#SweetsForLove, writing

WIP Wednesday…

Are you ready for a little snippet from #SweetsForLove (set to Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift – Taylor’s version :-))?

“Are you a serial killer?”

The words tumble out of my mouth.

He raises one amused eyebrow. “Nope.”

“Married? Engaged? Seeing someone?”

“Nope. Nope. And nope.”

“Me either.”

And because he has no idea who I am. And because this won’t hurt anyone. And because I’m tired of being too careful…

“Can I kiss you?” My voice is barely above a whisper.

“Can I kiss you back?”

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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
writing

The Next Big Thing…

I´ve been tagged for The Next Big Thing blog hop by several wonderful people with awesome projects:

  • Robin is writing a YA horror novel (with ghosts!)
  • Rachel is writing a YA contemporary some of her readers have compared to an angrier THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE
  • Heather wrote a YA paranormal (that I personally felt had a flair of Christopher Pike´s REMEMBER ME 🙂

My WiP is still a first draft. I´m actually a bit under 35k into it and I haven´t talked about it much on this blog…so here we go:

What is the working title of your book?

So far: GUILTY….it might also change to ANGEL FACE…hmmm not sure.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

When I was a teenager, I had to write a paper in my German class and I think it was on the death penalty. I read a book by Victor Hugo as one of my sources. The one called The Last Day of a Condemned Man. One never knows exactly what happened to the protagonist, or what his crimes are but one of the things that really stayed with me for a long time is how the family of The Condemned Man suffers…and then recently, this particular point came back to me and I wondered how a teenage girl would do with her dad in jail. How her family was targeted when he got arrested. How she dealt with everything but the past is now coming back to haunt her. This idea mixed with the idea of beauty pageants…and the rest is history. Or well about 35k so far 😛

What genre does your book fall under?

YA romantic suspense

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Erin (yes, one can dream, no?)

Malik

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

No. Nope. Not yet. Okay all I have is this and please note this a total draft!

Seventeen-year-old Erin may have found a way to pay her way to Yale: becoming the next Miss Teen America. That is if she can keep the fact she´s the daughter of a serial killer secret. But, when Pulitzer Prize wannabee and forever crush Malik decides to write a story about her and people start being targeted, Erin realizes there may be more at stake than a crown. 

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I’d love to find an agent. Someone who will fall head over heels for my book and champion it. I guess time will tell 😀

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

I’m still on it.

What other books would you compare this story to in your genre?

Hmm it’s a tough one. It has a bit of a feel of THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING by Ashley Elston.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Beauty Queen pageants. Kisses. BFFs. Murder. Debate team. Journalism. Grandparents.  And more…

You´re all tagged! If you want to do it that is 😀