I was posting within a minute of you in
response to Mary; I couldn't help but
laugh; because I do think the 21 Strawberries
Cookbook would sell more than the low carbs...
It's funny because at an event we had at
work the other day: everyone was asking for
the "better than sex cake recipe"...

So, it appears you have to replace this
> income as fast as you can, right?

> It would be a good time to go back to the
> well that gives you water...and make a
> sizzling summer special to past customers
> with an offer they can't refuse. What that
> might be, I have no idea because I'm
> unfamilar with what these places/people have
> ordered from you before.

> Let's brainstorm this Mary. Who do you tutor
> and why? Who pays? Are there institutions or
> corporations interested in what you do,
> including gov't ones?

> Who would be interested in these people once
> they have completed some work with you? What
> value do they have to employers for example?

> What I'm getting at, as you more clearly
> detail what takes place, there just may be
> someone in the process chain that would be a
> candidate for a booklet that is used for
> marketing, like Jimmy Krug does.

> There is also the Jim Erskine model, and
> maybe a Christmas Book sponsorship can put
> some quick income to you, and NOW is the
> time to pursue the Christmas or Holiday in
> My Town theme too. I belive Jim got 2500 up
> front to cover expenses (correct me if I'm
> wrong Jim)...

> You want to move fast to something that
> produces income and of course I'm going to
> say "chatteling" might be a good
> stop gap measure for you, maybe specializing
> by helping those people you tutor with
> buying and selling on ebay...if they are
> English challenged for example, they still
> have/need/want STUFF. So consider
> transferring your skills to the same market
> but for a different purpose.

> As for the Recipes and cookbooks. In one of
> the early SeedZines I wrote about Dawn Hall
> and her STORY...

> the secret to getting a best-selling
> cookbook is to have a good story...

> here is a blurb on
> http://www.bookmarketingprofits.com/DawnHall.html
> and Dawn is featured on the home page here
> too.

> Make sure to visit John Kremer's
> www.bookmarket.com too and go over the hall
> of fame as well as his whole site...some
> good motivation there for self-publishing.

> And with your background, a SPECIALITY
> cookbook, how about one for diabetics? Or
> one just on strawberries? Maybe a booklet
> that someone like Smuckers would be
> interested in underwriting so they could use
> it in a strawberry promotion...(they are one
> of the largest consumers of strawberries in
> the country...who are the others?)...

> Or you can start giving customized
> INDIVIDUAL lessons over the Net for women on
> a diet...with your nutritionalists
> background, and your vast recipe collection,
> perhaps you could set something up with a
> Yahoo groups...and charge for consulting or
> setting up weekly menus and shopping lists.

> Can you videotape a few of those recipes?
> And make a "guerrilla" video on
> the Secret Joys of Strawberry Cooking? or
> even somethng more
> "provocative"...

> 21 Ways Strawberries Can Help You Achieve
> Unforgettable Orgasms .

> I know Giant Strawberries dipped in heated
> chocolate, and then teasingnly swirled
> around my lips...um, never mind....

> I think you get the point.

> But Mary, I KNOW you have a good mind, and
> that is where your next success will come
> from. Make a list of every possiblity, let
> your good mind go wild and see if you can
> come up with something.

> Dawn Hall figured out how to sell
> cookbooks...she even has a great deal for
> those that would want to sell hers...check
> that out.

> Check out Laura corn a self-published
> success...who sold 1000's of booklets from
> the trunk of her car and now is an
> internet/international superstar best
> seller.
> http://www.grrreatsex.com/ If they BEG,
> they just might pay too.

> Now, I seldom disagree with Mike, however I
> do take exception to this, and he will too
> once he sees that there is a HUNGRY market
> for cookbooks, and that it is the
> PROMOTION/MARKETING that determines the
> success. Believe me, if Mike FOCUSED in and
> wanted to bring out a best-selling cookbook,
> he could do it.

> Because he wouldn't be competing with
> everyone else, the guy is smart enough to
> find a niche interest group and savvy enough
> of a marketer to find a way to reach the
> group.

> Everyyear cookbooks top best-seller
> lists...they have their own category...

> from John Kremer's site
> (www.bookmarket.com):
> ****************
> "In 2000, Good Books, a family-owned
> publisher of books on Amish and Mennonite
> cooking, published the Fix-It and Forget-It
> Cookbook by Phyllis Pellman Good and Dawn
> Ranck. Good is the wife of Merle Good,
> publisher of Good Books. The slo-cooker
> cookbook sold more than 300,000 copies in
> its first year and hit the New York Times
> bestseller list." and this:

> Barbara Harris has sold more than 750,000
> copies of her self-published cookbook, Let's
> Cook Microwave. Every time she goes back to
> press on the book, she has to order another
> 50,000 copies.

> and this

> Joanna Lund self-published her Healthy
> Exchanges Cookbook after going from 300 lbs.
> and a size 28 to 170 lbs. and a size 14
> using the low-fat recipes collected in the
> book. After selling 150,000 copies through
> her own promotional efforts, she sold the
> reprint rights to Putnam for a six-figure
> advance. Several books later, Joanna is now
> the cookbook queen of QVC, having sold more
> books via the home shopping network than any
> other author. She now runs a multi-million
> dollar enterprise that includes a PBS
> cooking show, catalog, and newsletter.

> Go to John's site and check out the Hall Of
> Fame for inspiration and ideas. (And get
> John's book too, if your local library has
> it, check it out and get to see how huge the
> bookmarket is...

> **********************

> SEASONAL RECIPE collection, could do a twist
> and a turn and a two and a half takeoff of
> the above mentioned Jim Erskine and his
> Christmas Book...

> how about a collection of "101 Years of
> Christmas Recipes of Cuyahoga Falls,
> OH"....and maybe the sponsor would be
> the local supermarket...or health food store
> (with a twist)...

> Spend a couple of hours in your local
> historical society and ask the caretakers to
> point you to some old pics of Thanksgiving
> and Christmas as it was spent 50 -100 years
> ago...and there you go.

> My comment is this Mary...you have a LOT of
> talent and ability to choose from...

> don't let current health stand in your
> way...use your noodle to make your boodle.

> And don't let paralysis by analysis delay
> you...take the time to WRITE down all of
> your options...prioritize them...

> what can you do the fastest? The easiest?
> What would be fun to work on? Are you
> willing to market someone else's work (like
> Dawn Hall's)...could you use her book and do
> a seminar, or if health prohibits a 'LIVE'
> performance, how about a video that includes
> her or other's books or better yet your
> own...

> and put it up for sale right away.

> Well, I just want to encourage you and let
> you know that YOU can make it happen. Accept
> the challenge you've been presented with and
> turn it into an asset. It ain't easy, I know
> from personal experience...but without
> diabetes, I may never have gotten to know
> how devastating it is and would not have
> formed the Diabetes Team to look for
> alternative solutions to it.

> Hope you get one little spark of an idea
> from here.

> Good luck as always,

> Gordon Alexander