Elle Fielding: January '24 Newsletter
January 2024 Newsletter
Hi everyone,
Happy New Year! Yes, I know we're almost a month in, but for me, the new year really starts when the kids head back to school on February 1st.
2023 in Review
Last year was an interesting one for me as I devoted it entirely to living my dream life as a full-time author. I learned valuable lessons and achieved many writing-related goals on my bucket list, such as launching paid subscriptions and seeing Dance with Me and The Other Brother hit the bestsellers list for free books. Although most of the books I sold last year were free, it still felt like a significant win.
Introducing Writing Challenges
Six months ago, I officially launched subscriptions and am thrilled with the community that has formed. A key new feature is the writing challenges, where I write and update my current Work in Progress (WIP) from Monday to Friday during my children's school terms, aiming to write 50,000 words every six weeks. My paid subscribers see the unedited first draft as it progresses. The goal is to complete a WIP or a new book within 30 entries under an individual writing challenge number. Annually, there are 7 challenges covering 42 weeks. This offers a front-row seat to my books as they develop. My current WIP is Lights, Camera, Pretend to Love Me, set more than a decade after Lights, Camera, Kiss Me. The next Writing Challenge will be Bet Me.
The best thing about my writing challenges is they keep me consistently seated and writing, which is fantastic for my storytelling and character development. Like a muscle flexed every day, my writing feels more effortless because I’m in the flow, working on it daily.
My Daily Writing Challenge Updates will resume on Friday, February 2nd and continue until Thursday, March 28th, in line with the Victorian school term. The first term is quite short due to the earlier Easter break. To make up time, Writing Challenges 1 and 2 (Pretend to Love Me and Bet Me) will likely overlap at some point.
Addressing Feedback from Paid Subscribers
Regarding the price of my paid subscriptions, while the starting point on Substack must be $5 USD per month, I can offer a 50% discount coupon. This means you can enjoy daily updates to my WIP for just $2.50 USD per month or $20.00 USD for the entire year, both at 50% off the regular price. I cap all my readers at $20 per year.
After much thought, I believe $2.50 per month or $20 per year is a fair price, and I aim to offer value for this amount.
$50 USD buys a lifetime subscription, and wherever I go, you'll have access to my premium content.
For Free Subscribers
I've spent the past six months developing a content strategy for my paid subscribers. Now confident in what I’m offering, I’m turning my attention back to my free Substack subscribers. I’m introducing the Freemium Mode for selected stories, where free subscribers get great weekly updates too, albeit later than paid subscribers. While they won’t have access to the writing challenges or premium-only stories, they will enjoy weekly updates for chosen stories.
Cheaper Books
As much as my income is limited to what I make as an author, I've concluded that I'd much rather have people read my books than miss out due to price. Despite widespread inflation, I have chosen to lower my prices or leave them unchanged rather than raise them. My goal is to provide quality stories at accessible prices. Let Me Be the One and Dance with Me, both full-length novels, remain $0.99c. The same goes for my 2023 novellas, The Other Brother and Pretend to Love Me.
Lights, Camera, Kiss Me
Lights, Camera, Kiss Me, edited by the fantastically talented Lili Grouse, is now available for your Kindle through all major ebook retailers, including Amazon, Apple Books and Google Books, and in paperback form from Amazon. I'm happy to announce that the ebook will remain FREE for the foreseeable future.
Selling Directly
Selling directly is far more profitable for authors. Consequently, more authors are choosing to sell directly to readers, offering the same or better prices while retaining a larger share of the profits compared to larger companies like Amazon, which takes a 70% cut for books priced under $2.99. For authors pricing their books lower, selling directly means we don't part with as much of our profits.
Game of Hearts
Game of Hearts, also edited by Lili, is now available as an ePub and PDF from my PayHip store for just $0.99. Receive 50% off your purchase by using this code: TAKEOFF50.
Find it here:
Want the paperback? Get it from Amazon here:
Want More Great Content for Less?
Lili Grouse has also just launched her own PayHip store and is offering 50% off her books, making most of them around $0.50c if you use her discount code: TRYITOUT. Find her store here:
That’s all for now. Here’s hoping 2024 is an awesome year. But before I sign off, how was 2023 for you? On social media, the general tone I picked up was that it was a difficult year many are happy to leave behind. Last year was tough for me financially, but I felt good about achieving many of my goals. How did the year end for you?