Today, a short recap about our much-needed vacation: we went to Vermont (beautiful!) and ate delicious food including gluten free pancakes that has become our favorite pancake (Will Flour Pancake Mix is available here: https://www.willflour.com/).
Those pancakes are the best both the Chemical Engineer and I ever had. You can get the pancake mix here.
If you want to check out my book’s website: www.theleftoverbride.com or if you’d like to listen to the almost first 40 minutes of the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook, click here.
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
Today, I am sharing a patchwork episode as I recorded every single day, documenting my progress in my revision of #TheLeftoverBride. Come revise with me and also discover what topics I googled on each different day (for this story). 🙂
If you want to check out my book’s website: www.theleftoverbride.com or if you’d like to listen to the almost first 40 minutes of the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook, click here.
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
Today, I discuss revising #TheLeftoverBride. After feedback from my critique partners, I cut the first five chapters from about 16000 words to a bit over 8000. And it is a roller coaster of emotions full of doubts but also moments of success…Plus do writers get decision fatigue?
For the first time ever, I recorded myself for this podcast episode and uploaded the video on YouTube.
And I may have written some of my favorite sentences during this round of revision.
My stomach flutters in a way I thought long forgotten, buried deep under years of missed chances and pillows soaked with tears.
Nothing to do with the redhead staring up at me like I stomped all over her heart. My jaw clenches with years of regret, remorse and fucked-up chances.
If you want to check out my book’s website: www.theleftoverbride.com or if you’d like to listen to the almost first 40 minutes of the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook, click here.
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
On the podcast today, I dicuss going wide with my audiobooks: changing their ACX exclusive status to non-exclusive and bringing them to more e-retailers and libraries via Findaway Voices.
On ACX you can now do so after 90 days. And Findaway Voices has a template which you can just copy and paste. In addition, I talk about some market data I found in the US and in France about the audiobook market. I also refer and quote from an interview on audiobooks with Nana Malone. She also talks about her writing process and being herself a book cover model (including her own at some point) because there was no/not enough pictures of dark-skinned Black women to represent her characters on covers. And then I go a bit deeper into bringing my French audiobooks to the French-speaking audiobook market.
When it comes to struggles and smiles in my writing and self-publishing week: it includes the roller coaster of emotions that is sending the first 1/3 of #TheLeftoverBride to my critique partners. I’ve been hard at work and am currently polishing the rest of the novel but it is a lot of feelings. 🙂 And more!
If you want to check out my book’s website: www.theleftoverbride.com or if you’d like to listen to the almost first 40 minutes of the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook, click here.
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
On the podcast Friday, I talk about “Preparing for a bestseller or how I’m adapting my self-publishing mindset, exploring my strengths for #TheLeftoverBride and no spoilers…”
I don’t know if “adapting” is really the correct term. I’ve been thinking about preparing the launch of #TheLeftoverBride and preparing for it as if it will be a bestseller so taking all the necessary steps so that if it does, my other books (my backlist) are also ready.
Following my conversation with Ines Johnson about her use of social media as author and Erin Bowman’s Instagram post about her own use of Instagram, I’m exploring my strenghts and putting the focus on my characters, creating social media profiles for #TheLeftoverBride, detaching myself a little from my book in a way.
Oh and I also talk about not reading spoilers anymore, and the struggles and smiles of my self-publishing and writing week.
If you want to check out my book’s website: www.theleftoverbride.com or if you’d like to listen to the almost first 40 minutes of the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook, click here.
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
I haven’t done a “What’s Up Wednesday” in years. Literally. Since 2015 based on my post. And Jaime and Erin no longer blog, but I remember how fun those posts were and also how cute their designs were. I’ve added a few catergories…
What I’m reading
I am trying to carve time for the amazing book that is WILD WOMEN AND THE BLUES by Denny S. Bryce. It is really oh so good.
In a stirring and impeccably researched novel of Jazz-age Chicago in all its vibrant life, two stories intertwine nearly a hundred years apart, as a chorus girl and a film student deal with loss, forgiveness, and love…in all its joy, sadness, and imperfections.
“Why would I talk to you about my life? I don’t know you, and even if I did, I don’t tell my story to just any boy with long hair, who probably smokes weed.You wanna hear about me. You gotta tell me something about you. To make this worth my while.”
