For this book, I helped edit and organize copy, research facts, as well as select, evaluate, edit, and manage over 150 recipes for possible inclusion. This involved tracking recipe authors, updates, questions, bios, logistics, legal paperwork, determining nutritional information on key ingredients (and rank them), generating mailing labels, quickly producing selective text output from the recipes, and more.
From Day One, I set up FileMaker Pro databases and iData Pro datafiles to coordinate the whole effort. The ability to setup dynamically modifiable pop-up lists for data entry saved me weeks of data-entry time, and the use of key words for searches and selective output were invaluable in dealing with the unexpected.
When receiving submitted recipes and related information (on paper, as e-mails, Word documents, etc.) I was able to quickly do input and validation by using iData Pro (kind of a pop-up database rolodex) to capture all initial text with tracking information, and later use it with FileMaker to deal with all the changes that were being thrown around. I could capture and keep snippets of text, e-mails, links, whatever, while using other applications. Kind of a "database clipboard" that also facilitated research greatly.
As an example, within any browser (under Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.2.2), I could copy the text of an online article, click a button, and the URL, date & time, and clipboard contents (the article) would immediately be put into the pre-determined data fields of a new iData Pro datafile entry. Type in a few key words (no pop-up list ability here as with FileMaker Pro), and I'm done. I could also "double-click" any URL in an iData Pro datafile record and go to that web location.
There were also significant unforeseen problems with Scribner's editing organization, coordination, and quality, much of which I won't write about online (nuts, the first batch of submitted website resources were used, the second submission of another 50 or so wasn't and we didn't know until we had the book in hand). Suffice it to say, that without using databases, I could have never proved and corrected the many issues threatening the final integrity of the recipes and associated material (particularly the copyrighted ones). Additionally, since they were stuck in an "MS-Word" mindset, I was able to simply export queried data/text with appropriate formatting options to an MS-Word document whenever needed and not be slowed down by a corporate conceptual bottleneck.
Finally, I also used both database tools to organize and manage the Bibliography and Resources sections. Through the use of selective listings, I would determine what we had, and thus know what we needed to balance our materials (even though Scribner messed up and didn't include 30-40% of the final online resources I provided).
In retrospect, I honestly don't see how anyone or organization could possibly do any aspect of this kind of work efficiently and effectively without using database technologies (which is why I can't believe they were not using similiar applications... but then, they were upset when I used an outline processor instead of a physical pencil to do my first-round edits!). Can't imagine how much time is wasted without using selective queries, finds, output, and such --- a database --- to stay organized and accurate in producing a book, or cookbook.
I owe a debt to my former business partner (and still great friend), Kurt Christensen, who told me many many years ago that when you start a new project, start with the database. He was on target. Indeed, back in the mid 1980s, Kurt felt that an operating system should actually BE a database. Only in recent years have Apple and to a lesser degree, Microsoft, caught on to this idea.
The final book had over 110 vegan recipes and was published the last week of August 2005. Note: I didn't design the cover.
