I know you haven’t heard from me in a few weeks, and that’s because:

a) I felt bad that I had pushed the launch date for Craving London and didn’t want to keep stringing you along with fluff just to fill the time

b) I wanted to write when I actually had some news

c) I’ve been busy/emotional getting my kid (and myself) ready for kindergarten (which comes with a whole new set of emotions/logistics in these “unprecedented times”…)

Hindsight is truly 20/20. More so in 2020. Remember when we all had such high hopes for this year?

Anyway, now that school is underway, I can categorically say I was totally off when I thought I could have this book out into the world in August. No way. The stress alone was not worth it. These past few weeks without school have been precious—lazy mornings, unscripted days, mid-week adventures, lunches out.

Now I have more time, and more head space to focus on the book launch. And I was able to be more present as a mom, allowing me to pertain to important tasks, like preparing the lunchbox:

​And if you follow me on Facebook, then you will have seen the quick video I posted about the arrival of the print proof from IngramSpark, which took a whole month.

Let me give you some background on this printing process:

As an author, I needed to set up print distribution on both IngramSpark AND Amazon KDP. IngramSpark books appear in catalogs that supply bookstores and libraries in addition to retail online orders. So, one of the many things I’ve learned in this self-publishing journey is that I need to list the paperback in BOTH Ingram and Amazon. If you order a paperback through Amazon, you might get your copy from either distributor. The price will be the same, but if I list the book through both platforms, there should always be stock available should Amazon run out (because you’ll help me make this a bestseller, right?!)

What surprised me about Amazon is that I got the print proof in less than a week, and I thought the paper quality was better—the book feels and looks more substantial. The back and spine also preserved the original design better. However, the cover image of the Ingram proof (left) is sharper. Check them out side-by-side (the Amazon proof has the “not for resale” banner):

​Having actual copies in hand has allowed me to spot some issues, which my friend and cover designer Andrea Warmington straightened out and then created new files for me to upload. Note: just to make things trickier, Amazon and Ingram use different templates, which means any correction requires double time, in addition to any changes in the eBook cover file. I am so grateful for Andrea’s patience. Flipping through the book, I also noticed some formatting flaws with the recipes, so I fixed those. Next, I will go page by page and read the book again to pick up any stray errors, fix them in the formatting software, and download the new files.

And THEN I will upload those files to all the major platforms to get those all-important pre-order links to you.

Phew.

Stay tuned and have a great rest of your weekend.