Free Read Bottom Up by Neel Shah Page B

he’s disinterested.
    If you want my opinion (obviously): it’s not the no sex that would piss me off . . . it’s the total lack of acknowledgment of the weird night, the kind of nonfight, followed by the favor-asking. It’s just not great that his next contact is asking you about a work thing.
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    Subject: Re: (no subject)
    From: Madeline Whittaker
    Date: Thu, Jul 10 at 3:05 PM
    To: Emily Roberts
    Yeah, the cookbook thing is killing me. Because he’s clearly giving it more thought than he’s giving us. This is the longest email I’ve received from him in forever. I feel like a whale. You know how the Eskimos kill, like, a couple a year and then they use every single part? I am his entertainment, I got us that hotel, I give him stuff to read, I have sex with him (usually), and now—oh goodie—maybe he can use me to help his career.
    When I got this, the first thing I thought was: I guess we’re not using each other for sex anymore and he’s moved on to a different part of the whale.
    I can also feel the dam breaking . . . It takes so little for me to switch the topic of conversation to Elliot or to complain about him, and not just with you. With coworkers.
    I am going to write him back on the cookbook front, pretending that he’s not asking for MY help but advice in general. Because, taken at face value, that’s what this email is. Fucking general.
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    Subject: Re: hiya!
    From: Madeline Whittaker
    Date: Thu, Jul 10 at 5:06 PM
    To: Elliot Rowe
    Hey,
    I think it’s a solid idea. If you really think there’s something to it, you should put together a proposal. All proposals look different. Basically I’d gather the meat (haha) of the book to make sure there’s enough—like a list of recipes to see if this is just a trend you’ve noticed a few times or if there’s so much information, you know you’ll have to cut. And then also explore comparison titles. Look on Amazon or go to the bookstore and see what’s out there and how it’s doing. And you might want to play down the “using Mexican laborers for their recipes and making money off them” angle or reframe it. Up to you. Then you should probably get an agent who either specializes or has experience with cookbooks. One good way to find one is to look in the back of cookbooks you admire and read the acknowledgments page and then google the agents for contact information . . . or you can also send your proposal directly to a bunch of different publishing houses. If you’re worried about not being Gwyneth Paltrow (who isn’t?), you can always start a blog—develop a platform and get the attention of food editors that way. Hope that helps!
    Ramen sounds good.
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    Â Â Â Â  David

    Jul 11, 7:42 PM
    Elliot    

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    Â Â Â Â  David

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    Elliot    

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    Â Â Â Â  David

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    Elliot    

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    Â Â Â Â  Madeline

    Jul 11, 9:56 PM
    Elliot    

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    Â Â Â Â  Madeline

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    Elliot    

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    Â Â Â Â  Madeline

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    Elliot    

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    Â Â Â Â  Madeline

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    Elliot    

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    Â Â Â Â  Elliot

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    David    

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    Â Â Â Â  Elliot

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    David    

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    Â Â Â Â  Elliot

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    David    

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    Â Â Â Â  Elliot

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    David    

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