A candid self-publishing podcast for indie authors, with author Elodie Nowodazkij (aka the Raccoon Author). Follow the real numbers, experiments, mistakes and decisions behind an indie author career—from book marketing, launches and advertising to writing, revising, publishing wide, author branding and making money from books. Since 2014, Elodie has been sharing the wins, disasters, changes of mind and occasional chaos of building a long-term self-publishing career, with useful takeaways, humor and a French accent.
Amazon Royalties Down, Kobo Royalties Up & a Spotify Wrapped Surprise
Well, I did a very raccoon thing this morning. 🦝
Instead of recording the episode I'd planned, I created an entirely new Patreon for The Raccoon Author Diary. Because apparently, I needed another project.
So, we're pivoting!
This week, I'm sharing the ups and downs of my self-publishing week: an invitation to record a Spotify Wrapped video, September royalties that are down overall but UP on several retailers, a Kickstarter pre-launch page with four followers (including me and my husband), and the absolute joy of discovering that someone borrowed my Sweets For Love audiobook from a library!
Plus, some writing updates, social media adventures, and a reminder to actually breathe while working. Apparently, I sometimes forget.
What about you? What's one up or one down from your writing week?
Happy writing and happy, happy reading!
🦝 LINKS MENTIONED
New Raccoon Author Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/cw/theraccoonauthor
Cancer Is Not My Brand Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1903722368/cancer-is-not-my-brand-and-yet?ref=aoo2q1
Vanessa Vale's Box Method class: Thrifty Tips For Authors | Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/groups/thriftytipsforauthors/posts/1621579489264122/)
# Sweets For Love audiobook: https://books2read.com/sweetsforlove/ (https://books2read.com/sweetsforlove/)
Contact me: hello AT TheRaccoonAuthor.com or Elodie@elodienow.com
Website: https://www.elodienowodazkij.com
21 Oct 2026
Numbers episode: My first month with Instagram Trial Reels (not posting consistently)
I’ve posted 14 Instagram trial reels over about three weeks, and… the results have been mixed. Let’s put it that way.
In this episode, I’m sharing my actual numbers: views, likes, saves, who’s seeing my videos, and whether any of it seems to be translating into book sales. I talk about posting in English and French from Belgium, cross-posting to TikTok and Facebook and Pinterest.
There’s also a little detour into how sharing excerpts helped me revise my books, a reminder from Leslye Penelope about showing up and forgiving ourselves when real life happens, and me remembering that I cannot do all the things for all the pen names. Apparently.
Plus, my Kickstarter pre-launch page for Cancer Is Not My Brand (And yet…) is live! I’m also restarting the Raccoon Author newsletter and sharing an upcoming workshop from Becca Syme.
Still experimenting. Still learning. I’ll keep you updated.
LINKS MENTIONED
Cancer Is Not My Brand (And yet…) on Kickstarter — click “Notify me on launch”: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1903722368/cancer-is-not-my-brand-and-yet (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1903722368/cancer-is-not-my-brand-and-yet)
Sign up for the Raccoon Author newsletter: https://raccoonauthornewsletter.subscribepage.io/ (https://raccoonauthornewsletter.subscribepage.io/)
Join the Raccoon Author tier on Elodie’s Writing Nook Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/elodieswritingnook/membership (https://www.patreon.com/cw/elodieswritingnook/membership)
Becca Syme’s workshop, “I’m Not Making 10K in Profits. What Am I Doing Wrong?”: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/2ugvwsiva3sm (https://www.crowdcast.io/c/2ugvwsiva3sm)
Leslye Penelope’s “Consistency, Authenticity & Going Viral”: https://myimaginaryfriends.substack.com/p/consistency-authenticity-and-going (https://myimaginaryfriends.substack.com/p/consistency-authenticity-and-going)
The Inevitable Undoing of Zahara Douglass by Leslye Penelope: https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/ (https://lpenelope.com/book/the-inevitable-undoing-of-zahara-douglass/)
Skye MacKinnon’s AuthorScale interview about Kindle screenshots and trial reels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3EIiGsEcIg&t=12s&pp=ygULYXV0aG9yc2NhbGU%3D (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3EIiGsEcIg&t=12s&pp=ygULYXV0aG9yc2NhbGU%3D)
Rachel Jonas’s AuthorScale interview about her 90-day posting challenge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSOozi4FNjg&t=2715s&pp=ygULYXV0aG9yc2NhbGU%3D (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSOozi4FNjg&t=2715s&pp=ygULYXV0aG9yc2NhbGU%3D)
My Substack:https://elodienowodazkij.substack.com/ (https://elodienowodazkij.substack.com/)
My website: https://www.elodienowodazkij.com (https://www.elodienowodazkij.com )
Thank you so much for listening. Subscribe, leave a rating, or share this episode with an author friend—it helps a whole lot.
Happy writing, and happy, happy reading!
14 Oct 2026
Raccoon Author Snack: But what if it works?
Short episode as all the plans are in my head and they need to get on paper. But also... I am finally organizing my office and the print raccoon author I got commissioned has the words "But what if it works?" Which made me smile so I thought I'd share it with you all.
As always my Patreon (there's a Raccoon Author tier) https://www.patreon.com/c/elodieswritingnook (https://www.patreon.com/c/elodieswritingnook) and my website: https://elodienowodazkij.com/the-raccoon-author/ (https://elodienowodazkij.com/the-raccoon-author/)
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
32,743
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
4 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
52
Social presence
0
YouTube
85
Engagement
68
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