Even before the days of The Writer’s Cookbook, i dreamed of setting up a magazine-style site. It would look a certain way, be open to contributions from anyone, and be able to make money.

Over the last week, I’ve finally taken the steps to turn The Writer’s Cookbook into that site.

The changes boil down to three things:

  • New layout
  • New logo
  • Adverts/affiliates
  • And a shop!

New layout

The new layout is the magazine-style layout I mentioned in the intro.

Featured posts appear at the top, while the most recent posts are directly below it.

The fiction category now has two subcategories: fiction and poetry. These have always existed, but they were hidden for a while. Their reappearance in the menu makes it easier for you to find more specific writing tips based on what you write. I may look into adding some more subcategories such as nonfiction or blogging. Let me know if you’d find either of those helpful.

Each post also has a rating feature. You can rate it from 0.5-5 stars. It goes up in increments of 0.5, allowing you to get pretty specific about how you feel.

Please do use this feature as it will be helpful for me to gauge what kind of content you enjoy the most.

Social share link are still at the bottom of the post, although there are more of them.

New logo

Thanks to Rosanna-Louise for designing our new logo! She does commissions and sells some amazingly crafty things involving Pokemon, Studio Ghibli, and more on her Etsy shop, so do check out her stuff to support another creative.

It incorporates our new colours, a light teal and a deep red.

It also combines the cooking and the writing side of things, along with a hint of quirkiness, with a wooden spoon that’s also a pen!

The Writer's Cookbook logo
The Writer’s Cookbook’s new logo

Adverts

You may have noticed more adverts, affiliate links, and paid promotions appearing on the site and in the email list lately. That’s because, to put it simply, if the site doesn’t start making money, it will close.

A girl’s gotta pay the bills, and with the time commitment that the site takes, right now it isn’t worth it.

Over the next few weeks, more adverts will be appearing on the site.

These won’t be from ad networks: they’ll be curated from products and services that benefit you. They won’t affect your journey on the site, either. They’ll be designed to be non-invasive, appearing mostly in the sidebar or in the form of sponsored posts.

If you’re an advertiser and would like to find out more, you can do so on our advertise with us page.

Shop

In The Writer’s Cookbook shop you’ll find links to all my books for writers as well as my upcoming blogging course.

I’ll be upfront with you about the blogging course: it doesn’t exist. Yet.

I have the outline and a couple of videos for it, but it isn’t worth me taking the time to create the full curriculum (which includes videos, walkthroughs, and worksheets) if not enough people sign up for it.

If it doesn’t get enough sign ups, anyone who has pre-ordered it will receive a full refund.

If it does, content will start to roll out from April.

Pre-orders close on 31 March, so if you are interested now is the time to make that commitment.

More resources will be appearing on the site in the coming weeks, including guides on plotting, characterisation, and dialogue, so stay tuned.

That’s not all!

I’ve also been publishing more video content lately, which you can find over on YouTube. Current topics include how to get started with Scrivener, how to find the time to write, and how to silence your inner critic.

More video content is to come, so if you have any suggestions of topics you’d like to see covered, let me know in the comments.

For now, we’re also going back to the weekly post schedule. I pulled back on that last year so that I had more time to work on my books, but now that I’m writing full-time, it gives me more time to work on the blog.

I also have a VERY BIG ANNOUNCEMENT coming soon that ties many of the things mentioned above together. Stay tuned over the next few weeks to find out more.

Happy writing!

P.S. If you’d like to contribute towards the running of the site, you can donate via Buy me a Coffee. Any amount is hugely appreciated <3