Whew — it was a bit of a frantic rush this morning, as I tried to simultaneously figure out on the phone with Heather what was up with the signing up for GSuites for Nonprofits for the SLF and work with Stephanie on getting the review copies ready to send to my high school for their alumni event, to Sophia du Brul, a high school compatriot who is kindly hosting an alumni book party for me, and to Booklist, Library Journal, and Publisher’s Weekly, for hopeful review.
I’m not sending a review copy to Kirkus, at least right now, because they only review indie-published titles if you pay them — and I understand that they’re deluged, but it’s still frustrating. (Can’t remember the exact amount, but around $400, I think?) For one of the others, they at least give you two options, of either guaranteeing a review by paying them or submitting it and taking your chances. I suppose if they almost never review the latter, that might mean that indie publishers would be better off saving their print/mail costs for the book, but it’s nicer having the option, I think. I suppose I still might suck it up and pay for a Kirkus review, but not right now, as production costs have been mounting steadily.
We’re working on a big chart, which I’ll post when it’s ready. I’ve made a lot of costly mistakes, which is painful, but I’m trying to chalk that up to learning a new business. If I were going to take a publishing seminar, that might cost a few thousand dollars, right? Maybe not, but it’s a comforting illusion, anyway, so don’t take it away from me….
Then all that segued into very quick packing, and now I’m heading into campus to teach my classes, and from there, to the airport. These books are big! I’m delivering about eight copies to a few people who pre-ordered in the Bay Area, and it turns out when I was packing that I can actually only fit about ten copies of the hardcover book in my carry on suitcase + backpack. I think I managed to pack so I didn’t incur extra fees for heavy suitcase — we’ll see! It does mean an extra heavy backpack, so it’s a good thing that though I’m small, I am also MIGHTY. 
I’m going to the Bay Area for the weekend (coming back Monday night), and this really is a personal vacation rather than a business trip, though I’m doing a few book things while I’m there — it’s my very good friend Alex’s 50th birthday, and he and his wife Christa are combining that with a housewarming for their new place. I waffled for a good long time about going, because I wasn’t sure I could afford the time, but one of my big resolutions this year is to invest in significant relationships, for the sake of my own mental health and happiness. So here I go.
Also, this is a threefer, as I get to also stay with Jed for a few days, and even have dinner with my in-laws, who I haven’t seen in many months. Bonus! So good all around, I think, and with any luck, I’ll get a fair bit of work done on the plane too. We’ll see how exhausted I am after teaching; sometimes, it’s draining enough that all I want to do afterwards is sleep. In which case, I’ll do that on the plane instead, or at least doze and watch dumb tv. Rest also good, or so I hear…
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My new Sri Lankan cookbook, A Feast of Serendib, launches on March 6, 2020, but we’re doing a long, slow pre-launch of the special Kickstarter edition in the interim. Right now, we still have discounted Kickstarter pricing available for pre-orders, along with Kickstarter goodies — you can pre-order here: http://serendibkitchen.com/a-feast-of-serendib/
If you’d like to support the development of more mostly Sri Lankan recipes, I’d love to have you join the cookbook club — for $2 / month, you’ll get recipes delivered to your inbox (fairly) regularly: https://www.patreon.com/mohanraj
And here’s all the foodie social media:
Serendib Kitchen blog: http://serendibkitchen.com
Serendib Kitchen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/serendib_kitchen/
Serendib FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/132029834135500/
Serendib FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/mohanrajserendib/
Thanks for your support!