Are you considering developing a regional or specialty cookbook? Let me encourage you to invest some time in planning your content. There was a time in the not-so-distant past when an organization could reach out to its members and collect popular recipes of the day, rate and test the recipes and then use the ones selected for the book. Times have changed.
A successful regional cookbook today must carry a strong theme and this is where a bit of creativity comes in. One of our most popular books over the last three years carries a fondue theme. Other popular themes I have noticed are seasonal, event driven, single food category, quick and easy, unique number (usually 4-5) number of ingredients, city or community driven. I'm certain that with a brainstorming session many of you can come up with even more creative or unique themes.
When it comes to selecting the recipes I think we can all agree that including recipes that are not in every other cookbook known to man is the right way to go. You will probably never find recipes that are not available elsewhere, however, you can come up with unique twists to the "tried and true". Another element that I personally recommend is to include a story about each recipe. Where did it come from? How has it been altered? What do guests say about it? Is there one ingredient that gives it a special oomph? Does it go with a particular dish? Do you have plating advice? and so on.
If you are going to develop a new cookbook and ask folks to pay for it or companies to sponsor it, you want to give them a great value. The way you accomplish this is to sell a lot of them (for the sponsors' benefit) and develop a book that is as fun and interesting to read as it is to cook from.
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