1925: Chicago is the jazz capital of the world, and the Dreamland Café is the ritziest black-and-tan club in town. Honoree Dalcour is a sharecropper’s daughter, willing to work hard and dance every night on her way to the top. Dreamland offers a path to the good life, socializing with celebrities like Louis Armstrong and filmmaker Oscar Micheaux. But Chicago is also awash in bootleg whiskey, gambling, and gangsters. And a young woman driven by ambition might risk more than she can stand to lose.
2015: Film student Sawyer Hayes arrives at the bedside of 110-year-old Honoree Dalcour, still reeling from a devastating loss that has taken him right to the brink. Sawyer has rested all his hope on this frail but formidable woman, the only living link to the legendary Oscar Micheaux. If he’s right—if she can fill in the blanks in his research, perhaps he can complete his thesis and begin a new chapter in his life. But the links Honoree makes are not ones he’s expecting . . .
Piece by piece, Honoree reveals her past and her secrets, while Sawyer fights tooth and nail to keep his. It’s a story of courage and ambition, hot jazz and illicit passions. And as past meets present, for Honoree, it’s a final chance to be truly heard and seen before it’s too late. No matter the cost . . .
The Chemical Engineer and I are currently watching FOR ALL MANKIND.
In an alternative version of 1969, the Soviet Union beats the United States to the Moon, and the space race continues on for decades with still grander challenges and goals.
We are on the last episode of Season 2, I think. Below if the trailer for season 1.
And we are also watching The Lost Pirate Kingdom on Netflix: The Lost Pirate Kingdom is a 2021 docuseries released by Netflix. This historical drama portrays the rise and fall of the eponymous early-18th century pirate republic based in Nassau, Bahamas. The series begins in 1715, shortly after the close of the War of the Spanish Succession, which pitted England against Spain. England had waged the war on the cheap, resorting to the use of privateers rather than incurring the expense of fully funding the Royal Navy.(Source: Wikipedia)
What I’m listening to:
I’m currently listening to several podcasts pretty regularly. Here are three of them.
My Imaginary Friends with L. Penelope: The My Imaginary Friends podcast is a weekly, behind the scenes look at the journey of a working author navigating traditional and self-publishing.
True Crime Obsessed: True Crime Obsessed Recapping True Crime Documentaries with Humor, Sass, and a well timed Garbage Bell!
The Murder Squad: Jensen & Holes: EACH WEEK RIDE SHOTGUN with retired cold case investigator Paul Holes and investigative journalist Billy Jensen as they attempt to solve an unsolved murder case using a variety of methods, from routine shoe-leather work to advanced technologies like familial DNA searches and social media geotargeting.
Revising #TheLeftoverBride…Part of this revision is adding 2 chapters of a Christmas Tree Lightning…And let me tell you: Sorcha and Ryan are pretty cute and those chapters are going to be very fun and Christmas-y. 🙂 And I’m getting some of my inspiration for those scenes from having gone to the Chincoteague Christmas Parade years ago…And some of the vendors on the way to the parade may be inspired by all the delicious food at the Christmas markets in Germany.
In addition to #TheLeftoverBride, quite a few things. You can hear details on my podcast: “A Self-Published Author’s Diary“. For example, I added the first almost 40 minutes of the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook on YouTube…
Would love to hear what you’re waching, listening to, reading or writing these days! Let me know in the comments!
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
Today, on the latest episode of “A Self-Published Author’s Diary” podcast, I am answering two questions I’ve received from a reader named Amanda (Thanks, Amanda :-)):
Did I always know I would write for readers?
And where does that confidence come from?
I go back into my junior high writing of poems and my high school writing of romance and my later years of fanfiction writing to answer the first question. And when it comes to the second question and the confidence aspect, I try to analyze a bit where that confidence comes from. 🙂 And how fleeting it is throughout the process.
I talk about my very scientific writing process of “ooohhh” and “yay” and about my love for romance books. Readers pick up those books knowing what the ending will be and yet we still get so enthralled by them. I think that’s really a testimony to the magic and the art of writing romance.
I also mention the podcast “My Imaginary Friends with L. Penelope”‘s latest episode which I recommend for all writers struggling with their manuscript: https://lpenelope.com/podcast/
And I give an update on my upcoming plan for #TheLeftoverBride cover reval…Don’t forget #TheLeftoverBride is available for pre-order for only $0.99. Choose your favorite e-retailer here: https://books2read.com/TheLeftoverBride
As always, thank you for subscribing, rating and reviewing!
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
Have you already subscribed, rated and reviewed to my podcast?
This truly helps! And takes only a few minutes. Thank you. 🙂
Don’t forget I have two giveaways
Giveaway 1: Do you want to win a copy of BRIGHT by Ines Johnson?
