Tag: netgalley

A self-published author's diary, podcast

Good news, using netgalley as an indie author (part 1), getting a spike in free ebooks in germany (not sure why)…

Elodie

Listen to the full episode now…Choose you favorite platform here or listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music, Audible, Overcast, Breaker and more…

Episode 39 on Spotify

Today, I share some good news: I had a PET scan on Wednesday and then we saw my oncologist. And no signs of malignancy. I’ll see him again in three months but as I’m now two years out of transplant, no more scheduled scans 🙂

I also talk about using Netgalley as an indie author: what my goals are in terms of reviews and reaching more readers and why I decided to put #TheLeftoverBride on Netgalley.

As a self-published author, I use Victory Editing co-op (for one title and one month) and have already received hundreds of request for review.

Also mentioned in this episode: TikTok, Instagram as an author and not knowing why some videos take off as well as IN DIESEM EINEN SOMMER (A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER in German) getting hundreds (now probably at least a thousand) free downloads without me doing anything (I’m not sure why either). 

Don’t hesitate to ask me a question per email or record a question…

How to support this podcast?

Thank you so much for listening!

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Numbers Episode – 87 Books Sold, Less Than $100 in Royalties (and I'm Not Panicking) – The Raccoon Author's Self-Publishing Diary

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. ❤️
  1. Numbers Episode – 87 Books Sold, Less Than $100 in Royalties (and I'm Not Panicking)
  2. Dear Raccoon Author Diary: Some Publishing Days Are Harder Than Others
  3. Author Branding, Self-Publishing & Why I’m the Raccoon Author
  4. My EU VAT Saga As A Self-Published Author: What I Learned (and Got Wrong Info About) from Amazon KDP Support
  5. Numbers: A TikTok Experiment As an Indie Author (the yay, the nay, and what it costs), pre-order numbers and more
Self-pub corner

#Selfpub corner – My experience with #Netgalley

Elodie

#Selfpub corner button My back is slowly starting to get better. I still walk a bit crouched and I can’t do certain movements, nor sudden movements but it’s better… And it’s time for #selfpub corner! Since I’ve been updating my business plans and doing more research and all that, I thought it was high time to start again. Plus, I love reading others’ experiences . Time to give back 🙂

MY EXPERIENCE WITH NETGALLEY

  • How to put up your book on Netgalley as a selfpub author?

There are different options for selfpub authors. You can book a spot for different lengths where someone else is handling everything for you. I used Patchwork Press in the past and loved working with them. And I know that Xpresso Book Tours is also offering this service now. You can also try to find a co-op where you can put as many books as you want within a year (one at a time) and where you need to handle some of the requesting and so on… I love being in a co-op. I love being able to switch my books easily and to know that I have a spot for each of them without having to worry. I think the co-op works best when you have a lot of books coming out in one year. And if you like being hands-on on certain aspects. You can also “rent” your spot when you’re not using it.

  • Is it expensive?

It’s always relative, isn’t it? 🙂 I think that having a book on Netgalley really helps to get your book in front of thousands of readers/reviewers. For a month, $60 seems to be the price on both Patchwork Press & Xpresso Book Tours. The co-op is for a year and I pay $350 I think the co-op works well for me, because I already had two books up and I have 5 more planned before May next year. And it gives me quite a bit flexibility, when it comes to adding things to each book’s profile. For example, I now have files in the press kit section. Among other things.

  • What did I want to achieve with Netgalley?

I am not going to lie. Netgalley is scary. https://twitter.com/ENowodazkij/status/621281019937824768   Having your book up for review is even more nerve-wracking than having your book up for sale. I’m not sure why. And on Netgalley, you have people that review books, which means some are reading to review. I review when I read books that I really really love, so it’s not the same perspective. And it’s perfectly fine. It’s just getting used to, especially since you can opt to receive the feedback directly into your email. With Netgalley though you can really connect with readers. Whenever a reader clicks they wouldn’t mind connecting with the author, I send them an email. I am so grateful for them to take the time to review my little book and it’s a great way to inform them of what else I have going on and the fun things they can join and that I’m open for interviews and so on. Of course, early reviews are also important. And one of the easiest way to get them is to put your book up on Netgalley. In addition, cross-reviewing to sites like Amazon, B&N and Goodreads really helps authors. Of course, not sure how everything is evolving on Amazon since those reviews are not from verified purchases but that’s another story and I really am thankful when reviewers take the time to cross post their thoughts on my books. <3

  • How did it go?

