Photo credit: Jackie Donnelly
“The word ‘Korean’ has to be in the book title, Rachel,” said Susan kindly but firmly. It was our first real sit-down to talk about the title, which was something we’d danced around in the weeks since I decided to publish my first cookbook with Seattle-based Sasquatch Books. Susan is Susan Roxborough, the book’s editor. She was an amazing force behind my book, and I knew from the start that she knew more than I did about publishing.
“But it’s not really a Korean cookbook,” I pushed back. “I have worked so hard over the last 10 years to convince people that while I am Korean, my restaurants aren’t really Korean.” She waited patiently for me to finish. She knew what sorts of titles Sasquatch needed to sell a book and, ultimately, knew what readers would expect...