"Commonplace Book" vs "Scrapbook."

[byarvin]

Well I'm stuck. I'm trying to decide if my latest cookbook project; a mix of 30 short essays/50 recipes/100 photos should be described in its proposal as a "commonplace book" or a scrapbook. Technically, it's a commonplace book, but I fear it's too archaic sounding. A package like this one could also be considered a scrapbook but that sounds too informal. On a sidenote, I love the way many authors have used the phrase "commonplace book," especially William Least Heat Moon in his PrairyErth.

 

[dickson]

Well I'm stuck. I'm trying to decide if my latest cookbook project; a mix of 30 short essays/50 recipes/100 photos should be described in its proposal as a "commonplace book" or a scrapbook. Technically, it's a commonplace book, but I fear it's too archaic sounding. A package like this one could also be considered a scrapbook but that sounds too informal. On a sidenote, I love the way many authors have used the phrase "commonplace book," especially William Least Heat Moon in his PrairyErth.

I always liked “commonplace book,” though mine could more accurately be called “my long-term memory.”

 

[Maryn]

The term "commonplace book" is completely foreign to me. What does that include or exclude?

"Scrapbook" doesn't sound right for what you're talking about, though.

 

[Unimportant]

The books I own that are similar to what is described are marketed and sold as cookbooks in my experience!

 

[Tocotin]

If you check on YouTube, you’ll find that there is a whole community of people who keep and talk about commonplace books. It’s a bit niche, yes, but is is a growing community, so definitely there is interest.

 

[Stytch]

Yeah, I was going to say cookbook, too. If you wanted to somehow make it more pretentious, maybe a "tabletop cookbook?" I don't think that's a thing, but it's a concept that has two words I understand in it, while I have to admit ignorance on the "commonplace book" phrase. (sorry)

 

[byarvin]

The term "commonplace book" is completely foreign to me. What does that include or exclude?

"Scrapbook" doesn't sound right for what you're talking about, though.

Hi, check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonplace_book

 

[byarvin]

Yeah, I was going to say cookbook, too. If you wanted to somehow make it more pretentious, maybe a "tabletop cookbook?" I don't think that's a thing, but it's a concept that has two words I understand in it, while I have to admit ignorance on the "commonplace book" phrase. (sorry)

The fine line I'm trying to walk is somewhere between interesting and pretentious. Yes, it's a cookbook - eight of my nine published books are cookbooks and I really want to do more; hence this idea and attempt at formatting. "Commonplace Book" is something I associate with literary writing, but I think it can be made to fit into my cookbook world.

 

[Helix]

I have a commonplace book but I'd have difficulty associating it with a cookbook.

What about a miscellany?

 

[byarvin]

Thank you everybody for your insights! Stay tuned.

 

[alexp336]

I'd never heard of the term, but I love it (and the idea behind it). My only concern, were I writing such a thing myself, would be whether sufficient people were also aware of it - or whether I'd get a more understanding audience if I just called it a "cookbook" (and like @Unimportant I have several of those which also have essays, etc. in them, so might reasonably be considered the same sort of thing).

I'm sure, though, that you/your publisher/etc. have done the homework on that, rather than my uneducated gut feeling here, so good luck with it and thank you for teaching me a new word!

 

[Meg]

The books I own that are similar to what is described are marketed and sold as cookbooks in my experience!

Yeah, what you're describing is already A Thing. Which means there is already industry jargon for it. Find out what that is and use it.

 

[byarvin]

I'd never heard of the term, but I love it (and the idea behind it). My only concern, were I writing such a thing myself, would be whether sufficient people were also aware of it - or whether I'd get a more understanding audience if I just called it a "cookbook" (and like @Unimportant I have several of those which also have essays, etc. in them, so might reasonably be considered the same sort of thing).

I'm sure, though, that you/your publisher/etc. have done the homework on that, rather than my uneducated gut feeling here, so good luck with it and thank you for teaching me a new word!

Alex: no matter what happens, the finished book will wind up on the cookbook shelves. What I'm pondering as I write the proposal - my first in a decade - is the word I'll use to differentiate it from other cookbook proposals.

For the record, during the hours of insomnia that book proposals typically inflict upon me, I learned another word "daybook." It seem like it could be the right choice.

 

[alexp336]

Alex: no matter what happens, the finished book will wind up on the cookbook shelves. What I'm pondering as I write the proposal - my first in a decade - is the word I'll use to differentiate it from other cookbook proposals.

For the record, during the hours of insomnia that book proposals typically inflict upon me, I learned another word "daybook." It seem like it could be the right choice.

This is totally out of my wheelhouse, so take plenty of salt-pinches along the way, but if I was someone reading the proposal I think I'd be more interested in how the content will differentiate from other cookbooks rather than the word used to describe it overall. And I say that as someone who gets very caught up in the whole "most accurate way to describe this project," ha

I guess I'm just wondering if the mental effort you're clearly putting in here would be better/more rewardingly applied to your pitch on how your short essays uplift your recipes and put the whole collection into context. Clearly you have experience with projects of this sort: I'd want to hear how that wealth of understanding has shaped the formulation this time around, regardless of what it's described as.

Again, I'm entirely unfamiliar with this segment (beyond owning some cookbooks!) so feel free to ignore any/all of this.

 

[CMBright]

Alex: no matter what happens, the finished book will wind up on the cookbook shelves. What I'm pondering as I write the proposal - my first in a decade - is the word I'll use to differentiate it from other cookbook proposals.

For the record, during the hours of insomnia that book proposals typically inflict upon me, I learned another word "daybook." It seem like it could be the right choice.

If it is going to be marketed as a cookbook, I don't understand why you are against calling it a cookbook, adding "with these extras" in the pitch and calling it a day. Would agents know what a commonbook or daybook is and why it is different from a cookbook? If so, would that be marketed differently from a cookbook?

I am not saying there is no point to your question, just that if it is essentially a cookbook that will be marketed as a cookbook, why would you pitch it as something other than a cookbook? If there is potential for confusion by agents, that could hurt your pitch rather than sell it as a "different from a cookbook because it is more than cookbook" cookbook. Or agents might know the terms that are confusing to me and get that you are pitching a "more than a cookbook" cookbook.