BRIGHT by Ines Johnson: a new adult romance touched by fantasy, mixed with science fiction, and a dash of the paranormal.
If you’ve ever wished upon a star, if you’ve felt the glow of finding where you belong, if you know the brilliance of first love, then you’ll fall for Bright.
Would you like to win a copy of BRIGHT by Ines Johnson? BRIGHT is a new adult romance touched by fantasy, mixed with science fiction, and a dash of the paranormal. Check out the giveaway here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/35c42cc28/? #books #book #reading
Giveaway 2: Do you want to win a copy of HAND OVER HIS HEART (The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch Book 2) or a copy of SWEET CAROL by Shanae Johnson?
HAND OVER HIS HEART: A scholar reaching for her dreams. A hero living on borrowed time. Can she make them a permanent arrangement before his time runs out?
SWEET CAROL: Ariana Carol has the voice of a siren. But after an embarrassing incident on stage, she walked away with stage fright so severe that she barely speaks. So when she’s singing late one night to the crashing waves, she’s shocked to find that a handsome man hears her voice.
Win a copy of sweet romance novel HAND OVER HIS HEART by Shanae Johnson or a copy of sweet holiday romance novel SWEET CAROL by Shanae Johnson… All details here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/35c42cc27/? #books #book #reading
“A Self-Published Author’s Diary” Podcast with @enowodazkij is now available on Stitcher and Amazon Music. Choose your favorite streaming platform: https://anchor.fm/elodie-nowodazkij #WritingCommunity #writingpodcast #selfpublishing #indiewriter
Thank you so much to everyone who has listened and subscribed to my podcast. Don’t hesitate to leave a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify or Google Podcasts. or Stitcher..
And thank you to everyone who’s already added #THELEFTOVERBRIDE on Goodreads and those of you who already pre-ordered it (on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo).
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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…:-)
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
Today on the podcast and the blog, it’s all about selling my e-books and audiobooks directly to readers (got a lot of information from this post by The Creative Penn), using my backlist , talking about Kim’s Convenience (and storytelling), the happy revision feeling, time management and expectations and that happy “I got that one paragraph” feeling from revising #TheLeftoverBride.
I can’t believe it’s almost Friday! Well, when this article will be published, it will be Friday. So…Happy Friday! The Chemical Engineer and I have started watching a documentary about pirates on Netflix and we just started watching the 5th season of Kim’s Convenience. We really really enjoy this show and are disappointed there won’t be a 6th season. I know the actors really wanted a 6th season to happen and I’ve just read what Simu Liu (the actor who plays Jung) had to say about all of this and if you’re interested into the back story and the frustration of the cast and how their “writer’s room lacked both East Asian and female representation, and also lacked a pipeline to introduce diverse talents. Aside from Ins, there were no other Korean voices in the room.” He mentions that many in the casts were trained screewriters and tried to have more input…He also talks about their storylines and more. I also read a NYT article by Priya Krishna which was interesting on the symbol of food in Kim’s Convenience: Why ‘Kim’s Convenience’ Is ‘Quietly Revolutionary’: In not explaining every detail of Korean food culture, the award-winning Canadian sitcom speaks volumes. When watching Kim’s Convenience, I usually just watch it. Sometimes, I do try to see how they manage to convey the humor and the tenderness and the family bond…Always wondering about storytelling.
When I talked to Ines Johnson last week, she talked about what it means for her to have her books available widely. Here’s a reminder of what she said. If you haven’t listened to our chat, it’s the the episode right before this one.
And I’ve mentioned that I was thinking about moving some of my books to KU for three months to see how many new readers I may gain. And I still will do that. But I think I will do that for 3 months and then go back wide, because being wide also means that you can sell your books directly to readers.
And this is an avenue I’ve started considering. I am currently growing my mailing list with BookFunnel. On BookFunnel you can join “grow your newsletter” by joining other authors offering books for free and then every author sends the promo to their newsletters and readers can join to get the book they want. You can also join “sales” promo which is basically the same principle but instead of getting email addresses for books readers download, the links send then to a sales page on BookFunnel.
As I’m participating in “growing your newsletter” promos, I actually currently have that particular mailing list get a different automation when they sign up. Once, they’ve gone through the automation, I then move them to my mailing list with a tag that’s specific to the promo and book they signed up with.
As part of my automation, I could definitely add a coupon for the second book in the series if readers buy the book directly to me.
