In addition to explaining my current process about engaging readers even before the cover reveal, today on the podcast (Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,Google Podcastsand more), I dip my toe into the way I use social media, some (very just brushing the surface) of my complicated feelings about social media and the fact that I am still learning how to use it as an author. I even started making Instagram Reels and using TikTok!
A little catch-up
Happy release day to Jessica Patrick and THIS IS FOR TONIGHT! “When Andi attends a music festival with one goal in mind – capture an interview with a famous band so she can pay for college – she gets more than she bargained for in this YA novel about family ties and finding your own way.”
I started working pretty early today (well, the day I’m drafting this post) as I need to finish recording an audiobook I got hired for…My to-do list for the day is pretty long and I may be slightly tired because I had one of those wonderful reading moments where you just don’t want to stop reading. I’m currently reading PRETTY LITTLE WIFE by Darby Kane and I told myself I was going to stop at Chapter 11…I read until Chapter 19.
Have you already read it? Any book recommendations for me? Don’t hesitate to either leave me a voicemail or send me an email at either : authorelodienowodazkij AT gmail.com or aselfpublishedauthorsdiary AT gmail.com 🙂
Talking about reels, I made my very first one on Friday at a random moment and it got more than 1000 views very quickly. The reel about PRETTY LITTLE WIFE also got more than 1000 views. I also now have a TikTok.
When it comes to using social media as an author, I don’t necessarily know what I’m doing. Maybe because the author part of me is still me? But at the same time, I am not comfortable sharing certain things . As authors, sometimes we’re told we are the brand. And…well…I’m still learning. You hear: be strategic, but be real. Use hashtags but make sure you use the right ones. Post often but not too often. Don’t spend too much time on social media but connect with people.
And right now, for me, it’s not about growing the number of my followers (even though I guess it would be nice), but it’s more to have more engagement on the posts that I do share.
Right now, I am trying new things. I’ll report back. 🙂
Cover reveal and engaging readers…
When it comes to covers, I either design them myself or I hire someone to design them. I’ve designed all my contemporary romance covers. And the Gavert City book covers have all been designed by Najla Qamber.
Seven years ago, I used to book Blog tours for cover reveals. And I’m wondering how much those still help. I need to do a bit more research…
Mid-May or so, I will send an email to my newsletter subscribers asking them to help me choose between the two covers.
My goals are three-fold:
Get more newsletter subscribers. I’ve announced it on my blog and in my Facebook readers’ group. The reach in that group is very low and I know it’s probably because I do not post consistently enough. It’s easier for me to send emails. And…as mentioned before, I’ve read it is also more efficient.
Get feedback on which cover readers prefer: Both covers will have the same style and to me it will be interesting to see which one readers prefer.
Start the buzz...By asking readers for help in choosing the cover reveal, I might get more engagement for the book itself and maybe start the buzz even before the cover reveal.
Author life moment that made me smile last week
I received an email from a reader telling me how much my books have helped distract her through…*waves hands* everything. And knowing that my books have helped someone smile or get lost in the moment in the world that I created definitely made me smile and gave me a boost in my revisions. 🙂
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(2) A newsletter for my readers: full of bonus scenes, updates on my books, shows I’m watching, books I’m reading, exclusive giveaways and more…
Click on this link and just add your email and you’ll receive access to a page full of exclusive content! Plus my emails include pictures of my cat and my dog…and they’re pretty adorable…:-)
First of all, thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who’s been reading these posts and listening to my podcast “A Self-Published Author’s Diary”. This blog post is also available as episode and you can listen and subscribe and review to “A Self-Published Author’s Diary” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and more…You can also become a monthly support of my podcast by clicking here.
And thank you to everyone who’s already added #THELEFTOVERBRIDE on Goodreads and those of you who already pre-ordered it! If you have already added it to Goodreads and or pre/ordered it (on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo). I’ve also been sharing little snippets with everyone who has left a comment on my Facebook Author Page and/or Facebook readers’ group. I will also do the same with my readers’ mailing list and Instagram.
On Friday, I talked about The Ulman Foundation and how much their work has meant for me, they have a wishlist if you’d like to donate items for the Ulman House in Baltimore. At Ulman House they provide free housing for young adult cancer patients, and their caregivers.
A couple of months ago, I shared the fact that A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER had 115 reviews on Amazon.com…and guess how many reviews it has now? It now has 155 reviews!
The quick hook for A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER is:
She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all. They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting. It’s going to be A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER.
Did you know I wasn’t planning on writing A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER? Did you know that this is the book that got the attention of a French publisher, got picked up by said-publisher and enabled me to be in French bookstores? Did you know this book now has 155 reviews on Amazon?
