When it feels like a flop… or my reminder to keep writing and be gentle with myself.

87 books sold. Less than $100 in royalties. And… I’m actually not panicking about it? 🦝In today’s Raccoon Author's Self-Publishing Diary, I’m getting into the numbers behind My Christmas Wish List, my Christmas rom-com that came out at the end of July — including its veryyyyy long road to publication, the pre-order I canceled, why I eventually put it back up at $0.99, and what that meant for my royalties.Because selling MORE books does not necessarily mean making more money. I’m also looking at the bigger picture: how the other books in my Love in Swans Cove series have performed during the holiday season, why I’m keeping My Christmas Wish List at $4.99 now, why I’m not t running ads right now, and why I don't think a book's first month tells us its entire story.Especially when it’s a Christmas book. In September.I also talk about something I took away from an SPA Girls interview with Elana Johnson about working on a primary AND secondary writing project at the same time — which may or may not have given my raccoon brain permission to think more seriously about the next Love in Swans Cove book. And yes: I’m coming back after the holiday season with updated numbers so we can see what actually happened.Coming soon, too: the 80/20 rule. Does 20% of my catalog really generate 80% of my publishing income? I have started crunching the numbers…🦝 JOIN ME ON PATREON / ELODIE’S WRITING NOOKhttps://www.patreon.com/c/elodieswritingnook🎄 MY CHRISTMAS WISH LISThttps://books2read.com/MyChristmasWish📊 PUBLISHER CHAMPhttps://www.publisherchamp.com/🎧 SPA GIRLS — Inside a Prolific Author’s Daily Routine ft. Elana Johnson& From Zero to $100K per Month – A Prolific Author’s Business Strategy ft. Elana Johnson 🦝 THE RACCOON AUTHORhttps://elodienowodazkij.com/the-raccoon-author/Happy writing, and happy, happy reading. ❤️