What every romance author wants to hear (and I heard it from an insurance agent)…

There are words romance authors love to hear.

No… not those words. Well, at least, not in this case.

I shared in my newsletter today a pretty eventful day from a couple of days ago. For the full story, click here.

Here’s the very short version.

As I was looking to switch car insurances, the insurance agent (who was very friendly and knowledgeable) went through a list of questions to see if he could match the new offer.

At some point in the process, he asked “So what’s your job title?”

I replied, “Author.”

And he followed up with: “Oh, what do you write?”

“Romance novels.”

There was one of those long pauses… you know the type. The ones that could go in so many directions and thousands of answers flashed in my mind. 

Sometimes, let’s just say, romance novels are seen as “lesser-than.”

And his response caught me off guard.

He said…. are you ready for this?

“Oh wow, you’re spreading happiness around the world. That’s awesome.”

His words were just the pick-me-up I needed. And who knows, maybe his words will have the same effect on someone else. After all, a little bit of happiness can go a long way…

And whatever you’re doing, you might be spreading a bit of happiness around you, too. 

And if you’re looking for your next romance novel: one-click #TheLeftoverBride (A Hallmark-worthy romance with a little extra steam) and start reading now…

Or pre-order #SweetsForLove and make this romance author even happier. :-)

Check out my other books and audiobooks, too… 🙂

Thank you so much for reading!

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PS: If you’re interested in self-publishing, I have a podcast. 🙂 Listen to the latest episodes of A Self-Published Author’s Diary…

Writing and Why and Working Through Things – The Raccoon Author's Self-Publishing Diary

I started listening to Abbie Emmons’ Make Your Story Matter, and one question she mentioned authors should ask themselves is "Why does your story matter?" And that immediately got stuck in my head in a loop. In this Dear Raccoon Author Diary episode, I’m talking about writing and why and working through things, lots of things—what I want readers to feel, what I sometimes work through myself within the pages, and how all of that fits alongside the very practical business side of being an indie author.How I want to both look at my numbers without losing my "why". I talk about Genevieve and Theodore and revising "A New Year's Eve Like No Other", about grief and Margie Lawson's deep EDITS technique, duets versus standalones both in terms of craft and revenue, read-through and audiobook and translations costs and oh, Amazon deciding to mess-up with permafree books, including mine.Basically, it's a very Raccoon Author mix of craft, feelings (lots of them) and numbers.And underneath it all, I keep coming back to that question: Why does this matter to me, and hopefully, to the readers?Abbie Emmons — Make Your Story Matterhttps://benbellabooks.com/shop/make-your-story-matter/🦝 Join me on Patreon — Raccoon Author tier:https://www.patreon.com/c/elodieswritingnookPreorder Cancer Is Not My Brand https://books2read.com/cancerisnotmybrand/Margie Lawson:https://www.margielawson.com/And I’d love to hear from you: Why does your story matter? Elodie AT Elodienow.comHappy writing. And happy, happy reading. ❤️

1. Writing and Why and Working Through Things 19:55
2. Dear Raccoon Author Diary: The Venice Edition or an author on holidays… 05:45
3. Dear Raccoon Author Diary: Facebook Ads, Lucy Score & All the Ideas 11:00
4. Numbers Episode – 87 Books Sold, Less Than $100 in Royalties (and I'm Not Panicking) 29:22
5. Dear Raccoon Author Diary: Some Publishing Days Are Harder Than Others 09:26