I published A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER in July 2015. Almost six years ago.
Actually, the French translation of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER (which is called UN ÉTÉ PAS COMME LES AUTRES) is my most sold book…
I sold more more than 1300 paperback copies of the English edition of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER since 2015. And it has been downloaded for free more than 17000 times. I haven’t advertised this book in English for years and just last July, 400 people downloaded it and I sold 56 paperback copies.
The French version has even much better numbers: both for the paid e-book and for the paperback version. Especially since the French paperback version was picked up by a French publisher and was also sold in bookstores and supermarkets and Cultura and la Fnac and in libraries…:-)
I have sold more than 4000 copies of UN ÉTÉ PAS COMME LES AUTRES . I have sold 2992 copies (ebooks + paperback) through my different publishing platforms as well as 1011 paperback copies through my French published (those numbers are from 2019 – I haven’t gotten my 2020 sales numbers from them yet). And this doesn’t count the pages read when UN ÉTÉ PAS COMME LES AUTRES was in Kindle Unlimited.
It is truly the little book that could. 🙂
How do I track my sales…
I track my sales mainly using TrackerBox and BookReport and my wonderful husband, The Chemical Engineer, has also started helping me analyzing some of the data. He’s very very very busy so I do appreciate whenever he takes the time to help me out with some of the business side of things. I mean, yes, he also does inspire some of my characters (as he will tell you) and does listen when I’m talking about plotting my novel…
In TrackerBox I can add all the sales report from all different platforms and I can see all historical data, revenue data, unit data and everything. In BookReport which is a browser extension, I can see my Kindle Direct Publishing Data.
The problem with TrackerBox is that again it uses the monthly report data and some of them (like KDP) do not report that data by day. You can access the historic data by day on BookReport for Kindle Direct Publishing but I’d really like to have the data by day for all e-retailers.
Why? Because as I’m starting again to lean into doing advertisements for several of my books, I need to know what my Return On Investment Is.
In the Ads for Authors class I’m currently taking by Mark Dawson, he provides students with an excel list on how to keep track of Facebook Ads and sales. Buuuuuut, in one of the groups I’m in for the 5 Days Amazon Ads challenge (that is a free class), someone has shared a screenshot of their excel list and it looked great to keep track of all ads and sales and ROI. I’ve tried throughout the years to come up with different tables and such but nothing that really worked for.
I checked on Etsy to see if anyone had made such an excel table available but I still need to dig in other places to see if I can find the excel worksheet that will enable me to be even more strategic and more aware of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to advertising.
155 reviews on Amazon.com and counting…
I mean, granted, not all reviews are raving…the one on top of the Amazon page is a one-star review, telling readers not to read A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER because it will make you angry. And another one on the German Amazon site talks about the fact that this book isn’t Oscar Wild-esque and lacks moral…
I wanted to share those full reviews, but apparently, Amazon reviews belong to Amazon due to copyright? Something else to check out in more details later.
Why am I sharing that this book has some negative reviews? To show you that all books get negative reviews. And that’s perfectly fine. Not everyone will like what you’re writing. Not everyone likes what I’m writing.
And some of those negative reviews might actually help your sales, believe or not. The sales of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER didn’t dwindle since that 1-star review took center stage on the product page.
And while, I still get these little moments where my stomach clenches as I release a new book…wondering about those first reviews trickling in, checking my book page to see if anyone reviewed it or what readers thought about the story I spent months on…I don’t dwell on them as much. Right now for #TheLeftoverBride I am at the very excited stage because I believe in that story, in my writing and this upcoming book has been with me for the past year and a half…
And fine it’s also true and easier not to dwell on them when most reviews are four and higher, and some readers call A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER the greatest book they’ve read or that they fell in love with the characters.
And did you know A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER got reviewed in The Guardian? I mean that’s pretty cool.
The story behind A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER…
I wasn’t planning on writing A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER.
My goal was to write ALWAYS SECOND BEST as a standalone companion novel to ONE, TWO, THREE. But as I drafted ALWAYS SECOND BEST, I kept on thinking about that summer between Nick & Em. I kept on thinking I needed to really get to know them better. I kept on thinking maybe I should write it out.
So, I did. I did it as a way to really get to know Nick & Em and to make ALWAYS SECOND BEST stronger.
It was only supposed to help me understand the characters better, but I fell in love with that summer story.
And I drafted it very very quickly. It took me a few months only between the moment I started drafting it and the moment I sent it to my copy editor.
