A postcard from the editing cave

Lockdown 3.0

My district, and neighbouring ones, went into lockdown last Thursday. Tomorrow, on the eve of Eid ul fitri, the entire nation will be back under COVID-19 lockdown.

A lot of what-if’s have run through my mind. What if I pushed back the tilting dominoes, mainly in the forms of late submissions and re-do’s, a lot fiercer? Would I have been able to get the work out just before this snap lockdown? It’s likely. But now, I only have today. 

How many other small businesses will make it through round #3 of the lockdown, I’m not sure. I hope the cafes that have welcomed me in their spaces over the course of multiple (re)writing, (re)editing, (re)designing sessions, voting of covers and flipping through’s of mock-bound copies of past editions will be able to pull through another round of no dine-in restrictions—with the crucial support that can only come from their immediate communities. A take-out kimbap, a tiffin-carried jackfruit salad, an iced coffee to-go.

On the brighter side, I managed to collect the first round of proofs from my longtime proofreader hours before the district borders closed. Like the past three issues, Plates, Vol.4: Seeds will go through another two rounds of edits: colour proofs and mock-bound. 

As always, the covers are left to the end. Here is the shortlist (ignore the text that says ‘Vol.3: Water’ on the mock covers in the meantime):

(Yes, I numbered them in MS Paint.)

If you feel strongly about any of the designs, instead of replying to this email, I’d like to invite you to leave a generous comment on this postcard and vote for your favourite, so that someone else may hear from you as well. And perhaps a serendipitous conversation may emerge.
. . .

P/S I was asked recently if I managed to sort out my international shipping woes. Short answer: Yes :)

Long answer: Yes, since March. (Please tell your friends!) Copies of Rice, Durian and Water have made their ways to parts of the US, Japan, EU and the UK. Thank you to everyone for your patience and support. Every personal recommendation truly makes a difference. (Here’s the link to the web store if you haven’t been back in while and would like to tell a friend, who might appreciate alternative narratives.)

---

This week, I’m

working on: ‘Plates, Vol.4: Seeds’

listening to: a ‘rain sounds’ playlist

reading:  ‘Five Star Billionaire’ by Tash Aw

Plates is an independent biannual magazine that uses food as a conversation starter. Intentional and sporadic visual updates on Instagram Stories @platesmagazine @deemaytan. If you enjoyed reading this postcard, feel free to forward it to a friend; leave a comment; or, if you’ve been meaning to, but haven’t quite gotten around to it, grab a plate and introduce yourself here. Thanks for reading. See you next week. 

To those celebrating Eid ul fitri this week, Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Maaf zahir dan batin.