About The Book Cooks

THE BOOK COOKS - Download the Summertime Brochure Here

Head chef since October 1997
Despite the fact that her school careers adviser informed Jo that writing did not count as a career, Jo has been unable to put down her pen or stop having ideas.

The idea for her first book, 'French Tarts', came to her when she was 20 years old and living in France. It was accepted by the first publisher she approached and came out in 1986. She went on to have more than 10 word processing handbooks published over the next few years and realised that all books are written to a formula. Just like a recipe.

By 1995, when living in The Sultanate of Oman, Jo had the idea for a second cookery book, this time called 'Dates', and co-authored by Dr Sue Valentine. She formed Summertime Publishing and began a new era as a publisher.

In 1997, on her return to England, Jo continued to write and publish more books and soon people began asking her to help them to make their own publishing dreams come true, too. So she became a book cook, passing on the benefit of her experience to her clients. She also developed a range of workshops, books, ebooks, workbooks, tips books & audio CDs to enable budding writers worldwide to get into print.

A creative thinker who is able to get inside the mind of an author and look at both the big picture and the tiniest detail, Jo is uniquely able to assist writers with every step of the publishing process. Jo and “The Book Cooks” help clients with every step of the way from brainwave to bookshelf via concept, content, style, genre and goal. She can also advise on design, printing and marketing. Like a true chef, Jo can look at an author's store-cupboard of ingredients and create a book that looks, 'tastes' great and makes a profit.

Jo believes that everyone has not one book, but several books in them and she makes her clients believe so too. Her words speak louder than actions. She is an inspiration.

Jo Parfitt, Creator of Books and Blue Sky | Member of the Professional Speaker’s Association
Contact Jo at jo@summertimepublishing.com

Sous-chef since July 2002
Fiona knew she was going to like editing, when she realised that at last her unerring talent for spotting typing errors at 100 yards would be more blessing than irritation!

Her professional background is in Marketing and PR. Although she's still a member of the CIPR, these days Fi mainly uses her PR skills on behalf of charities (such as CPRE) and community groups. It turns out that there's more job satisfaction in
publicising a good cause for free than in promoting a company that will pay £££s.

It was Jo Parfitt who first suggested that Fi could not just write well herself but could help other people to write books too. At last, she'd found her vocation.

Having cut her editorial teeth on the 2nd edition of Jo's book 'A Career in your Suitcase', Fi has worked on a diverse collection of titles including 'How to Write Sales Letters with Clout' by Gary Courtenay, 'How to Avoid a Near Life Experience' by Steve Head, and 'Understanding Misunderstandings' by Nancy Slessenger.

Fi's mission at Summertime Publishing is to midwife clients' books from initial idea to final printed version and beyond, in a way that they can look back on with a smile.

Frankly, if communicating your special message is your passion, there's no reason why getting that message into print should not be FUN. So, Fi encourages her clients to take it easy and lighten up. You can trust Fi to catch all the typos, arrange the contents, polish the prose, spifflicate the pages and come up with the perfect title too.

Fi likes to help her authors to express their own ideas authentically, and persuasively, in print. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to get there but nothing is too much trouble when there's a brilliant book at the end of it.

Fiona Cowan is The Words Bird | Fiona@summertimepublishing.com

Sous-chef since January 2004
As Ben Franklin once said, “either write something worth reading or do something worth writing.”

A general fear of heights, speed and all things excessive prevented Rebecca from achieving the latter in the true context of 'adventure', but her experiences of being raised in London's East End, sent off to private school and an overriding taste for the exotic, provided ample inspiration to keep the ink in her pen flowing. From humble beginnings; keeping a diary and writing letters to pen friends as a child, Rebecca has now progressed to becoming a freelance writer & since graduating has had numerous articles published in ezines, local, national & international magazines and papers.

Her East End upbringing, which culminated in a German degree at UCL, making friends with The Darkness and playing bass guitar in her own gigging girl band, has led her to have a unique sense of style. Her artistic nature is obvious: from what she wears, to what she writes and in the way she infuses everything she touches with freshness.

