter any burnout at all?
Courtney Carey 25:55
I would say not physical burnout. It was definitely more of a mental mental exhaustion and mental burnout, but I would equate it more to like Baker’s writer’s block. So I would have days where I would be developing recipes, and I would try the recipe over and over. I remember one specific day I was trying to make these creamsicle flavored cupcakes. I think I tried the recipe six times that day, and it just was not coming out. And I was so frustrated, and because I had days where I bake, you know, five different recipes, and they’re all perfect, and I feel like I’m on top of the world, but this particular day, I distinctly remember I was so discouraged, and I think that was one of the days where I’m like, Okay, you need to walk away. You need to go do something with your kids, go touch grass, and then come back and let’s start fresh in a day or two and refocus.
Megan Porta 26:53
Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I know that feeling so well, and you want it to be right and perfect, right, especially when it’s a cookbook, it’s something that gets printed. It’s not like a blog where you can go back and redo the pictures and redo the writing. When I did my cookbook, that was in my mind, like, oh my gosh, this is, this is like, set in stone. I have to get this right. Did you get that feeling, too, with not just the mistakes, but overall, like, I’ve got to get this perfect?
Courtney Carey 27:19
Yes, absolutely, I am a huge perfectionist to a fault again, something I’m working on, but I think definitely one of the things that I recognize, especially in the editing process of the book, is that no matter how long or how hard you work on something, it’s never going to be perfect. And the idea of perfect, to be quite honest, doesn’t really exist, because the goal post is always going to be moving. In terms of, you know, when you’re developing yourself and working on things, the goal post is constantly moving. So what is perfection, really? But you know, the more that I would work on a recipe. I could tweak this. I could change this a little bit. At some point, I had to just realize that, okay, this is really good. These cupcakes are delicious. This is fine. Is it perfect? Maybe, maybe not. But at some point, you just have to say, You know what? This is really good. I’m proud of this and and move on from it. Because you can always take a better photo, you can always, you know, adjust a recipe a little bit to be a little bit different, but you kind of have to let go of that perfection, or you’re not going to be able to, number one, meet your deadlines, but also feel good about your book.
Megan Porta 28:35
Do you think that going into a project like this, just having that expectation that like, what you said, like, things are not going to be perfect, there are going to be mistakes helps out.
Courtney Carey 28:47
I think that, yeah, I think just having that realistic expectation is definitely a helpful mindset to have, because I think when we put that idea of perfection in our mind, we’re setting a bar that we can’t achieve. So it’s definitely helpful to go in with a realistic perspective and just recognize that you know you’re going to strive for quote, unquote perfection. You’re going to strive to do your best. And I think that’s probably the best mindset to go in with that.
Megan Porta 29:18
Yeah, just knowing that there’s going to be a mistake or two or three that is glaring. Isn’t it funny how especially having a publisher, and thinking of all of these people who see the book and the editors and and you and your you know your spouse or whoever else looks at it, after all of that, there can still be huge, glaring errors. It’s just mind blowing to me that this happens.
Courtney Carey 29:19
Yes, yes, and I think that’s what really the edit. Like I said, the editing process really helped me kind of hammer this, this concept home, because there were some things I went back and forth with the editor with several times it was like, Okay, we could just keep changing this all day long. And, you know, we at some point, we just have to decide, okay, this sentence works here, and it’s fine. So yeah, you could just, and the more you look at something, the more you can glance over mistakes. So, you know, it’s definitely, if you’re working to self publish, it’s definitely good to have multiple eyes on the project if you can. Because when you’re looking at something for so long, there’s huge things that you can miss.
Megan Porta 30:24
So my cookbook was all cookies, and like, when I was done, I gave it to family. Like family bought some copies. A bunch of people did. So I knew people were in the cookbook making the recipes. My sister texted me one night, and she’s like, Megan, I was going to make your banana cream pie cookies, but there’s no banana ingredient in here. And I was like, What? No, like, my heart just sank into my toes. I was like, You got to be kidding me, because I knew, I knew I knew that I had used banana like pudding mix and put bananas on top. I went to the cookbook, and sure enough, banana pudding mix is not in the ingredients.
Courtney Carey 31:04
Oh, my gosh.
Megan Porta 31:04
So yeah, that was a huge, huge, glaring mistake. I felt sick for days about that, but then I just came to the point where I was like, You know what? I’m a human everyone, like so many people, looked at this. Nobody else saw it. So goodness, just get over it. So I had to, yeah, but that was big.
Courtney Carey 31:23
Oh, that’s my heart like, is beating faster right now?
Megan Porta 31:29
Yeah, it was, it was days of distress. I mean, it was like, yes, yes, what have I done? I’ve just destroyed my whole life. But then it’s like, No, I haven’t. Everything’s fine. If people see that and they have a problem with it, they can probably assume it was a mistake, whatever. So you just have to accept that, like, there are going to be errors, and sometimes really big ones, that is part of a big project like this. So we’re giving you permission to just, like, allow that to happen and maybe learn from it too, right?
Courtney Carey 31:59
Yes, absolutely. I think that making mistakes is exactly how we learn, and the cookbook writing process taught me a lot about myself, and it definitely makes it really shines a light on a lot of your insecurities, perhaps, and a lot of those things that perhaps you don’t feel so confident about, but those are things that I’m actively working on these days and taking a look at and definitely becoming a better blogger, a better recipe developer, and hopefully just a better human overall.
