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Quincy author to sign books at Akins
Susan Gauen knew she could write the kind of cookbook that she wanted to write. That wasn’t going to be much of a problem; she finished authoring her first book, ‘Celebrating Food: 121 Gluten-Free Recpies for a Healthier You,’ last year.
Getting it published and sold was another matter, however.
“I have a friend who told me that a lot of the time, co-published books sit in the author’s basement for months and months,” Gauen said.
Fortunately for Gauen, a part-time Quincy resident, that hasn’t been the case. She’s sold about 850 copies of her co-published book so far, and thinks she has a good shot at selling the rest of the 2,000 copies she bought from publisher Creation House Publishing.
“Selling the rest is my goal, and then the publisher can market the book nationwide,” she said. “Co-published books can be a hard sell sometimes. That’s why I’ve made it a priority to sell my allotment and get myself out there. Selling almost half in five-and-a-half months is quite an accomplishment.”
Indeed, over the last few months, Gauen has traveled around the Pacific Northwest trying to create a market for her book. The Quincy Valley has responded positively to Gauen’s efforts; last fall she held a book signing at Akins’ Harvest Foods, and she’ll be at Akins again tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to sign books and introduce a new line of gluten-free baking mixes that can be used with her recipes.
Gauen estimated that she’s sold between 50 to 70 copies to Quincy Valley residents so far.
The cookbook has met with positive reviews so far. In an October newsletter, Sharon Ellis of the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Treatment Center in Seattle wrote, “ I noticed the enticing color photos which encouraged me to try a recipe immediately. I was not disappointed. ... There is no reason not to be able to use ‘Celebrating Food’ recipes no matter what.”
The book features recipes for those allergic to gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, nuts, corn, food dye and shellfish.
“People like it because it’s not just a gluten-free book,” she said. “My book has (recipes) for those different kinds of food allergies.”
