New Year, New Novel(s)

Happy 2020—we made it!

I’m at my laptop in my dining room, having a cup of coffee out of my favorite Frozen coffee mug, so now seems like the perfect time for an update.

If you follow me on the various social media platforms, you’ll know that I’m pretty geeked about the recent release of Don’t Call Me Hero as an audiobook. The original seed was planted in 2018 and now—over a year later—the book is finally live. I learned a lot during this experience and my stomach was in knots practically the entire time. You should have seen me sweating and squirming and hiding my face as I listened to the first 15-minutes of the novel so I could provide my narrator, Lori Prince, with initial feedback before she recorded the rest of the book. Lori was an absolute pro, and I’m so happy I contracted her for this first experience. She basically held my hand through the whole process since I was unfamiliar with the many discrete steps that go into producing an audiobook.

Now that the book is live, and many of you have listened and enjoyed, the next question I’ve been receiving is if I’ll be turning the rest of the series into audiobooks, if Lori Prince will continue to do my narration, or maybe even if Winter Jacket might be next. At this point, I’m still in the wait-and-see period. As an independent writer, I’ve traditionally done everything myself. I design my own book covers (for better or for worse), I do my own editing (for better or for worse), and I promote myself on social media. Making my first audiobook was terrifying because I was trusting someone else to narrate the book on my behalf and paying them to do so. When I write a traditional book, there’s no overhead costs involved and I get to keep a larger percentage of my royalties. In other words, I have to wait to see if I sell enough copies of the audiobook to break even.

I want to be completely transparent about the price of this audible book. As someone who likes to keep ebook and hardcopy book prices low, low, low, the purchase price for the audiobook makes me wince. Something I learned while going through this process is that authors don’t get to set their own prices on audible platforms! Audible, Amazon, and iTunes make their own decisions based on how long the book is and what others in the genre have sold for. Each retailer independently prices the book, which is why you’ll find it priced differently at the various audible retailers. I have absolutely no control over the price of this book. I do have a limited number of promo codes in the US and UK audible store, so if you really wanted to purchase this audible book, but it would be a financial hardship to do so, drop me an email. But also, you can always sign up for a 30-day trial membership with Audible, get the book, and then cancel your membership when that month is over. Or, maybe you discover that you actually really like this audio option and that 30-day trial becomes your new favorite thing.

Also, I want to hear from you! Do you want more of this series? Do you like Lori Prince’s take on Cassidy and Julia? Should Elle and Hunter be next? Where and why do you listen to audiobooks? Who are your favorite lesfic narrators?

I’m still (slowly) churning out words for my current work in progress, The Woman in 3B. I’m immersed in the banter between my two new characters, Alice and Anissa. I’m enjoying the slow burn as they get to know each other, and am anticipating the eventual heartache when one of them screws everything up. I don’t have a release date yet for this new standalone, but will update you as we get closer to the finish line.

If you’re not following me on social media yet, you should! I post sneak peeks of whatever I’m working on and pictures of my cat!

I’ve seen so many friends posting Resolutions about treating themselves better in the new year and wanting to be nicer to themselves. And what better way to be kind to yourself than to take moments for yourself? Let’s take time to fill the well this year. Let’s read more in 2020.

Stay warm,

Eliza

Just in time for the holigays

Welp, I did it. Well, not me, exactly. Lori Prince, specifically.

Over the past few years, readers have contacted me about turning any of my novels into an audiobook. First, I hadn’t realized that listening to books was such a big deal (I’m out of the loop, ya’ll). And second, I was terrified.

You probably know by now that I’m an independent writer. It’s something that I’m fiercely proud of and also something over which I’m fiercely protective. I do my own edits, I make my own book covers, I made my own website, I promote myself online. Maybe it’s my Type-A personality or my slight control-freak tendencies, but I couldn’t imagine handing over one of my books and letting someone else read it out loud and record it. There was no way I was going to do it myself, but I was also terrified at the thought of someone else being in charge of my characters’ voices and interactions. But then, publishers started contacting me for the audio rights to my books and I realized I needed to do something. I needed to make an audio book myself.

So I did it. And, wow, am I glad I did.

Lori Prince, my narrator, was a dream to work with. She was so patient and so accommodating and so helpful throughout the review process. I was so nervous about getting it right for you guys because you all deserve nothing but the best.

And ya’ll I’m SO IN LOVE with Cassidy. I want to shout it from the mountains. It’s honestly the most surprising outcome of this entire adventure. We all lust love Julia, let’s not getting it twisted. But Cassidy, at least for me, is the star of this audiobook. She’s goofy and vulnerable and awkward, and under Lori Prince’s careful care she completely comes alive. Am I allowed to be obsessed with my own characters? Because I am.

Everything has been submitted, so now we wait. The book will be made available on Audible, iTunes, and Amazon shortly. Keep an eye on my social media accounts as the book will go live within 10-14 days.

I hope you’ll take this next step with me as I venture tentatively, but excitedly, into the strange new world of audiobooks. And let me know what you think!

Stay warm,

Eliza