My critique partners loved the story and this was one I didn’t need to revise a lot. I had been thinking about it so much while I had started drafting ALWAYS SECOND BEST that I couldn’t wait to dig deeper into their summer.
And it ended up being A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER (Nick & Em #1). And the rest is history…
Languages and more languages…
A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER is available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
I even signed with a French publisher!
Throwback to December 2016: Signing the contract with my French publisher for the French versions of ASLNO & ASB.
The French version of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER was translated by Edith Girval. No, I do not translate my own books in French, but I can re-read them and talk to my translators through the process. Me translating my own books in French would take me forever and would require a lot and I mean a lot of editing after. Not because I don’t speak or write French but because I’ve been living outside of France for more than half my life. I’ll discuss this in more detail later. I think it can be an entire blog post or podcast episode.
The reason why UN ÉTÉ PAS COMME LES AUTRES did so well in French is that I think I got into the French-speaking Facebook Ads when there weren’t yet a lot of authors who were advertising on Facebook in France. My cost-per-click was very low (less than ten cents and is still to this day about 17 cents) and converted very well into sales.
I mean look at this…And the ad got so much traction at the time, even though it has text on it which is usually said to not be great for conversion…I replied to all comments and answered questions readers had about the book, about follow-up books and so on…
I released ALWAYS SECOND BEST in French not long after and it also did very very well…and that’s how A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER caught the attention of a French publisher. And made me a so-called hybrid author (self-published and traditionally published).
On November 21st, 2016 I received an email from a French publisher, who contacted meto see if I would be interested in signing with them for the French versions of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER & ALWAYS SECOND BEST. Plus a possible option book.
At first, I thought it was a scam.
Really.
I don’t have an agent and I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I don’t recommend selling your foreign rights without an agent. An agent may have been able to negotiate different aspects of the contract for me. I got lucky, I think. One, because I speak French 😉 and thus, I was able to do my research, see the story of their imprint, look at the other authors they had signed with, and negotiate with them directly. I only sold the rights to the paperback version and not other format or languages. Two, they have been very good with all follow-ups. They, unfortunately, no longer carry the YA line but they were part of a bigger imprint and thus, I still am receiving royalty information and everything.
They also ended up buying the option book! And they acquired the French version of ONE, TWO, THREE as well.
September 2018 – Signing my contract for the option book: The French version of ONE, TWO, THREE…
I got an advance. I got author copies. I got promotion. I even saw my books in French bookstores and grocery stores! Kind of like one of my books making it into Target-level of excitement!
Writing this still feels surreal, even though I signed the first contract for UN ÉTÉ PAS COMME LES AUTRES and UNE SECONDE CHANCE more than 4 years ago.
Bilingual copies…
A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER is available in several bilingual editions (I really need to add a tab on my blog for those 🙂 – coming soon!):
Thank you to everyone who has given this little book of mine a chance, from my critique partners to my French publisher to all the people who have read it in whatever language and format. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review it. Thank you to all the readers who have sent me an email to let me know how much they loved this book…
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(2) A newsletter for my readers: full of bonus scenes, updates on my books, shows I’m watching, books I’m reading, exclusive giveaways and more…
Click on this link and just add your email and you’ll receive access to a page full of exclusive content! Plus my emails include pictures of my cat and my dog…and they’re pretty adorable…:-)
Today is all about keeping track. Sometimes, I get so deep into all the tasks involved with each project that it can get difficult to remember all those projects that I did bring to fruition within a month, especially since I’m trying to be more strategic…
Talking about business, if you want to support me, my career and these weekly posts, the best way to do so is to either (1) purchase one of my books or audiobooks or recommend them on Overdrive to your library, (2) forward the post to a friend, (3) sign up to my readers’ newsletter if you’re interested about my books and my writing, (3) subscribe to my weekly emails about self-publishing, (4) talk about my books to your friends/family.
What books and audiobooks did I publish?
Published the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook narrated by the wonderful Megan Carter. In terms of marketing, I’m trying a Buy One, Get One Free promo. Will keep you updated. I still need to announce it to my newsletter. But I did announce it on my blog and on Goodreads and I took advantage of a very good wordpress deal to make this website.
Published a new German/English bilingual book: announced it to the German subscribers of my newsletter, announced it to my blog, and am currently boosting one of my Facebook posts to an audience of English-learning and English instructors in Germany also interested in reading and romance novels on Facebook.
Published another new bilingual book (French/Italian). I still need to announce it on my French website.
Marketing-related: I’m still listening to Mark Dawson’s Ads for Authors course.
