Hel📦 📦 It's been a wild month. 📦 📦 📦 📦 😴

(There are no cover spoilers in this post!) 😮

🔥  Really, it's been a wild nearly 12 months! This adventure expanded last July-August to include all of you wonderful people. 🙏 ♥️  I am pleased to report that, after a full month of straight packaging, I have shipped all of the Kickstarter rewards! (that I can!) 👏

(I am nearly done, just need to ship: 1 cookbook to Chile, which is not accepting packages; 40 people have not turned in their survey yet (N.H. I received yours! I'm working on it!); a few last minute address changes (will go out this week); and the remaining pieces of the Champion Edition rewards. As always, reach out to me via Kickstarter message if anything is wrong!)

💔 It's almost as if... the Kickstarter is reaching its end? 😭 But there's one last thing missing...

⚡️ 📖 The Digital Edition. 💌 ⚡️

At last! I will be sending out the Digital Editions TODAY! You will receive a message directly to your Kickstarter Inbox. (I'll start sending the messages as soon as I post this update) A few things to note:

1) Download. ⬇️ In the message, you will receive a link to a page on my website where you will be able to download the cookbook. 🔑  The password for the page will be in the message. 🎁  The page will remain up for at least 7 days- if you miss downloading it, just message me here.

2) Bouncing. ⬆️ To avoid junk mail and bounced emails, I'm using Kickstarter's own system (instead of sending the emails myself as planned). Check your inbox on Kickstarter for your download link. If you have not received a message by July 5th, please let me know by private messaging me here on Kickstarter!

3) Piracy and Protection. 🏴‍☠️ You'll notice that the file you receive is a fully unlocked PDF file. 🔓 No fiddly annoyances to mess with while you're trying to get the PDF on all your devices, and, if you backed for a friend or more than one cookbook, this lets you send the PDF to the right person or people.

This also means it'll be pretty easy to just copy it and send it to friends, family, anyone, aka... PIRACY! 🏴‍☠️ 🚢 ☠️ 😱

While I would prefer to be paid for work- Recipes, food, community, adventure? These things can't be locked up. If you find friends or family who eventually want to join us, I'll have links up to purchase all three editions on my website (Digital, Standard, and Master). Thank you for sharing with care. ♥️  http://theunofficiallegendofzeldacookbook.com/

4) Buying Digital. 📖 Since the Kickstarter ended, I've had quite a few messages about buying the Digital version! 📖  It's up on Etsy now, it will be listed at $9.99, will include the full 330 page Standard Edition, and it will be on Amazon and other ebook sellers, within the next week. (I hope)

5) Standard Edition. ⚔️ You'll notice that the Digital Cookbook does not have any of the Master Chapter, or Master Recipes- this is by design, it is the Standard Edition. The Master Recipes are exclusive to the physical Master Edition Cookbook. 👑

6) Converting Files. ⚡️ One of the reasons I went with PDF is because it can be opened on so many devices. Mac, PC, Apple, Android, even Kindle and other reading devices. The formatting should keep, and if it doesn't or you need to, you can convert it yourself with conversion applications.

If you have any problems with the digital download, let me know in the Discord and we'll all help each other figure it out! ♥️

How many Master Editions are left?

🌀 The answer to that is... I'm not sure. 🤔 Unfortunately, there were about 10% misprints/manufacturer defects in this first print run, so while I think I should have a couple? hundred left, that number could be❓📚  I'm grateful that I decided to hand package everything myself, as I was able to catch the cookbooks that weren't A rank. 🎁

📦 So, there's a finite amount of Master Editions left in the world right now... The last of the 1st Print Run is available here.

But I would like to do a second print run once the first print run is gone. ♥️ Your initial support got this cookbook rolling, and I'm doing my best to keep it sustainable and rolling in the future. Thank you. 😊 I'll let you know what happens!

😩 As for the misprints/manufacturer defects, what do I do with these? Let me know in #questions_and_answers on the Discord. Sell them at a discount? Bonfire cooking? 📚 🔥 🍳

🧭 This adventure only ends when you want it to. 🌅

What's next? 🤔

1) The Discord Community. 👉 We've not yet had a picture submitted of every single recipe. 👈 Yes, that is a challenge. A gauntlet thrown. Who will pick it up? 🧤 🥘 📸

2) Actual Publishing! The Standard and Digital will go live on Amazon and other places in a week or two (I hope). When they go live, if you could leave a review, that would be amazing! I'll let you know on Discord.

3) Drinkbook! Give me a lon-long break. Then... if you'd like to join for a round two, and be involved in the taste testing and creation process for a sequel (probably a much smaller sequel), stay tuned on the Discord.

And...

Just a bit of bad news, but I didn't die! I'm fine, I can still pay for my housing, food, etc, so don't worry, but...

Master Shipping was hella Expensive. 💰 🚚 😞

Unfortunately, shipping cost a lot more than calculated. Turns out, when I decided to upgrade to the luxury paper, I was also choosing to boost the average weight of each box from under 4 pounds, to over 4 pounds.

Hitting 4 pounds increases shipping costs- so a few dollars (~$3-7) extra per package on average, with some international rewards (multiple books) costing over double (~$70). 😞

$22,597. As of today, that's the total for shipping costs on this project- over 1/4 of the total Kickstarter. 😐

As you can imagine, this is a bit more than I had budgeted for, and with everything going on, it's not the most ideal time to have a large sudden expense- but it is my fault for selecting the top tier paper!

I never imagined we would make such a heavy book together; and looking at it, I can't regret it.I hope you enjoy it too. ♥️ Right now, I'm trying to save up for a second print run, for when the Master Editions run out. If you wanted to help:

- If you could encourage interested friends and family to purchase the cookbook on Etsy that would be wonderful! Post your beautiful pictures online! Make food and share it with people! (So many of you are already doing all of this and I am in awe, thank you so much! It brings me such a happy butterfly feeling whenever I see it somewhere I'm not expecting. I even received a newsletter by someone I love and there was a picture of the cookbook in it- very surreal)

- When they go live, if you could submit a review to Amazon, Goodreads, and other online sources, that would be 🔥🎉 🎊 ! (I'll post links in Discord eventually!) Reader reviews go a long way for search rankings, or so I am told!

- and. if you were interested in sending me a tip, as if I was a street magician holding my hat out at the end of a long show, I would be grateful. 🎩 🐇 My PayPal is https://paypal.me/aimeenicolewood. ✨

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I hope you're all doing well, staying active, staying social, and FINALLY! (Assuming USPS has finally deigned to drop off your package) I hope you are beginning to enjoy some delicious Zelda themed foods. Thank you for being here, adding joy to the world!

Expect another update or two before the end. 😭

Happy Cooking!

Aimee ♥️