Because of this seismic shift, Alexandra Nicolajsen, Director of Social Media and Digital Sales at Kensington Publishing, has been marketing books over a longer timespan — sometimes a year or longer — as opposed to focusing mainly on the first six or eight weeks after on-sale. She says it’s a different way of thinking about how a campaign is done; though she still aims to frontload her marketing budget and make a big splash on launch, she allocates her marketing budget over a longer timespan to maintain momentum long after the publication date and sustain sales well into the backlist period.
And it’s true for selfpubbed books as well, meaning that while we’re always advised (and it’s good advice) to make sure we write the next book, I don’t think we shouldn’t keep putting some time into marketing our older backlist. And that can be done in many different ways.
Let’s say one of your books in your backlist becomes an (exclusive) reader magnet – a book you offer for free for readers to join your mailing lists? You could then offer another book in the series, if it’s a series, if they buy it from you directly…Or maybe offer another book with the same trope? Or maybe survey them and ask them what they’re in the mood to read?
For me, offering it as a discount would be as thank you for reading and as a way to build my relationship with the readers receiving my emails and reading my emails.
Quick side-note: I went through my newsletter this week and am about to delete almost 100 subscribers who had not opened any of my last 10 emails. I know sometimes the “open rate” can be misleading so I did send the readers on that list a quick email, asking them to click a link if they wanted to keep on receiving emails from me. I think I’ve read this in Newsletter Ninja: How to Become an Author Mailing List Expert by Tammi Labrecque.
That campaign had a open rate of about 6.5% and click-rate of 4.3% which is, as expected, way lower than my regular campaigns. In a few days, I’ll make sure you to delete the people who have not clicked on the “I want to stay” link in the email.
Between Mark Dawson’s class talking about focusing on the newsletter, Ines mentioning every single time she sends an email, she sells books and the books I’m currently reading on “superpowering” one’s newsletter, I am definitely re-vamping my newsletter.
The one thing I need to keep in mind is to make sure I divide each big tasks into smaller manageable tasks. Creating that store for the A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER audiobook and the ALWAYS SECOND BEST ebook for example doesn’t happened in one day.
And it didn’t happen in one day because I am still revising almost every day and I also had a deadline for my freelance part-time research job and other things on my to-do list.
So, why did I choose PayHip and how did I go about it?
Well, the BookFunnel blog mentioned PayHip and I noticed this is the site Ines used on her website…So, I did a bit more research and landed on this video and blog article by The Creative Penn: How To Sell Ebooks And Audiobooks Direct With Payhip And Bookfunnel – Really she has everything covered from how to set it up…and why…and things to keep in mind.
One of the things she mentions is that to remember that if readers buy directly from you, your books will not climb in the ranks.
What took me the longest wasn’t to get my store ready, it was to update Always Second Best before putting it up.
What is my goal? My goal with PayHip is to make an extra $10 a month within the first two months (so in June and July) and then make an extra $30 every month starting in August.
How will I go about it? What is my plan?
I’m going to update my website to ensure that it is clear people can buy books directly from me.
I will focus on Always Second Best as an on-boarding sequence for readers who join from BookFunnel with A Summer Like No Other as well as with readers who sign up to receive exclusive scenes from A Summer Like No Other. I’m clear on BookFunnel that A Summer Like No Other is also available for free at all e-retailers. And I know I need a reader magnet that’s exclusive and I’m going to work on it…but in addition I also have plenty of exclusive bonus scenes for my readers’ newsletter.
The first email from the on-boarding sequence will be the exclusive scenes + discount code to buy Always Second Best directly from me + a code for a discount for the A Summer Like No Other audiobook.
Current limitations / research I need to do
I currently cannot put my Gavert City series because it will be for 3 months in Kindle Unlimited.
While the PayHip store is available in many languages and thus, I could try to do the same with my French books: for example, I could offer the French version of A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER as a reader magnet and then do an on-boarding sequence for the French version of ALWAYS SECOND BEST, Bookfunnel isn’t available in French. One of the positive aspect of using BookFunnel is that they also deal with the technical aspect of delivery…I need to check if there’s another service that might do it in another language.
I think the main struggle this week was feeling sometimes like I didn’t accomplish enough or didn’t organize myself well enough, even though as I explained I did accomplish a lot of things. But, I didn’t finish my revision. And I only added one book and one audiobook to my store on PayHip and via BookFunnel. Sometimes, I feel like I need to do everything all the time. Quick and efficiently and accomplish everything. And honestly, because you know this is a diary, part of this relationship with time may be due to all the treatments I have received and when getting diagnosed feeling like the rug was swept from under my feet…Something I need to talk to my therapist about a bit more probably. (So much more about that in the podcast).
