Publish Wanda Sell's Recipe Book

Funding Goal Updated 5/16/2025: Please see the final cost breakdown below.

Hi, my name is Ashley Russell. I am raising funds to self-publish a recipe book in honor of my grandmother, Wanda Mae Sell. Wanda passed away last June at the age of 90. What started as a recipe book of her beloved recipes for our family has become a passion project for me. I hope to self-publish her recipes and our family story in a tangible book. Wanda always encouraged me to be a writer, and this book feels like a big step in that direction.

Suggested donation tiers:

Disclosure: Immediate family members will receive a digital copy and one tangible copy per household, regardless of whether or not they make a monetary donation. Extended family, don't hesitate to contact me if you would like a copy. I am more than happy to provide copies regardless of donation to any member of Bob & Wanda's family; to those extended family members helping with the book, you are already on my list! Love to you all.

For transparency, here is how funding will be spent:

Numerous unknown costs go into creating and self-publishing a cookbook. As a comparison, a traditionally published cookbook costs a publishing house about $100,000. By doing all the footwork myself, the funding for this self-published labor of love will be 10% of that.

In place of a monetary donation, donations of the following services would help reduce the total project cost. Please reach out to me if you are interested and able in either of the following areas:

Many people, including me, are donating 100% of their time and skills to the project. I have an all-femme crew signed on to the creative portions of this book, including illustrations and editing. It seems only fitting, given that 99% of the recipes in this book were created and provided by the women of my family.

The timeline is to have the book self-published by (what would be) Wanda's 92nd birthday on November 18th, 2025. Just in time to have her recipes for the holiday season!

Once self-published, a portion of profits from any book sales, big or small, will be donated to the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle to help prevent, detect, and treat cancer. We lost both Nana (Wanda), my grandmother, and Pops (Bob), my grandfather, to cancer, as well as having had other family struggles with the disease.

Please pass this fundraiser along to those you feel would be interested in participating.

A huge thank you to every person in my family who is helping me track down recipes and family history. Especially to my mom, who gets texts from me at all hours, such as "What did Nana always eat with cottage cheese?"

Here is a link to Wanda's obituary for more information on the life and love of Wanda Mae Sell.

*A victor will be chosen randomly in November 2025 and will receive a year of free mending and alterations (up to 20 items) throughout 2026.

@whatscookinggoodlookingrecipes