I had lots of requests. LOTS of request. At least it felt like it 🙂 The first time around, I had 310 requests for review The second time, I had 193 requests for review. Overall, on Goodreads I had about 65 reviews from Netgalley and on Amazon, I think more than half of my reviews are from Netgalley members.

  • What happened after the book was no longer on Netgalley?

I am still getting reviews for One, Two, Three, and I am so happy it enabled me to connect with readers and reviewers.

  • Was it worth it?

Yes. Definitely yes.

  • Will I do it again?

Actually, I am. Right now. A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER is up on Netgalley (it was first available to my Facebook Group Members – Elodie’s Cozy Nook :))

Hope this was helpful/interesting.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to let me know 🙂 I’d love to hear your own experience with Netgalley if you’ve used it…and if you want me to tackle a certain topic, just ask and I’ll try my best 🙂

Self-pub corner

#Selfpub corner – Netgalley, yay or nay?

Elodie

#Selfpub corner button

It’s Friday on my side of the world…which means it’s time for #Selfpub Corner…

Topic of the week: Netgalley, yay or nay?

Every month, I will be asking a YAY or NAY question to selfpub authors.

Today, Elizabeth Briggs, author of MORE THAN MUSIC and Jennifer Ellision, author of THREATS OF SKY AND SEA as well as SISTERS OF WIND AND FLAME  agreed to play along.

We are looking at Netgalley and our own experience with it. I will be explaining the different ways of gathering reviews as well as the different ways to get your book listed on Netgalley next week.

Thanks again Liz and Jen!

Elizabeth Briggs . Netgalley

Ellision

 

Netgalley Elodie

 Hope this was helpful!

Let me know in the comments, and do not hesitate to ask me any questions 🙂

Next week’s topic: Netgalley, blog tours, Goodreads: how does one gather reviews?

Book Review

Summer Books Loving: Nantucket Blue and This is What Happy Looks Like…

Elodie

During the summer time, when the sun shines (or should be shining), I like to read books that are set at the beach, that take place during that season. Sometimes, I want something sweet and nice, I want to be swept off my feet. Other times, I´m ready for a surprise…But I need to feel the breeze and the sun and taste the ice cream.

I´ve been reading quite a few books that  fit the bill…So here´s my first Summer Books Loving post.

Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland

Publication Date: May 7th, 2013

For Cricket Thompson, a summer like this one will change everything. A summer spent on Nantucket with her best friend, Jules Clayton, and the indomitable Clayton family. A summer when she’ll make the almost unattainable Jay Logan hers. A summer to surpass all dreams. Some of this turns out to be true. Some of it doesn’t.  When Jules and her family suffer a devastating tragedy that forces the girls apart, Jules becomes a stranger whom Cricket wonders whether she ever really knew. And instead of lying on the beach working on her caramel-colored tan, Cricket is making beds and cleaning bathrooms to support herself in paradise for the summer. But it’s the things Cricket hadn’t counted on–most of all, falling hard for someone who should be completely off-limits–that turn her dreams into an exhilarating, bittersweet reality. A beautiful future is within her grasp, and Cricket must find the grace to embrace it. If she does, her life could be the perfect shade of Nantucket blue

Book review: Thank you NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for the e-galley of this book. It´s another one of those summer books that in my view takes you a  bit by surprise. Cricket isn´t your usual type of narrator because she´s not the one the tragedy happens to. At least not directly. And I found that a change from what I read in the past. She´s the best friend. But that comes to show that tragedies affect people in different manners…Cricket can also be selfish and a bit infuriating. But in my view, that also made her a well-rounded character because I didn´t disconnect with her when that happened. And I think here lays the magic of a book, when you know you want to spend the highs and the lows with a character. The romance was sweet, not totally unexpected. I saw it coming but it still made my heart beat faster. I know I´ll be picking up the next book.

This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

Publication Date: April 2nd, 2013

If fate sent you an email, would you answer? When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O’Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds.  Then Graham finds out that Ellie’s Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media’s spotlight at all costs?

Book review: I absolutely adored The Statistical Probability of Love At First Sight and wasn´t disappointed by This Is What Happy Looks Like. While reading, I found myself smiling and rooting for the main characters. That and I´ve been wanting to go to Maine ever since finishing this book.  It has everything I look for when dreaming about the summer: the water, the small town, characters I would love to be friends with, and a story that holds its own, that doesn´t compromise but is still full of sweets and butterflies. Sometimes, in those type of stories, the characters become simply another version of a well versed model. Graham and Ellie feel like people. Graham has a pet pig. Ellie has dreams and quirks and her relationship with her mother just felt “real.”  Everyone around them doesn´t feel “added” to the story but has part of it. Personally, Jennifer E. Smith is a must-buy author for me and one I know to turn to when I want to work on my craft.