Marketing-related: Took a FREE Goodreads online webinar by Alessandra Torre. I am sharing a link in my email. Will be sharing more about that course soon and some strategies that I am trying. I know. Goodreads. But trying a different approach.
Writing-related: Started reading through the Margie Lawson course packet about visceral rules (beyond hammering hearts).
What movie/post/documentary about writing did I watch/read?
One of my very good friends who also happen to be a writer friend recommended the Naughty Books documentary on Hulu. It was very interesting! Lots of thoughts.
And then I wrote. Maybe I didn’t write as much as I wanted to, but I did write. And I think I wrote one of my favorite sentences…I think I am going to be sharing that sentence very soon. But trying to be more strategic about it. (Ha, full circle with the first paragraph). 🙂
Quick reminder: if you want to support me, my career and this weekly posts, the best way to do so is to either (1) purchase one of my books or audiobooks or recommend them on Overdrive to your library, (2) forward the post to a friend, (3) talk about my books to your friends/family.
Did you enjoy this post? Do you want to help support me and my writing? You can forward this blog post to someone who might be interested, buy my books and/or audiobooks and as always, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment.
If you have any questions about my adventures in self-publishing or anything I shared with you today, don’t hesitate to reach out and I’ll make sure to reply in my email next week.
Eine zweite Chance (Teil 1) – A second chance (Part 1)
(Bilingual book: German – English / Zweisprachiges Buch: Deutsch – Englisch).
Lernst du Englisch? Are you learning German? This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in German … Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Englisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
EINE ZWEITE CHANCE TEIL 1 (Kapitel 1 – Kapitel 25) – A SECOND CHANCE PART 1 (Chapter 1 – Chapter 25)
Manchmal ist eine zweite Chance nicht das, was man erwartet. Manchmal bekommt man eine zweite Chance auf die Liebe.
Die siebzehnjährige Ballerina Emilia Moretti ist es leid, immer nur die Zweitbeste zu sein. Und sie wird der Welt beweisen, dass sie es verdient, Erste zu sein. In der kommenden Show der Hochschule für Darstellende Kunst. Für ihre leiblichen Eltern. Und im Herzen fürf den Kerl, den sie liebt. Aber als nichts so läuft wie geplant, muss sie erkennen, was es wirklich bedeutet, Erste zu sein.
Der achtzehnjährige Nick Grawski will nicht mehr den Regeln seines Vaters folgen. Er wird beweisen, dass er dazu bestimmt ist, ein Tänzer zu sein – kein Anwalt – und er wird sich nicht von Em fernhalten, nur weil sein Vater es verlangt. Selbst als ihre Welt einstürzt, auch als er herausfindet, dass sein Vater nur versucht hat, ihn zu schützen, auch als es härter ist, für einander da zu sein als sich zu verlieben.
Sometimes, you don’t expect a second chance. Sometimes, you get a second chance at love.
Seventeen-year-old ballerina Emilia Moretti is tired of always being second best. And she’s going to prove the world she deserves to be first. In her upcoming School of the Performing Arts showcase. In the eyes of her birth parents. And in the heart of the guy she loves. But when nothing goes the way she planned, she’ll need to realize what it really means to be first.
Eighteen-year-old Nick Grawski doesn’t want to follow Daddy Dearest’s rules any longer. He’s going to prove he’s meant to be a dancer—not a lawyer—and he is not going to stay away from Em just because his father demands it. Even when her world goes down to shit, even when he finds out his dad may have been trying to protect him all along, even if being there for one another is harder than falling in love.
Other bilingual books (German/English) – Andere zweisprachige Buecher (Deutsch / Englisch)
In diesem einen Sommer / A Summer Like No Other
Lernst du Englisch? Are you learning German?This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in German …Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Englisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
Sie ist die kleine Schwester seines besten Freundes. Er ist der größte Casanova von allen. Sie sollten nicht zusammen sein. Aber dieser Sommer ist zu verlockend.
She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all. They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.
Alles für einen Traum / Only One Dream (Zweisprachige Ausgabe: Englisch-Deutsch): Bilingual Book: English/German (German Edition)
Lernst du Englisch? Are you learning German?
