An indie author January 2022 recap: My self-publishing highs & lows

This is a numbers episode. I'm going back to the archives a little bit (back to the future, kind of) to talk about a book I released in 2015 that had 23 preorders and became one of my most read books.A Summer Like No Other launched at 99 cents. I had a whole plan — cover reveal with Xpresso Book Tours, NetGalley, YouTube videos, a blog series called The Making Of, emails to readers who had reviewed my first book. I got 23 preorders. In the first three months I made about $200.That same book has now been downloaded 66,550 times in English: 40,279 audiobooks, 24,414 ebooks, and 1,360 paperbacks. Best month was May 2024, with 7,930 downloads.The French version, Un Été Pas Comme Les Autres, had 20 preorders. It's now perma free, has been downloaded 48,368 times, has 1,843 ratings on Amazon France, and the translation got picked up by a publisher that was part of Hachette — which is how I became a hybrid author.So preorders really don't make or break a book.I also talk about:Dictation finally working for me — two days this week with more than 6,000 words, which hasn't happened in foreverA very funny dictation fail from my walkLast week's newsletter (Elodie Now): 205 subscribers, 48.19% open rate, 0.49% click rate, one unsubscribeFun fact: more than 50 subscribers across Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and I didn't know that until this week. Thank youThe two YouTube videos that helped me with dictation:Real Time Dictation Session: Dictate and Edit a Scene With Me — Alyssa in the Books https://youtu.be/I7rpvAGPgv4?si=4Oju1Ob5MjjukVNcBook Dictation for Beginners — The Courtney Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUVQ2vd_w1MThe Margie Lawson Deep Edits packets: Deep Editing, Rhetorical Devices, and More: https://www.margielawson.com/product/deep-editing-rhetorical-devices-and-more/Make Endings POP! Deep Editing Style: https://www.margielawson.com/product/make-endings-pop-deep-editing-style/PublisherChamp: https://www.publisherchamp.com/If you'd like to tell me you're listening and where from, I would love to hear from you: authorelodienowodazkij AT gmail.com