Migrant Filipino Food Stories & Recipes Get a Book Deal— Against All Odds!

Less than two months ago, a sudden surge of energy spurred me to jump in the air till I cramped, shimmy till I was blackmailed and fist pump till I felt I was Pacquiao. No. I didn’t snort crack or anything like that. I simply received an offer to publish our Filipino food anthology project. Oh, so you think I’m exaggerating? You won’t think so once you read this story.

More than a year ago, I had the privilege of speaking with someone who’s been-there-and-done- that in the book publishing world. When I asked about the chances of getting a collection of stories and recipes traditionally published (meaning book publishers, not I, pay for the cost of publishing), her initial reaction gave her away. I knew it was going to be, not just an uphill struggle, but a HELL of an uphill struggle.

Truth be told, the expert, who to this day I regard with high esteem, didn’t stomp my hopes and dreams right off the bat. Instead, we looked high and low for similar books on the market and researched how they were doing. An apples-to-apples comparison was rather difficult, as this project is one of a kind: more story-driven than most other cookbooks. Anyhow, the most similar books we could find were Filipino cookbooks. To say the least, the number of traditionally published titles on Filipino food in the food category of Amazon were probably as little as the number of Filipino restaurants – not in America— but in Europe as a continent! That’s heartbreakingly miniscule. In fact, if you go to Amazon’s Books: Asian Food Category, a drop-down list of cuisines includes Korean, Vietnamese and even Wok Cooking, but not Filipino. Out of the few Filipino food titles, not a single one at that time, ranked within the 100,000 of Amazon’s Best Sellers Rank. Apparently, publishers look at these markers when deciding whether it’s worth their time and money to publish a book.

I’m sure you’ve heard how difficult it is to have any kind of book published in the uber-competitive land of the U.S. these days. If getting a book published is like climbing the Matterhorn, publishing an anthology (which is reputably more difficult to pitch), in an untraditional format (part memoirs, part cookbook), centered on Filipino food (which historically hasn’t demonstrated blockbuster potential), written by mostly new authors, and an editor (moi), who’s not even from the US for that matter —would be like climbing the Matterhorn in a wheel chair, on a foggy day and with snow on the route.

Luckily, our prospect of getting published went from almost zilch to very likely when I delivered a 100+-page pitch aka book proposal that I’d labored over with blood, sweat, and tears for several months. Before I knew it, the project has a book agent.

An excruciating wait followed. Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, strands of my hair turned into grey, still—no offers. Though publishers, even imprints of some of The BIG FIVE, bit the pitch and requested for the full proposal, even a newbie like me knew that interest hardly translates to an offer. More weeks and months passed. NOTHING . . . just a slow torturous trickle of “we’ll pass” replies with some odd demoralizing comments. I started giving self-publishing some thought.

On July 10, the moment I’ve been dreaming of came. AN OFFER! A week after—ANOTHER OFFER! But it wasn’t over. The painful process of waiting to cement the deal ensued and the state of being in limbo commenced again. Many more sleepless nights of bridled excitement, fear and uncertainty paralyzed me from moving on. A litany of what ifs seized me.

Watching the sun rise on the island of Crete while reading the publishing contract

Thanks to our agent, details were negotiated, the contract was reviewed and discussed, re-reviewed and re-discussed, rinse, repeat. Without her I would probably have signed the contract blindly just to spare myself from the agony. One day, when I thought I couldn’t bear the suspense any longer, the deal was signed with Agate Surrey. Agate Surrey has published award-winning writing on food for 30 years, with authors ranging from Food Network stars and James Beard Award winners to former food editors and contributors to the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, and Chicago Tribune. Thank you, Agate, for believing in the power of Filipino food and people.

I won’t forget comments we had received from others, such as, “I’m not seeing a Filipino cuisine trend coming,” or “We have tried without success to rouse an interest in a book on Filipino cooking,” or “We’re not confident we would be able to break this project out on a large scale.” These words will continue to haunt and challenge.

Let’s prove them wrong.

We’ve climbed the Matterhorn. Now we’re going to tread harsher terrain with a series of strict deadlines to meet, before setting off on the next gargantuan challenge: The Mount Everest of all uphill struggles—how to get this book a top-ten spot on the bestselling lists published by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, or the USA today on a shoestring budget and at a time when anti-immigrant sentiment is raging through the Western World. I know I can’t do it alone. But together—we can. PEOPLE’S POWER!

Tentative book release: Fall 2018.

Foreword to be written by two-time James Beard award-winning writer, John Birdsall.

John Birdsall

A huge thank you and congratulations to the 30 amazing contributing authors, including The White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford! I’m also very grateful to our food photographer and stylist, Rowena Dumlao-Giardina; she soldiers on with the daunting task of styling and shooting the dishes on a tight deadline.  And last but not least, many thanks to all of you, who liked, followed and supported My Food Beginnings. Thank you for your continued belief and support in this project and what it represents. We can’t wait to get a copy in each of your hands.

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