This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in German …Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Englisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
She thought she was on her way to the top… Sixteen-year-old Natalya Pushkaya has one dream and one dream only: becoming the best ballerina ever. Dancing’s always been who she is and she’s working her hardest to land the main role of the School of Performing Arts’ end-of-the-year showcase. But…will she make it? Within a week, Natalya’s life will be changed forever. Prequel novelette of One, Two, Three
—–
Sie hatte sich schon auf dem Weg zur Spitze gesehen… Die 16-jährige Natalya Pushkaya hat nur einen einzigen Traum: die beste Ballerina zu werden, die es je gegeben hat. Das Tanzen hat schon immer bestimmt, wer sie ist und sie würde alles tun, um die Hauptrolle in der jährlichen Abschlussvorstellung der School of Performing Arts zu landen. Aber…wird es ihr gelingen? Innerhalb einer Woche ändert sich Natalyas Leben für immer. Prequel der Novelle Eins, Zwei, Drei
Lernst du Englisch? Are you learning German? This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in German … Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Englisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
Sie hat alles verloren. Kann sie noch an Liebe glauben? She lost everything, can she still believe in love?
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(2) A newsletter for my readers: full of bonus scenes, updates on my books, shows I’m watching, books I’m reading, exclusive giveaways and more…
Click on this link and just add your email and you’ll receive access to a page full of exclusive content! Plus my emails include pictures of my cat and my dog…and they’re pretty adorable…:-)
Found this post interesting? Don't hesitate to share it.
Sometimes, formatting bilingual books feels like a Groundhog day. It starts over and over again and even if I feel like I have perfected the process, there are still issues. I have files that are called UPDATE 1, UPDATE 2, UPDATE 3….and so on and so on. Formatting bilingual books is slightly more complicated, in my view, than formatting my regular manuscripts, just because I have to ensure those pesky page breaks actually happen when they’re supposed to.
And some of you might ask, “But Elodie, why don’t you use all of this time to write and publish original content?” And this is a great question. Because I have plenty of ideas. I have ideas about a series, I’m finishing writing my first rom-com and I’m planning this as a series of standalone novels. So, I have ideas. And I am writing, albeit maybe not as much as I’d like to.
But I know that my bilingual books generate income.
And while I am developing a strategy (which I will share with you on this blog and more in detail in my weekly email) for my upcoming novels and series, I know that working on those bilingual manuscripts is helpful to my business. And as a language learner (currently learning Russian on Duolingo for 250 days straight :-)) and former language teacher, I love that those bilingual books might help people who are learning a language.
Talking about languages, I saw this post on Instagram the other day that really resonated and thought I’d share it with you all. It says, “If someone is speaking to you in a foreign accent, they are smart enough to know two languages and brave enough to do their job in their second.”
Anyways…I spent a lot of hours this week finalizing another English/German book and this was only a tiny portion of the work that I needed to do for this particular book. And I’m happy to report that I did manage to publish EINE ZWEITE CHANCE (TEIL 1) / A SECOND CHANCE (PART 1) – Zweisprachiges Buch Deutsch / Englisch – Bilingual book: German / Englisch. (Amazon.de, Amazon.com, Google Play, iTunes, Kobo…)
To publish this book, I needed to:
(1) Using the manuscript in English and the manuscript in German, format the bilingual edition (manually) with one page in German and the corresponding text in English on the other side.
(2) Have a freelancer language specialist proofread the German translation one more time.
(3) Go through all the changes, review and implement the chances in the translation.
(4) Ensure that the pdf interior has the correct formatting. (that took FOREVER as every single time I would upload the word document, there was something wrong with it…one tab too many and that can really mess with the formatting. I use Draft2Digital to make the interior of the book.
(4) Design the cover.
(5) Add a series page on Kindle Direct Publishing, Draft2Digital and Google Play for “Zweisprachiges Buch Englisch Deutsch Nick & Em”.
(6) Add all the metadata on all platforms (summary, keywords, categories and so on…)
(7) Upload the files for the ebooks.
(8) Create the paperback in Kindle Direct Publishing…
As mentioned…the formatting can be slightly frustrating at times. If my husband would read this, he would chuckle at the “slightly”. 🙂
But the process can also be fun. 🙂 While I cannot listen to music when I am actually in the process of copying and pasting the German text to fit the English text and vice versa, I do sing very badly or lip synch in this case, when I’m making sure the format is correct (headings where there’s supposed to be headings, page break at the right spot, no extra paragraph…).
Did you enjoy this post? Do you want to help support me and my writing? You can forward this blog post to someone who might be interested, buy my books and/or audiobooks and as always, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment.
If you have any questions about my adventures in self-publishing or anything I shared with you today, don’t hesitate to reach out and I’ll make sure to reply in my email next week.
A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER/ UN VERANO COMO NINGUNO (Bilingual book: Spanish – English / Libro bilingüe: Inglés – Español). Available now!
A Summer Like No Other / Un Verano Como Ninguno
(Bilingual book: Spanish – English / Libro bilingüe: Inglés – Español).
Are you learning Spanish? ¿Estás aprendiendo inglés?