Megan Porta 32:34
Yeah, definitely projects like this shape us, even though they can be hard and give us some kind of hard lessons. They shape us into better bloggers and humans. If there’s somebody listening who has been considering writing a cookbook, but they feel it’s just too much, too daunting, too big of a project, what advice do you have for them?
Courtney Carey 32:54
I would say that my biggest piece of advice to anybody considering writing a cookbook is to go for it if you can. But it was such a wonderful and fulfilling experience. It’s so cool to be able to, you know, Google myself and just Girls Just Want to Bake Cupcakes and see my I actually saw my book out in the wild for the first time the other day, and that was very exciting. So my advice is, go for it. But I think in terms of that, just go for it. I think figure out a time in your life when it’s going to be convenient, not necessarily convenient, but feet more feasible if you can. Now for me, my situation might be a little bit unique. I know some people might self-publish or shop around for a publisher. I actually had the publishers reach out to me so that the timing was really based on them and what their needs more so were. But if you are shopping around for a publisher, or you are self publishing, I would definitely say, go for it, but just figure out a time in your life that might be a little slower. Like I said, I wrote my book and developed the book over the summer, which in my family, is our busiest months of the year. We’re constantly, you know, going to parties and camping and boating and doing all these things. So if I could have written the book in January, February, March, our slowest months of the year, that would have definitely set me up for success a bit more, yeah. But so yeah, go for it, but just figure out how you can make it work to your advantage.
Megan Porta 34:39
Is there anything else about the actual process of writing the book that you want to relay to other people considering this?
Courtney Carey 34:48
Yeah, and I actually think this, this kind of relates back to how we were talking about perfectionism and wanting for everything to be perfect when you’re doing the writing part, when you’re writing Chapter Introduction. Or the recipe introductions. Just sit down and whether it’s at your laptop or with a pen and paper, and just start writing. Just whatever comes to your mind. It doesn’t have to make sense. It doesn’t have to be logical. Just think of the recipe. Think of you know, your goals for the book, what you’re hoping to convey to your readers, and just start getting ideas down. And that’s a step in the right direction. We’re just trying to get thoughts and ideas down, and then you can work on refining those I think sometimes, again, we focus too much on doing it right the first time, and it’s really just getting those concepts and those ideas down so you can transform them into what the voice of the book is later.
Megan Porta 35:45
I love this episode because it’s more like kind of big picture. A lot of the episodes that we publish about writing cookbooks are like, Okay, this is what size your page should be, and this is, you know, like more technical and like specific details, but this is more okay. Think about your life. Think about your calendar. When does this fit in? What kind of help can you get? What kind of balance do you need? That sort of thing, which I think is so valuable really, when planning any big project, but especially cookbook. So this has been so good. Courtney, thank you for sharing all of this. We really appreciate this.
Courtney Carey 36:23
Of course, I’m happy to share my experience. Like I said, it was very fulfilling, very rewarding, very challenging. I would do it again in a heartbeat, but I would also do it again in a couple years, because I need to breathe. Yeah?
Megan Porta 36:38
Oh gosh, yeah. It’s like having children. You’re like, Whoa, I need a little space, little break, yes. And then mention the name of your cookbook again, in case people would love to support you and go get a copy of their own. Yeah, of course.
Courtney Carey 36:51
So the book is called Girls Just Wanna Bake Cupcakes. It’s available now internationally at all your favorite book retailers, such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target. Like I said, it’s an all cupcake 80s themed cookbook. So lots of fun, lots of bright colors, great fun pictures. So I’m sure if you grab a copy, you will absolutely love it.
Megan Porta 37:14
And this would be a great gift too for the holidays, I think.
Courtney Carey 37:17
Oh, absolutely anybody who loves baking, anybody who loves the 80s definitely a good gift.
Megan Porta 37:23
Oh yeah, I love it. I might do that myself. Okay. Well, thanks again. Do you have either a favorite quote or words of inspiration to leave us with Courtney?
Courtney Carey 37:29
Yeah. So I wanted to stay true to myself and my brand for this quote, but I think it truly reflects exactly where I am in my life right now, and also kind of reflects the topic of today’s conversation. So I’m going to share a very profound quote by the very witty and wise Ferris Bueller. So it’s Life moves pretty fast if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. So as I said, my current goal is kind of focusing on finding balance. I think for the last couple years I’ve in developing my blog and writing the book, I’ve burnt the candle at both ends, and I think it’s time for me to slow down and smell the cupcakes and just relax a little bit and kind of figure out what that balance is in my life. So I think that is a perfect quote to kind of reflect where I am and the whole cookbook writing process as well.
Megan Porta 38:28
And I definitely love your branding. You kept with the 80s theme all throughout our conversation, so even ending with Ferris Bueller. So I love that nice way to cinch that up at the end. Such a great quote. We’ll put together a show notes page for you, Courtney, so if you want to go peek at those, and we’ll also have the link to Courtney’s book in the show notes, go to eatblogtalk.com/cakemehometonight. So referring to your blog, tell people where to go for that, and if you have social media that you want to mention too.
Courtney Carey 38:58
Thank you so much. So my blog is CakeMeHomeTonight.com. And you can find me on all social media platforms, Instagram, Tiktok, Pinterest, Threads, YouTube as Cake Me Home Tonight.
Megan Porta 39:10
Awesome. Everyone. Go check out Courtney’s book and her platform and her blog and all of that. Thank you again, Courtney, for being here, and thank you so much for listening food bloggers. I will see you next time.
Outro 39:22
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