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Krista Romano is a blogger (find her at werefarfromnormal.com) and the author of “The Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce Cookbook.” She describes herself as a “homeschooling momma, lover of gardening, keeper of critters, head chef, DIY-er and lover of life’s adventures.” Here, she dishes with us about her new e-cookbook.

Tell us about your e-cookbook!

It is a collection of recipes based on my very popular “Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce.” I realized how many recipes I could lighten up and make healthier with that simple sauce and thought it would make a great cookbook. It has everything from soup to pizza to dips, and of course pasta! It’s a great tool for anyone wanting to cook lighter but not sacrifice their favorite foods.

Many people are still used to physical cookbooks in the kitchen. What inspired you to do an e-cookbook, and do you think this is going to become a bigger trend?

I decided to do an ebook for a couple of reasons. The biggest is that I love my Nook, and I have it in the kitchen with me all the time. I have a big cookbook collection but more and more I’m looking to Pinterest, blogs, and ebooks for my recipes. I think that is definitely  going to become a bigger trend because you can have a much larger cookbook collection without having to find the physical space to keep them! Another reason I choose an ebook is because I knew it wasn’t going to be a huge cookbook so I thought an e-format would be perfect for its smaller size

What are some of the special formatting needs of a cookbook, and how did using Pressbooks help with those?

I knew that I wanted to have pictures for every recipe, and the storage space that Pressbooks allows made that possible. Another thing that I found really helpful was how simple it was to reorganize parts from the dashboard. That way I could work on the recipes and then figure out the arrangement–that make organizing it really easy!  

Why did you choose Pressbooks as your book production platform?

I looked into several and felt pretty overwhelmed. When I discovered Pressbooks, I felt right at home! I use WordPress for my blog and since their dashboards are so similar I was instantly comfortable. I felt like there was much less of a learning curve because I was already familiar with a lot of what I was seeing. That comfort level helped me feel more confident with the fact that I would end up with a quality product.

Where does the cookbook fit into your business strategy? Is it primarily for income, marketing or other purposes?

The income aspect is great for sure, but I also wanted to offer a little something extra to my blog readers. I knew that my Greek Yogurt Alfredo Sauce had huge potential, and I thought rather than have a bunch of disconnected blog posts containing the recipes, it would be better to put them all together.  I guess the short answer is that it is to have a little diversity in what I’m offering to visitors to my site, and to give them something I thought they’d love. 

You just did a blog series on how to write a successful e-cookbook. What are a few of your top tips for other writers looking to get into this genre?

Definitely making the time to do it! I think that one of the biggest  hurdles I had was knowing I wanted to but not prioritizing it. Once I set a date and plotted out my plan it all came together really well. And the second is to realize that it is very doable. Programs like Pressbooks make it so easy for someone who isn’t technologically savvy to make an amazing ebook!  So don’t worry that you don’t know how to do it all. You can definitely learn as you go!

Do you have more cookbooks in the works?

I do! I’m giving myself a little more time to work on the next one though, and it’s still in the planning phase. It will be a little bigger and focus on using natural sweeteners instead of refined sugar. I hope to have it out this coming fall!

You can buy Krista’s e-cookbook on Amazon.