I did smile revising. I stayed in the moment as I made the following sentences (and more) shine. My two critique partners and I are exchanging snippets of our stories in Google Chat to encourage each other and also have accountability partners. 🙂 And I may have sent them three or four version of the sentences below. I’ll do a post and maybe a video soon about the transformation of these sentences.
Ryan Sawyer and I together are like those designs I think will be absolutely perfect, but I can’t seem to get right… I spend hours adding a line here, erasing a line there, hoping that by one magic stroke of my favorite pencil I might make them work.
But more often than not, no matter how much time I spend and no matter how I can still picture them in my mind, I can’t fix them on paper.
And no matter how much I love them, I put them away because that’s what best for me.
But no one ever said that was easy. Letting those designs go? Nothing compared to Ryan Sawyer skating away all those years ago, leaving me behind and stretching the thin but resilient fabric of my heart until it tore apart. I put a patch over it by moving forward, but I’m not sure I ever stitched it back together.
Source: #TheLeftoverBride – available for pre-order for only $0.99 on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo and you can add it on Goodreads.
And I guess here would be a good reminder that #TheLeftoverBride (my holiday rom-com that I’m describing as a sexier Hallmark movie) is available for pre-order for only $0.99 at all e-retailers (Amazon, iTunes, Kobo) and you can add it on Goodreads.
A Self-Published Author’s Diary is on YouTube and Instagram!
Giveaway 1: Do you want to win a copy of BRIGHT by Ines Johnson?
BRIGHT by Ines Johnson: a new adult romance touched by fantasy, mixed with science fiction, and a dash of the paranormal.
If you’ve ever wished upon a star, if you’ve felt the glow of finding where you belong, if you know the brilliance of first love, then you’ll fall for Bright.
Would you like to win a copy of BRIGHT by Ines Johnson? BRIGHT is a new adult romance touched by fantasy, mixed with science fiction, and a dash of the paranormal. Check out the giveaway here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/35c42cc28/? #books #book #reading
Giveaway 2: Do you want to win a copy of HAND OVER HIS HEART (The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch Book 2) or a copy of SWEET CAROL by Shanae Johnson?
HAND OVER HIS HEART: A scholar reaching for her dreams. A hero living on borrowed time. Can she make them a permanent arrangement before his time runs out?
SWEET CAROL: Ariana Carol has the voice of a siren. But after an embarrassing incident on stage, she walked away with stage fright so severe that she barely speaks. So when she’s singing late one night to the crashing waves, she’s shocked to find that a handsome man hears her voice.
Win a copy of sweet romance novel HAND OVER HIS HEART by Shanae Johnson or a copy of sweet holiday romance novel SWEET CAROL by Shanae Johnson… All details here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/35c42cc27/? #books #book #reading
Have you ever wondered about selling your ebooks and audiobooks directly to your readers? I’m going to try and report back. Oh and talking about the revision process and using my backlist on “A Self-Published Author’s Diary” podcast with @enowodazkij https://anchor.fm/elodie-nowodazkij #WritingCommunity
Thank you so much to everyone who has listened and subscribed to my podcast. Don’t hesitate to leave a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify or Google Podcasts. or Stitcher..
And thank you to everyone who’s already added #THELEFTOVERBRIDE on Goodreads and those of you who already pre-ordered it (on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo).
Whoops! There was an error and we couldn't process your subscription. Please reload the page and try again.
(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…:-)
My Self-Pub Weekly Diary: Some Wins, Some Wobbles, and Absolutely Zero Words (on My Manuscripts)This episode is a daily mashup of behind-the-scenes of my self-publishing life including: libraries buying my ebooks, regaining my B&N vendor account, releasing a book (YAY!), but no words on my manuscripts (I did write bonus scenes).Also: trying to invigorate my Goodreads profile: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55359987.Elodie_NowAs always if you enjoy this podcast make sure to subscribe and leave a review.Thank you so much for listening!www.elodienowodazkij.com
Today, I am very happy to welcome Ines Johnson, who is a self-published author who has published 65 books under 2 pen names. A couple of weeks ago, I read on BookBub an article Ines wrote entitled: How I Make Six Figures as a Self-Published Author. By the way if you want to receive the BookBub latest book marketing tips and insights delivered to your inbox each week, you can click on the article and then on the right you can add your email. 🙂 And voilà…
So, in that article, Ines described how she learned from her mistakes and turned them around.
