Episode 419: Being a Cookbook Author & Publisher: Justin Ellen of @EverythingJustBaked
Release Date: 09/17/2026
Episode 424: Simple Holiday Boards for Every Celebration with Maegan Brown, The Baker Mama
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast. Have you ever looked at the food you make every week and thought, there’s a book in here somewhere? Here’s what most people don’t know: in traditional publishing, the publisher pays you to write your book, and a whole team comes with it. Editors, designers, a photographer, the people who put your book on shelves. If you’ve dreamed of your own cookbook, this is the perfect time to join my free masterclass, From Kitchen to Book Deal. In this three-part class, you will learn three insider truths about traditional publishing, so...
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Episode 423: Thriving After Breast Cancer, One Forkful at a Time with Ellyn Caruso
Cookbook Love Podcast
If your dream is a publisher’s yes, with a team behind you and a publisher who pays you to write, I’d love for you to join me for my free From Kitchen to Book Deal Masterclass, starting Tuesday, October 20. You’ll learn 3 insider truths about traditional publishing so you can say yes to your dream without saying goodbye to your savings. This week I’m joined by Ellyn Caruso, and the timing couldn’t be more fitting. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Ellyn wrote her book for women who have walked through breast cancer and want to live their most vibrant life on the other...
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Episode 422: How to Publish a Cookbook Without Knowing How to Do Everything
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast. If you have a cookbook idea but find yourself wondering how you’re ever going to write, edit, photograph, design, publish, and market an entire book, today’s episode is for you. In this episode, we discuss: Why you don’t need to become an expert in every part of cookbook production to become a cookbook author. What you really need to focus on before you have a book deal: your cookbook concept and your connection with readers. What happens after a traditional publisher says yes—and the team of editors, designers,...
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Episode 421: How to Start a Podcast and Stick With It, 8 Years Later
Cookbook Love Podcast
When I started this show 8 years ago, podcasting was still something people had to explain to their friends. Today it's mainstream. The global audience for podcasts has grown, and in the U.S. alone, more than half the population, roughly 158 million people, tune in every month. The number of shows has exploded too. There are now over 4.5 million podcasts worldwide. But here's the number that matters most for today's episode: only about 10 to 15% of those shows are still actively publishing. Nearly half of all podcasts stop at 3 episodes or fewer, and industry researchers cite a "90/90 rule."...
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Episode 420: Honoring Debbie Berne: Cookbook Designer & Author of Cookbooking: A Fan's Guide
Cookbook Love Podcast
Today I welcome David Murray and Leslie Jonath. David and Leslie are here to honor the life and work of Debbie Berne, a cookbook and book designer who passed away in December, and to share news of her recently published book, Cookbooking: A Fan's Guide, which all listeners of this show are going to love. Cookbooking is a visually stunning pop-history that traces cookbooks from their earliest days to their most iconic and downright wackiest moments, told through photographs, listicles, graphics, and Debbie’s writing. At its heart, Cookbooking celebrates the genre, explores what makes it so...
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Episode 419: Being a Cookbook Author & Publisher: Justin Ellen of @EverythingJustBaked
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to the Cookbook Love Podcast! This week I sit down with Justin Ellen, the baker and content creator behind Everything Just Baked, whose fun, chaotic, personality-filled approach to baking has captured the attention of millions of people across social media. We talk all about his beautiful new cookbook, Better Than Grandma's: Comfort Desserts We Grew Up Loving, his path from posting cake photos on Instagram at sixteen to building a following in the millions, and the leap from social media into an independently published book, including the vulnerability of showing up on camera, the...
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Episode 418: Cookbook Publicity Secrets: What Top PR Agents Want Cookbook Authors to Know
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast! Today's episode pulls together the best publicity advice from top cookbook PR agents who've been on this show. These experts have worked with names like Jacques Pepin, Julia Child, and Ina Garten, and have helped first time authors build a following from scratch. When I laid their advice side by side, the overlap was clear, and that's what this episode is built around: what to focus your time and energy on, and what to let go of, and what’s working in 2026. After this episode, you will: Know where to put your time and energy,...
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Episode 417: Publishers Are Waiting For You
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of Cookbook Love Podcast. Today I'm tackling a belief I encourage every one of my students to hold: publishers and agents aren't just open to your ideas, they're actively waiting for them. I share the real story behind my first book deal, including the year I spent sitting on a business card before I found the courage to send my idea, and how that single decision led to four cookbooks with three different publishers over the next ten years and a life built around writing cookbooks and coaching cookbook writers. In this episode, we discuss: The stainless steel...
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Episode 416: Are There Too Many Cookbooks?
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast! Today I'm talking about something I hear all the time, from people who visit my table at events and from readers on my own email list: the belief that there are already too many cookbooks. I went through a season where I believed this myself. I really did not think there was a need for any more cookbooks, mine included. If that thought has ever crossed your mind, I want you to know you are not alone, and I want to tell you why I no longer believe it. In this episode, we discuss: Why nobody ever says there are too many romance...
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Episode 415: Common Obstacles That Keep Cookbook Writers Stuck
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to the Cookbook Love Podcast! Before I launched my recent masterclass about how to grow your audience for a cookbook, I sent my email list two questions: what's holding you back from growing your audience, and what do you want answered in the class? In this solo episode, I'm sharing the answers my readers sent in, along with a mindset shift for each one, so you can see whether you're standing in the same gap they are. In this episode, I discuss: Why writing a blog isn't a barrier to your email list, it's one step away from it Why consistency isn't a personality trait, it's a...
info_outlineWelcome back to the Cookbook Love Podcast! This week I sit down with Justin Ellen, the baker and content creator behind Everything Just Baked, whose fun, chaotic, personality-filled approach to baking has captured the attention of millions of people across social media. We talk all about his beautiful new cookbook, Better Than Grandma's: Comfort Desserts We Grew Up Loving, his path from posting cake photos on Instagram at sixteen to building a following in the millions, and the leap from social media into an independently published book, including the vulnerability of showing up on camera, the real math behind traditional advances versus going independent, and how he decided which recipes made the cut.
In this episode, Justin will show you:
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Why the fear of showing up online never fully disappears, even after you've "made it," so that you can stop waiting for the fear to go away before you start
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What a traditional publishing advance would actually cost Justin in time and money, and how he weighed his own publishing options
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How to decide which of your most-loved recipes or content belongs in a book versus staying just for your audience
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What it took to independently publish a book that looks and feels as polished as one from a traditional publisher, so that going independent doesn't mean settling for less
Justin's journey proves your path to build your platform or publish your cookbook doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s journey. You truly can choose your own adventure.
Mentioned in This Episode:
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