Rebecca first came to Jo Parfitt as a mentee in January 2004 and it was only a matter of weeks before she proved herself to be versatile, creative and intuitive. As more responsibility was thrown her way, Rebecca thrived and grasped every opportunity to improve her skills.

Involved in each project from the brainstorm table to the final proof-read, she has become the voice of reason and devil's advocate, with much to contribute. Her attention to detail is highly prized. Rebecca is delighted to be able to use her passion for words to help others become the authors they dream of being.

Rebecca is the Fusion Diva | Rebecca@summertimepublishing.com

Lesley Morrissey
Sous Chef since July 2005
“My father’s comments on my early attempts at writing were ‘you must learn to murder your children’, as I wrote a lot of words, but didn’t always have a message! I quickly learned the value of the ‘Keep it Short & Simple’ technique” explains Lesley. However, she has long since graduated from writing wordy passages full of adjectives, to writing clean and concise articles and being able to ‘spot the typo’ at 100 paces!

After early articles were brutally edited, Lesley swore she would never become an editor. Fortunately, she has developed a real gift for ‘cleaning up’ copy and really enjoys editing other people’s work. “Although I can’t edit my own, which is why it’s great being a member of a Cordon Bleu team – there’s always someone else to help,” she says.

Lesley’s background includes writing and editing for magazines and corporate newsletters as well as providing a professional webcopy service. She is author of ‘Grow Your Own Achievers’, a manager’s guide to developing people, and two management manuals in the Hands on Management series.

After years of working on marketing material, producing newsletters and studying what people actually read, Lesley is an expert in Readability. “It’s not only about content, but the way in which that content is presented.” Lesley’s message is ‘don’t make it hard for the reader to read’.

When she’s not scribbling away with the proverbial red pen, Lesley is qualified as a trainer and a career coach. She is also a professional speaker and a member of the Board of the Professional Speakers Association and, as a biker, combines the two in her keynote ‘Management with Motorbikes’.

“Working with people on their books is the perfect vocation for me – it combines writing and editing with coaching, all things I really enjoy doing.” Lesley loves seeing the germ of an idea grow out of the initial draft into a really good read.

Lesley is the Readability Expert - Lesley@summertimepublishing.com

Maître d’
Maître d’ just about sums up Zoe Meyer’s varied career. She has been working in the world of publishing for over 25 years, first learning the ropes at art publisher Thames & Hudson as production executive and moving on to Search Press where she was Foreign Rights and Production Director. When her husband was posted to Madrid she used her networking skills to found Spain’s first WOMEN IN BUSINESS club and also ran her own successful publishing consultancy. A 4-year stint in Soviet Moscow called for further resourcefulness; she not only freelanced as a journalist and photographer but also swung a few lucrative rights deals as well!

The many twists and turns of her own life have taught her to place current problems in a wider perspective, a skill she enjoys passing on to her clients when working on their marketing strategy. She believes that there is nothing quite as satisfying as watching how much this empowers her clients to forge ahead. Having often had to cope as an ‘outsider’ she admits to being particularly good at spotting ‘niche’ opportunities and is passionate about networking and team-building..

Over the last 15 years she has worked for herself and is fascinated by the psychological and physical demands self-employment entails. She also writes books on her favourite subjects: topiary and trees. In 1999 she was commissioned to produce the text and over 100 photographs for Topiary for Everyone (www.topiaryinspiration.co.uk) and a year later published a monograph on the Monkey Puzzle tree (www.treefinders.co.uk). In 1999 she founded Sage Press, publisher of tree pocket books, which now has 18 titles. Zoe has developed her own strategies, largely based on Buzan's mind-mapping, for organising, planning and marketing her various products and income streams. We are delighted to welcome Zoe to the team as our Maître de Marketing. Call her on sagepress.bm@btinternet.com if you would like her to help you to plan your own marketing strategy.