Publishing cook books is different from other types of publishing. Not only is it a book, it is really a manual of sorts. Just like any book, it is recommended when self-publishing a cook book to have a story and a theme.
The theme can dictate the story.
Consider an example, "The Firemen's Cook Book". This could be designed around what's cooking in the firehouse. This is just a small example of what to think of when publishing cook books, but you can see where I'm going with this.
By having a main theme you can build a story, bringing a short description of an event where and when that particular dish was created. This brings drama and the recipe comes to life.
A thing to remember about self-publishing a cook book is that it is used while cooking, so it needs to lay flat. The best spine for a cook book is therefore a spiral bound.
Cook books need images in addition to the descriptions and they can be in color, but they do not have to. A nice B&W image can go a long way and save you big time on the printing. Leave the grand color for the cover (it's free).
TheBookPatch, unlike other Print on Demand companies, does not charge any extra for images. You can have as many as you want as long as they are in the uploaded text PDF.
Cook books need to have a sturdy cover; we at TheBookPatch laminate all covers.
Another thing to remember for cook book publishing is to think in stages as you cook. Do not pop things up on the reader, like pointing out at the end of the recipe that the meat should be marinated overnight.
Separate products needed for the recipe and list the preparation steps well in advance.
Remember there are many cookbooks out there, but there's even more foodies.
When cook book publishing is good, it's great.