It’s been about a month since my last blog post. Hi! Wishing you all the words or time to think about your words, books that make you feel and warmth. Here’s a (non-exhaustive) recap from the last 30 days…
This past month, I spent a lot of my time (really, a LOT of my time) exchanging emails with Meta about my restricted Facebook Ads account. (your guess is as good as mine). My Facebook Ads account is now disabled. Read more about it in my Substack post, Dear Meta, It’s Not Me, It’s You…
I shared voice memos (and more) about my writing process on my FREE Patreon. If you’d like to listen to them and get early access and random musings and a CHAT (with a pickle), make sure you join…
I spent a bit less than two weeks in France–spending time with my family and enjoying walks and moments around the area where I grew up.
Rosoy…PierrefondsA CatDid you see the snail says “I’m beautiful”
Pictures from the plane… and the airport in Iceland…
The Chemical Engineer and I celebrated our engagement anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day ๐
For years, I’ve been thinking about splitting my Elodie Nowodazkij fiction in two. And it’s time. Read more about it in Two Heat Levels, One Author Brain (And A Little Bit of Hopefully Organized Chaos) here.
For book club, I read Heartless and couldn’t put it down… so I read Rebel Witch right after…. Love, love, love that duet! Have you read it?
Also Kristen called Heartless Hunter her fuck-it book… and I’m going to share more about my Fuck-It book aka Nice Guys… very soon.
Heartless HunterRebel Witch
My newsletters this month (in case you missed them :-)) – the latest one had a question about your favorite cover (and an exclusive access to the first 1.5 part of Nice Guys…)
Hi, it’s me, the author of this blog, it’s me… My last post? Letโs just say itโs been a while. So, I thought I’d share with you a bit of a recap of what I’ve been working on, sharing, updating.
Also Plato The Dog says hi…
NEW AUDIOBOOKS ON YOUTUBE….Also I now have 219 subscribers (are you one of them? Super subtle hint to ask you if you already subscribe…)
LA PEUR DANS LE SANG est dispo en livre audio sur Spotify, Apple, B&N, Kobo,Google Play et plus encore et est aussi maintenant sur YouTube
UN ETE PAS COMME LES AUTRES lu par Maya Belgnaoui est dispo gratuitement en livre audio sur Spotify, Apple, B&N, Kobo, Google Play, Amazon, Audible et plus encore et est aussi maintenant sur YouTube
RECORDING AN AUDIOBOOK IN FRENCH (follow along on YouTube)
And yep I’m recording LA PEUR DANS LES YEUX in French…
REVISING NICE GUYS DON’T KISS LIKE THAT AT CHRISTMAS…And updating my progress on Patreon (yep, I have a FREEPatreon)
You can read several chapters already… including this one on my FREE Patreon
Certain chapters take me longer than others, especially in the revision process… and this one feels like it needs to balance the emotions with the humor. It is a romcom. It is Adam and Eve. It is SO MUCH. (….)
Chapter 15. XXX-ADAM
Sheโs still wrapped around me, breath shaky against my neck, and I donโt say anything yet. Just let her feel it. Let myself feel it. Our damp skin, the messy sheets around us, the air that smells like her, like me, like us.
Eve had cancer… and is living a romcom. Fuck it, why not?
When I was revising, there was a moment that didnโt feel right. Why did Eve ghost Adam? After everything theyโd sharedโafter the way he made her feelโwhy wouldnโt she show up in Pittsburgh? Why did she feel like this couldnโt work?
I needed to really understand this to give them their second chance.
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 โ 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 รtรฉ 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 โ 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 โ 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 โ Alyssa in the Books https://youtu.be/I7rpvAGPgv4?si=4Oju1Ob5MjjukVNcBook Dictation for Beginners โ 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
Very excited about this pacing class by Ines Johnson…
I’ve backed this Kickstaster by Ines about pacing and more and I’m very much looking forward to it. While you can no longer back the project, Ines has a website with more information…I’ve taken her Writing Dirty class and I definitely think about it when I craft, um, certain scenes.
Celebrating Katy’s latest release which is a B&N Monthly Pick
I *am* planning to go to B&N next week to see this beauty in person… But I’m so so excited for Katy and her Lia and Beck and Isaiah to find their ways into your heart. EVERYTHING I PROMISED YOU…
In addition, I’ve been reading (the last one was House Of Glass by Sarah Pekkanen, which I could not put down), and watching XO, Kitty during my lunch break (because it makes me smile, not every episode, but still…) and making sure to stay informed (without spending hours scrolling, though, letโs be honest, I still scrollโฆ but still).
Thereโs so much happening right now, impacting so many people. Iโm about to call one of my representatives about how the NIH funding cuts could affect research on Hodgkinโs lymphoma. Past studies have shown that a significant portion of research funding for certain clinical trials comes from the NIH, and since Hodgkinโs is rare and not exactly the most profitable, these cuts could be devastatingโespecially for patients in smaller hospitals, not just the big ones. If you’d like to get informed about direct and indirect cuts, here are some articles:
And maybe you’re wondering why I’m bringing this up. Well, many reasons, but not to be dramatic, but I’m alive thanks to research. This is one of the topics I’ll bring up with my representatives when I talk to them.
Because writing is a creative process, and let me tell you, it’s much easier to write when I feel like I’ve done something. And, yes I’m going to keep wanting to bring joy and happiness and so much more through my books.
Thank you for reading โค
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