This book can help you: you will find the story told in Spanish on one side and in English on the other …Este libro puede ayudarte con eso: Encontrarás el cuento narrado en español en una página y en la otra en inglés …
Ella es la hermana menor de su mejor amigo. Él es el donjuán más seductor de todos. No deberían estar juntos. Sin embargo, este verano es demasiado tentador. She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all. They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.
And have you already picked up “One Dream Only / Todo por un sueño”?
One Dream Only / Todo por un sueño
(Bilingual book: Spanish – English / Libro bilingüe: Inglés – Español).
Are you learning Spanish? ¿Estás aprendiendo inglés?
This book can help you: you will find the story told in Spanish on one side and in English on the other …Este libro puede ayudarte con eso: Encontrarás el cuento narrado en español en una página y en la otra en inglés …
She thought she was on her way to the top… Sixteen-year-old Natalya Pushkaya has one dream and one dream only: becoming the best ballerina ever. Dancing’s always been who she is and she’s working her hardest to land the main role of the School of Performing Arts’ end-of-the-year showcase. But…will she make it? Within a week, Natalya’s life will be changed forever. Prequel novelette of One, Two, Three… *** Ya se había visto en el camino hacia la fama… Natalya Pushkaya, de dieciséis años, tiene solamente un sueño: ser la mejor bailarina de todos los tiempos. Su vida siempre ha sido el baile y está trabajando incansablemente para conseguir el rol principal en el espectáculo de fin de año de la Escuela de Artes Escénicas. Pero… ¿Lo conseguirá? En una semana, la vida de Natalya cambiará para siempre. Precuela de la novela “A La Cuenta De Tres”…
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(2) A newsletter for my readers: full of bonus scenes, updates on my books, shows I’m watching, books I’m reading, exclusive giveaways and more…
Click on this link and just add your email and you’ll receive access to a page full of exclusive content! Plus my emails include pictures of my cat and my dog…and they’re pretty adorable…:-)
Found this post interesting? Don't hesitate to share it.
One Dream Only / Todo por un sueño (Bilingual book: Spanish – English / Libro bilingüe: Inglés – Español). Available now!
One Dream Only / Todo por un sueño
(Bilingual book: Spanish – English / Libro bilingüe: Inglés – Español).
Are you learning Spanish? ¿Estás aprendiendo inglés?
This book can help you: you will find the story told in Spanish on one side and in English on the other …Este libro puede ayudarte con eso: Encontrarás el cuento narrado en español en una página y en la otra en inglés …
She thought she was on her way to the top… Sixteen-year-old Natalya Pushkaya has one dream and one dream only: becoming the best ballerina ever. Dancing’s always been who she is and she’s working her hardest to land the main role of the School of Performing Arts’ end-of-the-year showcase. But…will she make it? Within a week, Natalya’s life will be changed forever. Prequel novelette of One, Two, Three… *** Ya se había visto en el camino hacia la fama… Natalya Pushkaya, de dieciséis años, tiene solamente un sueño: ser la mejor bailarina de todos los tiempos. Su vida siempre ha sido el baile y está trabajando incansablemente para conseguir el rol principal en el espectáculo de fin de año de la Escuela de Artes Escénicas. Pero… ¿Lo conseguirá? En una semana, la vida de Natalya cambiará para siempre. Precuela de la novela “A La Cuenta De Tres”…
I’m currently writing a book on self-publishing: my experience, some tips, some of my behind-the-scenes, expectations vs reality,the happy moments…It will not be a book on how to become a millionnaire, but hopefully a book that will give you insights, ideas, resources…If you have any questions you’d like me to tackle in this book, don’t hesitate to send me an email or leave a comment. This blog post will be featured in that book.
Did you know I wasn’t planning on writing A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER? Did you know that this is the book that got the attention of a French publisher, got picked up by said-publisher and enabled me to be in French bookstores? Did you know this book now has 115 reviews on Amazon?
I published A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER in July 2015. More than 5 years ago. And since then?
A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER has been translated in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese. It is currently perma-free in English on all e-retailers (Amazon – iTunes – Kobo – Google Play – Scribd – Hoopla). It is available in paperback on Amazon and very soon will be available on Bookshop.org. It is also available as audiobook. (Audible – Amazon – iTunes).
I sold more more than 1200 paperback copies of the English edition of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER since 2015. And it has been downloaded for free more than 16000 times. I haven’t advertised this book in English for years and just last July, 400 people downloaded it and I sold 56 paperback copies.