Have you read a book that transported you to a new place recently?

Book Review, Books

Book review: DARE YOU TO (Katie McGarry) <3

Elodie

I read and really enjoyed PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry so I was anxious to get my hands on DARE YOU TO. Thanks to Netgalley and HarlequinTeen, I was able to devour the book months before its release.

And let me tell you one little secret:

I loved it.

Even more than PUSHING THE LIMITS.

Summary from Goodreads.com:

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk’s home life, they’d send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom’s freedom and her own happiness. That’s how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn’t want her and going to a school that doesn’t understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn’t get her, but does….
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can’t tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn’t be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won’t let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all…

Release Date: May 28th, 2013

Sometimes, you have books it´s hard to explain when exactly you fell into a story. For DARE YOU TO, I can tell you that the first scene got me hooked. Ryan is a total cocky jock in that scene but he seems real. And the chemistry with Beth was here from the beginning. After that first scene, I needed to know how those two would meet again.

From there on, here are a few things that kept me turning the pages:

  • Beth. She´s a complicated character with many layers, fears and insecurities. IPage after page, glimpses of her past, her relationship with her uncle, her allegiance to her mother despite everything show how tough she´s trying to balance, how some decisions can do ricochet and have an impact.
  • Ryan. Ryan has flaws, he has issues, dreams and he´s just this funny, charming guy you wished you could have met while in High school.
  • The chemistry/banter between Ryan and Beth. They definitely have INSTA-LUST but not being able to stand each other means they´re trying to fight their chemistry – that just makes for good reading 😛
  • Cast of secondary characters: The uncle, his wife, Ryan´s friends, Ryan´s brother, Beth´s best friend…the appearance of Noah and Isaiah…They all play a role in the story, they all leap through the pages…Katie McGarry can pick any of them to write another story and I´ll read it.

And because I like quotes, here are a few ones:

  • Ryan has this blank, way too innocent expression. “Don’t worry, Mr. Risk. I’d love to help Elisabeth.” He turns to me and smiles. This smile isn’t genuine or heartwarming, but cocky as hell. Bring it, jock boy. Your best won’t be good enough.
  • “I won’t let you go.” I blink. As if he could stop me. “You won’t let me go.” “No, I won’t let you go. You’re mine and I don’t lose.”
  • “There are times when you stand on the cusp of moments so huge, you know you’ll remember them forever. This is that moment for me and for Ryan.”

And for more information on DARE YOU TO, those posts are pretty great:

Book Review, Books

Book review – Also Known As…

Elodie

Whenever I get approved for a book in NetGalley, little  butterflies put on their reading glasses in my stomach and fly around happily. When I received the email about ALSO KNOWN AS, they were not only flying around, they were drawing banners saying “Reading is cool”.

Also Known As

Summary: Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She’ll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school’s security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover.

Expected publication: February 26th 2013 by Bloomsbury Juvenile US

Last year, after several bloggers raved about AUDREY, WAIT! by Robin Benway…I decided to see what all the enthusiasm was about and wow, two words: THE. VOICE. Robin Benway managed in Audrey, Wait! to show how a voice can carry a book. Don´t get me wrong, I loved the story of AUDREY, WAIT! too but like with Courtney Summers, I fell in love with the characters due to their voice.

ALSO KNOWN AS doesn´t disappoint. The voice of the main character, Maggie, is spot on. Again. The entire cast of characters leaps from the pages. I loved her best friend from school Roux. Roux has so many different facets and she´s the type of friend you want to have by your side. Jesse Oliver is definitely aggravatingly cute and the story moves at a fast pace.

The entire spy angle is more Spy Kids than Hanna and it is not always present as Maggie discovers who she is in that book while making friends, exploring New York City.

ALSO KNOWN AS is the type of book that you want to pick up when you want something different but still familiar, when you want a light clever read, and words that make you laugh.

What are you reading right now?

Book Review, Books

I missed my bedtime for PUSHING THE LIMITS (Book review)

Elodie

First, thanks to Netgalley and HarlequinTeen for enabling me to read PUSHING THE LIMITS by Katie McGarry a tad earlier than its official publication date. I loved it so much that I pre-ordered a copy. Be warned, my emotions ran high throughout this entire book. My husband was not happy about the fact that I read it until late at night and could not put it down during the morning, thus making me a bit late.

