Instead of sharing a new recipe with you today, I have some announcements to make about changes to Closet Cooking. Over the last few weeks I have been working on a handful of projects for Closet Cooking including writing my first ever eBook, moving over to a new email newsletter platform and a new logo for the Closet Cooking.
Free eBook
The one question that I get asked the most is “Are you writing a cookbook?” and although I would love to write one and will eventually write one, at this point in my life I simply do not have the time. Between dedicating 50 hours a weeks to my day job and and spending 50-70 hours a week on Closet Cooking, it is very difficult to find the time to write completely new recipes and then make and photograph them for a cookbook! But this does not lessen my desire to write a cookbook and this year one of my new years resolutions was to start taking steps in that direction. I decided that I would start with something a lot simpler than a full cookbook and a much smaller eBook seemed like the perfect way to go. Since I did not know much about writing a book let alone an eBook I thought it would be a good idea to start with a really easy one where I would use recipes and photographs that I already had. With these ideas in mind the eBook: The Best of Closet Cooking 2012, was born.
The Best of Closet Cooking 2012 is a collection of the most popular recipes that I have published on Closet Cooking from the time of its inception until 2012. For new readers, this book is a great way to get into some of the best recipes on Closet Cooking and for long time readers, it is a nice reminder of the tasty paths traveled. I will be giving the The Best of Closet Cooking 2012 away for free to anyone that signs up for my new newsletter. You can sign up here:
The book is in pdf format so anyone on a desktop computer or laptop can view it in a pdf reader such as Adobe Reader and any smart phone or tablet device that has a pdf reader should be able to view it on those devices. I was able to transfer the book to my iPhone and despite the small size it looks pretty good. I now need to start saving up for an iPad so that I can see how it looks on that! I am also going to look into getting the book up on Amazon for the kindle, iTunes and Lulu for a physical print in the coming days.
It turns out that there is a fair bit of work involved in publishing a cookbook even when you already have all of the recipes, text and photos ready to go! I was somehow able to muddle my way through it all and despite the difficulties that I encountered along the way, I was able to produce something that looks a little like a cookbook. 🙂 With the first eBook written I am looking forward to the next one and I am already part way through planning it. (Can you guess the topic of my next eBook?) I would love to hear your thoughts on this eBook, both the things that you like and dislike about it.
If anyone is or knows someone that is good at design and book layout, I am interested in hiring someone to do the layout of my next eBook. Please email me at [email protected] if you do!
New Newsletter
When I started Closet Cooking I had no idea that I would still be at it almost 6 years later and because of that I went with the cheapest options possible including using blogger for the blog and using feedburner to deliver the email updates. Feedburner is a great free option for delivering email updates but it does not allow for much in the way of customization and lately I have been wanting to do more with Closet Cooking email. I have been thinking about switching to a platform that allows more freedom for a long time now and I finally decided to switch over to AWeber and with them I will have more control of my email updates.
(Disclaimer: The AWeber link is an affiliate link so if you sign up with them after clicking the link I may get a commission. If you do, I thank you for your support!)
The email updates with feedburner:
My new email template with AWeber:
Another limitation of feedburner is that it only send email when you write a new post, which is not the end of the world but sometimes you have something to say that does not really fit into a new post. AWeber has the ability to send email whenever you want and since I am a big fan of eating locally and in season and I plan to use this feature to highlight favorite recipes that are in season.
What does this mean? If you are currently subscribed to my feedburner email newsletter you will continue to get the new recipes emailed to your inbox just like you have. If you would prefer to switch to the new newsletter, you can unsubscribe from the one that you are getting now and subscribe to the new one and of course you will also get access to my new eBook if you do. You can subscribe here:
I would love to here any feedback that you have on the new newsletter!
New Logo
The next big announcement is about my new logo! A few weeks ago, Cory, a food blogging friend of mine, the man behind Zesty Cooks, contacted me to let me know that he had quit his job to focus on his own blog consulting business Zesty Blog Consulting and he wanted to know if I wanted a custom logo for Closet Cooking. It was quite the coincidence since I had been thinking about a logo for a while so I happily said yes!
(Disclaimer: The link to Zesty Blog Consulting is an affiliate link so if you purchase his services after clicking the link I may get a commission. If you do, I thank you for your support!)
Although I was not the easiest client to work with, given that I had no clue what I wanted other than something that was cool, Cory persevered and after more than a few iterations came up with a logo that I liked! I had been thinking about the logo for a long time and the thing that kept blocking me was: What kind of a logo can you come up with to represent a closet and cooking? The answer was that a more abstract logo was the way to go. I would love to hear your opinion of the new logo! Please leave a comment!
I see your recipes on both facebook and through my RSS feed. Do I need to change either to continue to receive your recipes?
Anonymous: You will continue to get all updates through RSS and Facebook!
Congrats, Kevn!
I'm a fairly new subscriber, but excited to hear about those changes. I also look forward to the eBook!! Your recipes are always re-pinned when I pin them on Pinterest. I like the logo too; simple yet snazzy at the same time.
Congrats on your accomplishment.
I know it takes a long time to get everything like you want it, choose the recipes, format etc. I know from experience 🙂 My work is on the back burner!!
Love the logo. Looking forward to your next creative recipes 🙂
Congrats on the ebook and the new changes. I always look forward to your posts.