The French version has even much better numbers: both for the paid e-book and for the paperback version. Especially since the French paperback version was picked up by a French publisher and was also sold in bookstores and supermarkets and Cultura and la Fnac and in libraries…:-)
It is truly the little book that could. 🙂
115 reviews on Amazon and counting…
Did you know the English version of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER has now more than 100 reviews on Amazon?
I mean, granted, not all reviews are raving…the one on top of the Amazon page is a one-star review, telling readers not to read A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER because it will make you angry. And another one on the German Amazon site talks about the fact that this book isn’t Oscar Wild-esque and lacks moral…
I wanted to share those reviews, but apparently, Amazon reviews belong to Amazon due to copyright? Something else to check out in more details later.
Why am I sharing that this book has some negative reviews? To show you that all books get negative reviews. And that’s perfectly fine. Not everyone will like what you’re writing. Not everyone likes what I’m writing.
And some of those negative reviews might actually help your sales, believe or not. The sales of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER didn’t dwindle since that 1-star review took center stage on the product page.
And while, I still get these little moments where my stomach clenches as I release a new book…wondering about those first reviews trickling in, checking my book page to see if anyone reviewed it or what readers thought about the story I spent months on…I don’t dwell on them as much.
And fine it’s also easier not to dwell on them when most reviews are four and higher, and some readers call A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER the greatest book they’ve read or that they fell in love with the characters.
And did you know A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER got reviewed in The Guardian? I mean that’s pretty cool.
The story behind A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER…
I wasn’t planning on writing A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER.
My goal was to write ALWAYS SECOND BEST as a standalone companion novel to ONE, TWO, THREE. But as I drafted ALWAYS SECOND BEST, I kept on thinking about that summer between Nick & Em. I kept on thinking I needed to really get to know them better. I kept on thinking maybe I should write it out.
So, I did. I did it as a way to really get to know Nick & Em and to make ALWAYS SECOND BEST stronger.
It was only supposed to help me understand the characters better, but I fell in love with that summer story.
And I drafted it very very quickly. It took me a few months only between the moment I started drafting it and the moment I sent it to my copy editor.
My critique partners loved the story and this was one I didn’t need to revise a lot. I had been thinking about it so much while I had started drafting ALWAYS SECOND BEST that I couldn’t wait to dig deeper into their summer.
And it ended up being A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER (Nick & Em #1). And the rest is history…
Languages and more languages…
A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER is available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.
I even signed with a French publisher!
Throwback to December 2016: Signing the contract with my French publisher for the French versions of ASLNO & ASB.
The French version really took off when I published it. It shot up the charts…I released ALWAYS SECOND BEST in French not long after and it also did very very well…and that’s how A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER caught the attention of a French publisher. And made me a so-called hybrid author (self-published and traditionally published).
On November 21st, 2016 I received an email from a French publisher, who contacted me by email to see if I would be interested in signing with them for the French versions of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER & ALWAYS SECOND BEST. Plus a possible option book.
At first, I thought it was a scam.
Really.
I don’t have an agent and I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I don’t recommend selling your foreign rights without an agent. An agent may have been able to negotiate different aspects of the contract for me. I got lucky, I think. One, because I speak French 😉 and thus, I was able to do my research, see the story of their imprint, look at the other authors they had signed with, and negotiate with them directly. I only sold the rights to the paperback version and not other format or languages. Two, they have been very good with all follow-ups. They, unfortunately, no longer carry the YA line but they were part of a bigger imprint and thus, I still am receiving royalty information and everything.
They also ended up buying the option book! And they acquired the French version of ONE, TWO, THREE as well.
September 2018 – Signing my contract for the option book: The French version of ONE, TWO, THREE…
I got an advance. I got author copies. I got promotion. I even saw my books in French bookstores and grocery stores! Kind of like one of my books making it into Target-level of excitement!
Writing this still feels surreal, even though it happened about four years ago for the first contract and about two years ago
Bilingual copies…
A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER is available in several bilingual editions (I really need to add a tab on my blog for those 🙂 – coming soon!):
Thank you to everyone who has given this little book of mine a chance, from my critique partners to my French publisher to all the people who have read it in whatever language and format. Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to review it. Thank you to all the readers who have sent me an email to let me know how much they loved this book…
Let me know if you have any questions…any behind-the-scenes you’d like to read more about…and don’t hesitate to send me questions about my experience with self-publishing that you’d like me to answer in the book I’m currently writing.
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For the past several years, I have published bilingual books: one page in one language, one page in another language. Maybe it stems from my years as language learner or teacher.
I wanted to find a way to help people who are learning a foreign language to find new ways to enjoy that language. It also shows how translation isn’t word per word, how crucial it is to have the context and the magic of words, the importance of their meaning.