“I won’t tell anyone, Echo. I promise.” Noah tucked a curl behind my ear. It had been so long since someone touched me like he did. Why did it have to be Noah Hutchins? His dark brown eyes shifted to my covered arms. “You didn’t do that-did you? It was done to you?” No one ever asked that question. They stared. They whispered. They laughed. But they never asked.

So wrong for each other…and yet so right.

It’s like meeting two people for the first time and not expecting you would click but you do and you KNOW you were meant to run into each other.

Both Noah and Echo have a voice since it’s told in alternate POV. They both resonated and shone or cut through the pages (depending on the moment).

Let me tell you why I lost sleep because of this book:

1. Noah. Noah. Noah. Did I mention Noah? This guy reminded me of my own male character in my WiP so I may be a tad bias but Noah is – loss of words – well he is complicated. He has a golden heart, he has problems, he made me laugh and he made me cringe. Totally swoon-worthy even with his issues.

2. Echo. She broke my heart. And I wanted to reach out to her and tell her that I would be like her best friend Lila, I would sit with her at lunch and I wouldn’t ignore her or whisper or make fun of her.

3. Noah and Echo together. Hot, steamy hot. Real. Fun. They open up to one another in such a way that again I want to wrap them in a hug and tell them they’re much stronger than they give themselves credit for.

4. The rest of the cast. Noah’s little brothers. I think I went “awwwwwwwww” every single time there was a scene with them. Echo’s dad and stepmother, the difficulties, the pain, again all felt so real and so painful. Echo’s friends, Noah’s friends…

5. Because it felt like I knew them: this one is totally subjective (maybe some of the other ones too – hmmm pondering away about the meaning of subjectivity when it comes to my reviews – pondering done with no tangible results) but I almost could be sitting in the same classroom as them, I could laugh at their jokes and smell the burger at the mall. I connected with both characters. Maybe it’s the alternate POV but you really can get into both their heads and it’s honest. When Noah is feeling “hot and dirty” you know it, when he deals with his feelings you know it, when Echo freaks out, you freak out right along with her. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect but I let myself be carried by this story.

WikiCommons
I love how mythology plays a role in this book too 😀

Two of my favorite quotes (please keep in mind that this was an e-galley so maybe they have changed…). There are many more but I don’t want to say too too much…

“Luke used to give me butterflies. Noah spawned mutant pterodactyls.”

“We’d read about sirens in English this fall; Greek mythology bullshit about women so beautiful, their voices so enchanting, that men did anything for them. Turned out that mythology crap was real because every time I saw her, I lost my mind.”

So, tell me which upcoming books are you most looking forward to?

Book Review, young adult

Goddess Interrupted – A review and my take on mythology….

Elodie

I´ve mentioned this before: I love mythology. I focused part of my Master´s thesis on the re-telling of MEDEA by Christa Wolf using feminism and new historicism theories. I immersed myself in the evolution of women´s image through the different adaptations of the myth. I also looked at MEDEA through Christa Wolf´s lens in regards to the divided Germany and her own personal history.

I breathed MEDEA for months. Christa Wolf did a big u-turn: in her story, Medea is not a child-murderer. I could spend hours discussing her version but this post is about GODDESS INTERRUPTED (sequel of The Goddess Test). Thanks to Netgalley, I read an ARC of this book on my kindle 🙂

Summary from Goodreads: Kate Winters has won immortality. But if she wants a life with Henry in the Underworld, she’ll have to fight for it.Becoming immortal wasn’t supposed to be the easy part. Though Kate is about to be crowned Queen of the Underworld, she’s as isolated as ever. And despite her growing love for Henry, ruler of the Underworld, he’s becoming ever more distant and secretive. Then, in the midst of Kate’s coronation, Henry is abducted by the only being powerful enough to kill him: the King of the Titans.As the other gods prepare for a war that could end them all, it is up to Kate to save Henry from the depths of Tartarus. But in order to navigate the endless caverns of the Underworld, Kate must enlist the help of the one person who is the greatest threat to her future.Henry’s first wife, Persephone.

Some reviews focus on how Aimee Carter changed the myth or how this book doesn´t live up to the expectations one has from Greek mythology or the story of Persephone in general…For me, it did not matter. I wanted a story to entertain me and it did. I wanted a story which takes a new take on a myth and it did. I wanted a story in which I can feel for the characters and it somewhat did. There are certain part of the stories during which I wished I could speak to Kate to get some sense into her but in a way, I enjoyed this because this meant I let myself dive into the story enough to have an opinion on the actions of the main characters. I´ll pick up the last installment of the trilogy when it comes out 😀

Tell me, are there any adaptation of famous stories that you really enjoyed reading?