Hi Kevin, I don't think I've ever posted a comment on your site before but I've been a long-time fan and have been inspired many times and for many years by your recipes. Congratulations on all the new projects, I look forward to watching Closet Cooking grow!
congratulations!
Looks great Kevin… and it sounds like you've been extremely busy lately! I've been thinking about doing some tweaks on my blog as well, but it's a lot of work. Maybe sometime this summer?
Thanks again for all the cooking inspiration- I always love seeing what you've been cooking up in your closet kitchen 🙂
Awesome news! I love the new logo.
Cheers,
Rosa
I just suscribed to the newsletter, love the logo too!!!
Very exciting news! Looking forward to seeing the ebook.
I am still amazed at the size of you kitchen, from the photos that were in your interview post! That makes you cooking more impressive!
And the nice logo is nice too!
Hi Kevin. I've been following your blog for years now, but just wanted to say thanks for all your hard work. Even when I don't make the recipes, I get so much enjoyment and inspiration from seeing the recipes and photos. I can't believe you have time to do all this and have a proper day job as well. Out of curiosity I went back through the archives to look at your first posts and the difference in the photograph quality is amazing. The blog's really grown and I'm excited to see what you do next. Thanks again for all your hard work.
Congrats on all these amazing changes, Kevin! The new looks great!
This is great, Kevin!
Congraaaatulations, Kevin!
Your new look is GREAT! I signed up for your newsletter and look forward to getting the e-book. I have been a follower of yours for quite sometime and saved some of your recipes.
Wish you much success.
FlowerLady
Kevin: Congratulations on your new site.
Great setup.
Do you still have the account with feedburner or have you just switched the addresses over to weber?
How would I go about cancelling the feedburner account?
Congratulations on your online cookbook.
Tiny or not you have great recipes.
If I would guess at what your next cookbook would be I would have to say. Grilled Cheese.
Again congratulations on both.
Charlie
Congratulations!! I came across your blog a few years ago when I was trying to prove to my husband that apple chutneys didn't exist… Clearly, I was wrong! Thank you for the wonderful recipes and cooking inspirations!
I like the redesign, but I'm curious to know why you stuck w/ Blogger and didn't switch to WordPress.
I'm a new follower/pinner and love your recipes and great style. Congratulations on your new book!
This is great! Congratulations.
How about a new photo of you too. That's been the same for a long time.
I love the new designa dn the can't wait to look trhough the ebook, way to kevin!! anne
I really enjoy your site. Thanks for all the great recipes. I tried signing up for the newsletter but still haven't gotten the email to confirm my subscription. I'm looking forward to the ebook!
Hannah
While we wait for your cookbook (it would be so wonderful, your recipes, your ideas, and your photos on paper), this is a perfect ebook!!
I hope find there my favourite sandwiches that you have published!!
And I think the logo is a good idea, so congratulations (and thanks) for the news!!
Love the new logo! Great job! Can't wait to check out the ebook! All your accomplishments are well deserved! 🙂 Cheers!
You're doing great, Kevin! I love Closet Cooking, since I live in an RV and my kitchen might even be smaller than yours!
Thanks for the ebook. I like it a lot. I also subscribed. What a nice logo, such a change. Incredible that you have been blogging as long as I have been blogging. We survived 🙂 Long life to Closet Cooking Kevin.
I admire your perseverance: managing a day job and sticking to your passion full time, churning out great recipes in the meantime, are tremendous achievements. Congratulations. Love the logo too.
Carole: The move to WordPress is coming in the next few months! This was just a bit of a face lift to hold me over until the big move.
Anonymous: Yep, the photo needs updating. 🙂
Hannah: If you have not gotten it yet, send me an email.
Charlie: The feedburner account will remain active and continue sending updates. Anyone that wishes can subscribe to the new newsletter and click on the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the feedburner newsletter.
Kevin, congrats on these big important changes. I think everything looks great! I will be looking into ebook and newsletter options myself this year so I'm interested to see how it goes for you.
Kevin,
I love the changes, I am inspired to do something similar for my blog as far as the newsletter goes. WAY BETTER THAN FEEDBURNER, which is what I also use. Was it easy to transfer your contact list? I am seriously going to look into this so you might get a commission off me there! lol
I also like your new logo, looks great.
Keep up the great job here. I have even more appreciation knowing that like myself, you work 50 hours at another job and 30-50 hrs maintaining a food blog. Bravo!
I have been reading your blog for ages. I am a totally loyal fan and foodie …who often browses the site too late at night when she is hungry 😀 err, it always makes me hungrier.
I'm so excited for your first ebook. Congratulations! I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future. Please keep up the awesome work! *subscribes!!*
Kristi: Transferring the email list is challenging. Most email services like Aweber require a double opt in so if you import the list, they will send each subscriber an email asking them to click on a link to confirm the subscription. I wanted to have as little impact on my current email subscribers as possible so I decided to keep the feedburner service going and offer the subscribers the opportunity to move over to the new one, but to not force them.
just subscribed. did i miss the giveaway? 🙂
Kevin, are you working on a grilled cheese e-book?! Love the changes you made. I just subscribed to the newsletter. Thank you for all the amazing recipes!!
Just subscribed, where do I click for the 2012 recipe book?
Bob: There is a link in the Welcome email and in the footer of every email that I send out. If you have trouble send me an email to [email protected] and I will get it to you.