And I know some people learn better by listening than by reading or sometimes they need both, so I published an audiobook with one chapter in English and one chapter in French…
How did I do it? Some of my translations were done on Babelcube. I also have worked with translators on Upwork. I did some of my own formatting and for some of the books I’ve used freelancers on Upwork to do the formatting for me. I designed the covers for those books, only using inspiration for the French version of One, Two, Three for the English/German version of Love, Live, Dance.
Which one of my books do you want to see next? And in what language pairing?
Est-ce que vous apprenez l’anglais? Are you learning French? Ce livre peut vous aider…This book can help you… Une page en français, une page en anglais. One page in French, one page in English…
Elle pensait être sur le chemin de la gloire. Elle pensait avoir le monde du ballet à ses pieds. Elle pensait que ses rêves allaient se réaliser. Mais en une petite semaine, la vie de Natalya va être complètement bouleversée.
She thought she was on her way to the top… She thought she had the world of ballet at her feet…She thought all her dreams would come true. Within a week, Natalya’s life will be changed forever.
Are you learning French? Est-ce que vous apprenez l’anglais? This book can help you with that: one page in French, one page in English… Ce livre peut vous aider: une page en français, une page en anglais.
She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all. They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.
Il enchaîne les conquêtes. Elle est la sœur de son meilleur ami. Ils ne devraient pas être ensemble. Mais cet été, la tentation est trop forte.
Stai imparando l’inglese? Are you learning Italian? This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in Italian…Questo libro può aiutarti: una pagina è in inglese e una in italiano.
She thought she was on her way to the top. . .Sixteen-year-old Natalya Pushkaya has one dream and one dream only: becoming the best ballerina ever. Within a week, Natalya’s life will be changed forever.
Credeva di essere sulla strada per il successo. . .La sedicenne Natalya Pushkaya ha un solo e unico sogno: diventare la più grande ballerina di sempre. Em uma semana a vida de Natalya vai mudar para sempre.
Lernst du Englisch? Are you learning German? This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in German … Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Englisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
She thought she was on her way to the top…Sixteen-year-old Natalya Pushkaya has one dream and one dream only: becoming the best ballerina ever. Within a week, Natalya’s life will be changed forever.
Sie hatte sich schon auf dem Weg zur Spitze gesehen…Die 16-jährige Natalya Pushkaya hat nur einen einzigen Traum: die beste Ballerina zu werden, die es je gegeben hat. Innerhalb einer Woche ändert sich Natalyas Leben für immer.
Lernst du Englisch? Are you learning German? This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in German … Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Englisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
Sie hat alles verloren. Kann sie noch an Liebe glauben? She lost everything, can she still believe in love?
Lernst du Englisch? Are you learning German?This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in German …Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Englisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
Sie ist die kleine Schwester seines besten Freundes. Er ist der größte Casanova von allen. Sie sollten nicht zusammen sein. Aber dieser Sommer ist zu verlockend.
She’s his best friend’s little sister. He’s the biggest player of them all. They shouldn’t be together. But this summer’s just too tempting.
Está aprendendo inglês? Are you learning Portuguese? This book can help you with that: one page in English, one page in Portuguese… Este livro pode te ajudar: uma página em inglês e outra em português…
She thought she was on her way to the top… Sixteen-year-old Natalya Pushkaya has one dream and one dream only: becoming the best ballerina ever. But…will she make it? Within a week, Natalya’s life will be changed forever.
Ela achava que estava a caminho do topo…Natalya Pushkaya de 16 anos tem um sonho apenas: se tornar a melhor bailarina do mundo. Mas ela vai conseguir? Em uma semana a vida de Natalya vai mudar para sempre.
Est-ce que vous apprenez l’allemand? Lernst du Französisch? Ce livre peut vous aider…Une page en français, une page en allemand… Dieses Buch kann dir dabei helfen: eine Seite auf Französisch, eine Seite auf Deutsch…
Elle pensait être sur le chemin de la gloire. Natalya Pushkaya, seize ans, a un seul rêve : devenir la meilleure ballerine du monde entier. Mais en une petite semaine, la vie de Natalya va être complètement bouleversée.
Sie hatte sich schon auf dem Weg zur Spitze gesehen…Die 16-jährige Natalya Pushkaya hat nur einen einzigen Traum: die beste Ballerina zu werden, die es je gegeben hat. Innerhalb einer Woche ändert sich Natalyas Leben für immer.
What languages do you want to learn?
Which one of my books do you want to see next? And in what language pairing?
Found this post interesting? Don't hesitate to share it.
Elodie Nowodazkij 