I’m Ines Johnson, author of paranormal romance with lots of kissing. I also write sweet western romances under the pen name Shanae Johnson. There’s kissing in those books too. Lots of authors who come on this blog are a pretty big deal. Me? I’m a pretty big failure. Funny thing is, that was the key to my success!
I failed. A lot. But each stumble taught me something and brought me closer toward the eventual path to success: I now make six figures as a self-published author. In this post, I’ll outline the top lessons I learned from these failures, so you can learn from my mistakes and get a leg up on your leap to six figures.
Today on the podcast (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and more), Ines Johnson not only shares her insights about the work behind her self-publishing success (goals and planning and advertising and brand and choosing to be wide and more), we also chat about her writing process that is influenced by her experience writing screenplays, why she’s not really on social media, how she rewards herself and so much more.
Here are just three excerpts from our almost hour long discussion.
Giveaway 1: Do you want to win a copy of BRIGHT by Ines Johnson?
BRIGHT by Ines Johnson: a new adult romance touched by fantasy, mixed with science fiction, and a dash of the paranormal.
If you’ve ever wished upon a star, if you’ve felt the glow of finding where you belong, if you know the brilliance of first love, then you’ll fall for Bright.
Would you like to win a copy of BRIGHT by Ines Johnson? BRIGHT is a new adult romance touched by fantasy, mixed with science fiction, and a dash of the paranormal. Check out the giveaway here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/35c42cc28/? #books #book #reading
Giveaway 2: Do you want to win a copy of HAND OVER HIS HEART (The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch Book 2) or a copy of SWEET CAROL by Shanae Johnson?
HAND OVER HIS HEART: A scholar reaching for her dreams. A hero living on borrowed time. Can she make them a permanent arrangement before his time runs out?
SWEET CAROL: Ariana Carol has the voice of a siren. But after an embarrassing incident on stage, she walked away with stage fright so severe that she barely speaks. So when she’s singing late one night to the crashing waves, she’s shocked to find that a handsome man hears her voice.
Win a copy of sweet romance novel HAND OVER HIS HEART by Shanae Johnson or a copy of sweet holiday romance novel SWEET CAROL by Shanae Johnson… All details here: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/35c42cc27/? #books #book #reading
New feature, maybe? The things I struggled with this week in regards self-publishing…Hmmm. The time it took me to update In Diesem Einen Sommer (A SUMMER LIKE NO OTHER in German), including updating the keywords. I used PublisherRocket again and discovered a few keywords that I really needed to change. There was again one that had 0 dollars in revenue and a very low number of searches. And yes, granted the searches are just an approximation but still..
Smiling? Quite a few reasons. I wrote a plan to get this revision done and basically, this is really a result of listening to L. Penelope’s podcast who every week talks about her plan for the week and also talking with Ines Johnson in this week’s chat. 🙂 And I made quite a bit of progress in my revision.
Receiving emails from readers, including my first readers from Austria, I think about my bilingual books and an email from a reader who fell in love with Em & Nick’s story in A SUMMER LIKE ANOTHER. Annnnd attenting the Maryland Romance Writers’ online meeting which this week was: “May MRW Chapter Meeting: Happy Holidays! with Stacey Agdern & Janice Lynn.” Happy Holidays! Stacey Agdern, author of “Miracles and Menorahs”, and Hallmark and multi-published author, Janice Lynn discuss the magic of Holiday-themed books and what it takes to make them special, even when your deadline lands in sunblock and sandal season.
And that meeting prompted me to add a few more Christmas-y details in the first few chapters of #TheLeftoverBride which takes place during the holiday season. It already has the holiday vibe but I added some details at the beginning and it made me smile as I wrote them…so yay!
And I did a major revision, I change “that he’s good at” to “that he excels at”, which may seem small but I don’t know, it gave me that happy revision-makes-my-book-stronger feeling so definitely a reason to smile.
Another reason? This talk with Ines Johnson.
Do you have a question for me about self-publishing or writing?
Listen to Ines Johnson talk about the work behind her self-publishing success, her writing process, planning and so much more on “A Self-Published Author’s Diary” podcast with @enowodazkij https://anchor.fm/elodie-nowodazkij #WritingCommunity
Thank you so much to everyone who has listened and subscribed to my podcast. Don’t hesitate to leave a review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, follow on Spotify or Google Podcasts…
And thank you to everyone who’s already added #THELEFTOVERBRIDE on Goodreads and those of you who already pre-ordered it (on Amazon, iTunes, Kobo).
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Elodie Nowodazkij 