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Latest podcast episode: Big, but Not Romance Big: Looking Back at Cancer Treatments, Creativity, and All the Weird Stuff In Between.

Elodie
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Intro: This isn’t your typical how-to guide, because let’s be real—it’s more about the messy art of balancing (or not balancing) self-publishing, creativity, and cancer treatments. I’m publishing this episode on my fifth second birthday (my second birthday was the day I received my stem cells back during my autologous stem cell transplant). And I’ve been in remission for now five years after three years of treatment for refractory Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and while I won’t shy away from the tough stuff (we’ve all cried in the shower, right?), I’m hoping to fill this series with humor, hope, and maybe a bit of awkward laughter.

Join me on the first Monday of every month for Big, but Not Romance Big: Looking Back at Cancer Treatments, Creativity, and All the Weird Stuff In Between.

And if spicy paranormal or fantasy romance is your thing, check out Elizabeth Briggs’ books to support a fellow author going through treatments for stage IV colon cancer: ⁠https://elizabethbriggs.com⁠.

Questions about writing, self-publishing or those weird stuff in-between? Shoot me an email at ⁠authorelodienowodazkij@gmail.com⁠.

❤

Elodie

Numbers: The Book That Had 23 Preorders and…became my most read book. – A self-published author's diary: The Ups and Downs of Self-Publishing (and everything in-between)

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
  1. Numbers: The Book That Had 23 Preorders and…became my most read book.
  2. This isn't a grand gesture …
  3. My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)
  4. My F***-It Book: She Had Cancer and Still Gets a Holiday Steamy Rom-Com
  5. New Release Hiccups, Metadata, Pen Names, and Mild Panic
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Published by Elodie

Author of heartwarming, hilarious and hot romcoms with grumpy book boyfriends that make me laugh out loud and heart-pounding, haunting romantic suspense novels that scare the crap out of me. All of them hard to put down... I will never lose my French accent. You can email me at: authorelodienowodazkij@gmail.com

2 thoughts on “Latest podcast episode: Big, but Not Romance Big: Looking Back at Cancer Treatments, Creativity, and All the Weird Stuff In Between.”

  1. Hey! Just wanted to say how much I loved the latest episode of your podcast. I’ve been a caretaker and hearing your experience helps me better understand, especially the long-term effects. After my mom went through surgery and treatments and was cancer-free, I thought that’s amazing, it’s all over! She’ll get her strength back and everything will be normal again. But then years later she casually mentioned the neuropathy in her feet and I was like…WHAT? What is that?! She always downplays everything – I think if she could have driven herself to surgery, she would have waited until after to tell anyone about it, just to keep her family from worrying – so she rarely talked about what she was experiencing. Thanks for telling your story ❤️

    Jennifer

    Reply

    1. Jennifer, thank you so much for taking the time to comment. I’m sorry your mom had to go through treatments and so glad she’s cancer-free! Also as I said caretakers are superheroes ❤ I know it can be a lot and sometimes it's so hard to know what's going on. One of the things I had to work on as a patient is realizing that I was not a burden. It can be so hard to lean on others for help – even though this is the only way the people who love us can feel a little bit less like they cannot help, you know? I'm really grateful that me telling my story is helpful. If you have any questions or anything you'd like me to expand on, don't hesitate. I'll be doing those particular episodes once a month. Sending all the best to you and your mom!

      Reply

Comments put a smile on my face :-)