How well do you think a book on vegetarianism or vegan would sell?!
How well do you think a book on vegetarianism or vegan would sell?
Hi. I am about to write a book on vegetarianism and vegan, and am wondering how well it would sell.
Tentaively, it is called - 101 Reasons to Go Vegan: The Complete Guide.
It will feautre the following sections:
- Environment Aspect
- Health Aspect
- Humane Aspect
- Cruelty Aspect
- Stories from vegans
- List of famous vegans
- And of course, 101 Reasons to go vegan.
So, tell me how well a book like that would sell, and if i should include other sections, and if so, what are they?
Thanks a lot.
Answers:
It sounds like a great idea. Two things you should consider...have you talked to a publisher to see if there is a market for yet another book of this type? Will you be objective in your writing?
I always put a book back on the shelf if the author is browbeating the reader to stop being a bad person that following the author's ways is the only way to become a good person.
Have you considered the economic impact caused by half of society turing to vegans?
Given that even very badly named books ("How it all Vegan" always gives me a brain fart with its bad-grammar bad-pun semi-meaningless name) on veganism can still end up in the window of my local bookstore -- yeah, I think you have a chance.
I think you'll have to include some recipes. I realise that's not the point, but. The average omnivore's question is invariably "What do they eat, then?" and a list of "beans, pulses, etc" is not inspiring. "Includes gobsmackingly delicious vegan recipes" would be a selling point. Especially because I think a lot of vegans will buy any vegan cookbook on the market because, well, there just aren't enough out there for them to be picky.
I'd also suggest an additional chapter on how it's okay to follow only some of your advice. The only people I can think of who promote veganism but browbeat vegetarians are PETA, and you don't want to come off like those holier-than-thou jerks. It should still be useful for people who would like to eat a healthier diet, but one that includes occasional trips to the local fried chicken parlour. Sinners they are not.
And one on potential nutritional pitfalls. Make it clear that eating a poorly balanced vegan diet is not a responsible choice. That said, there're too many assumptions that vegan/vegetarian is synonomous with "health food," and nobody wants confusion when they pick up a bag of potato chips.
Also critical: a sense of humour, and honesty. Honesty re. stuff like don't expect your friends to join you, and don't expect soy cheese to really be like the real stuff. I just finished reading "The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook," which is vegan rather than vegetarian (hrmph), and filled with stuff I wouldn't touch -- like "melty "cheese"" that's nutritional yeast flakes + oil. _Not_ my idea of a passable pizza topping. Ways to co-ordinate meal plans for vegans and non-vegans in the same household would probably be helpful.
A lot would depend on how well written the book, or any book, is. This particular description really doesn't offer anything new or anything that has not been done dozens of times with fairly similar titles to boot, so it would have to have something innovative even to interest diehard vegans.
One section notably absent from your book and all other pro-vegan books is of course a justification of a diet that lacks an essential human nutrient and requires supplementation. For example, how would you deal with someone who wished to use milk from a dairy cow who was treated well, allowed to feed her calf for a reasonable period of time and milked appropriately?
At any rate, before embarking on reinventing the wheel, do a book search of the topic and see how many other books already exist and try to find something new your work would offer.
You need to ask yourself why you are writing this book or what is your purpose. If you are trying to convince people to become a vegan, it wont serve its purpose. I am not a vegan or vegetarian. So from my point of view this book has nothing to offer me. I wont buy it; I wont read it; I wont even open the cover. Your book is about how awful my eating styles are and basically I get the idea that I am a horrible person for enjoying what I eat. Why do I want to read a book like that? You might as well change the title to, "You worthless meat eaters stop destroying the planet and the creatures that live on it!"
If you want to write a book to change peoples attitudes then show the positives about eating vegan, and how to do it safely and nutritiously without missing flavor in ones diet. Many people like me always say, "I would miss the taste of meat.." or whatever other food product. Show us the tasteful and healthy alternatives. Im not just talking about recipes either. As a trained chef, I hate recipe books. I like cookbooks, where I can actually learn something new other than just mindlessly following a recipe. Recipes would be great but also talk about ingredients that are in them like tofu, seitan, and tempeh. Tell my why most veggie burgers I have come into contact with smell absolutely disgusting. Even go into how to cook in a split household. Nowadays there are more and more couples that are half vegan and half omnivore. How do they cook together without planning two separate meals? There are so many better ideas for a book. But whatever you route you decide, first decide what is the purpose of the book. Your idea wont convince many people to convert, in my opinion.
People are idiots, so they would probably beleive you. Eat meat.
Not well cause there are many such books in The Local Library. I have one called 99 Whys of Vegan Life. I'm not a Vegan but I do use some recipes out of that book. There's The Meat Haters cookbook that's all about becoming a Vegetarian.. and addresses where
to get Vegan articles. Read Prevention Magazine. Purity Magazine. Readers Digest
Rodale's Complete Veggie to Vegan handbook
Fanny Farmer's "A day in the Life of a Vegan on a Farm!" The Veggy Corner this last one is a pocket book!