This episode is brought to you by: a shower, a hoarse voice from dictating, having grand and great plans I had to adjust due to fatigue. All of that got me thinking about ROMO. The Reality of Missing Out. Not FOMO. Not JOMO. The third thing.

I thought I'd made up the term. Yes, really. I was really proud of myself. I Googled it. I had not.

I talk about many things in this episode, including:

• dealing with declining profits from one year to another in my self-publishing business;
• the Kickstarter I'd love to do for Cancer Is Not My Brand (my upcoming nonfiction book) and why I'm not doing one right now, knowing my latest one for # The Leftover Bride audiobook Kickstarter didn't get fulfilled, but this isn't the only reason. I;
• about not going to InkersCon or the Write Better, Faster Academy digital conference this year, even though I really recommend both.
• about Ines Johnson's Romance Write Club Kickstarter, which I just backed, and how I'm learning that it's possible to look up to other authors and also not chase what they're doing (still learning that one).
• about how the reality of missing out, for me, is twofold...sometimes it's I cannot physically or emotionally do this right now, and sometimes it's I cannot financially or time-wise do this right now because it's not the best for my author business, and those are different. And then there's a third thing, which I figured out while recording (as one does, right?), which is realizing you're not actually missing out at all, because it may not be what you need at that moment.

If you're going through a hard time, I hope you feel a little less alone. That's the whole thing, really.

Links and resources mentioned:

• InkersCon — www.inkerscon.com (I think Golden Angel has a $50 discount code)
• Write Better, Faster Academy — https://betterfasteracademy.com/
• Becca Syme on author business phases:

- Phases for Author Business: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGX7gDqtvCM

- Deep dives on each phase: https://www.patreon.com/beccasyme/shop

• Ines Johnson's Romance Write Club Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/romancewriteclub/page-turner-craft-a-complete-page-turning-story-blueprint/description
• Cleveland Clinic on FOMO, JOMO, and ROMO : https://health.clevelandclinic.org/understanding-fomo
• Psychology Today on the reality of missing out: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/a-deeper-wellness/202506/understanding-and-managing-fomo
• Qamber Designs (cover designer) : https://www.qamberdesignsmedia.com/

If you want to tell me what you're missing out on or if you're currently more in a FOMO, JOMO, ROMO phase or all of the above, don't hesitate to send me an email: authorelodienowodazkij@gmail.com

Happy writing. Happy reading.

My website:

www.elodienowodazkij.com

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 forever
• A very funny dictation fail from my walk
• Last week's newsletter (Elodie Now): 205 subscribers, 48.19% open rate, 0.49% click rate, one unsubscribe
• Fun fact: more than 50 subscribers across Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and I didn't know that until this week. Thank you

The 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=4Oju1Ob5MjjukVNc
• Book Dictation for Beginners — The Courtney Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUVQ2vd_w1M

The 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

This post is about grief. An update. Going back to write. An excerpt of my next rom-com. And a donkey.