The audiobook that almost didn't happen + YOU GET FIRST ACCESS TO ABOUT PROGRESS LIVE!

Hello, hello!

I’m full of new news! Let’s start with the most pressing bit first:

ABOUT PROGRESS LIVE!

On August 31st, I’m hosting a {free} in-person celebration of two big things: About Progress turning 10 years old AND Sticky Habits’s upcoming launch. 

If you live in Utah or will happen to be in town, join me for:

• (the first time ever!) A LIVE podcast recording, celebrating About Progress, from podcast to page

• Advanced copies of Sticky Habits available for purchase 

• Book signings!

• Light refreshments 

Tickets are extremely limited and free. 

The Book Launch Committee gets first dibs before I announce it to the general public on Monday, so claim yours HERE.

Other news connected to About Progress LIVE: I’m in need of 5-6 volunteers for the evening. Responsibilities could include: welcoming guests, overseeing refreshments being stocked, helping with line management, etc. Volunteering would take place from 6-9:30 PM on August 31st.

If you’re interested/able, please write back to me ASAP. (And thank you!)

And final, best news of all news: THERE WILL BE AN AUDIOBOOK edition of Sticky Habits!!!!!!

You probably didn’t know that this could even be deemed as “news,” because it just makes sense that a podcaster writing a book would (of course!) need an audiobook version, AND (also, of course!) she’d need to narrate her own book.

Well, both of those things weren't an “of course” to the publisher, and wouldn't be to most. Up until May of this year, I had NO idea if we’d get to have an audiobook of Sticky Habits. And believe me, I was on pins and needles until it finally became a sure thing.

Why was the audiobook not a guarantee?

I don’t pretend to fully understand it myself, but from what I could gather from our many conversations with the powers that be: getting a book deal doesn’t guarantee an audiobook version of that book.

A book deal entails a contract where the author releases the publication, release, and distribution rights of their book. And that includes all of the potential mediums that book could be read via: print, e-book, and audiobook. 

Some publishers create the audiobook version in-house, but many contract that out (my publisher is of the latter group). Regardless of how they produce the audiobook, doing so is an investment for the publisher, so it’s not typically a guarantee. It’s considered a separate decision–one under the publisher’s purview, and likely those from the upper echelons.  

In getting a book deal, I released my right to produce an audiobook of my book. I also don’t make more money if they decide to go forward with the audiobook, but audiobook purchases do count towards my book sales, albeit in a separate grouping. 

So, all to say, while my acquisition editor could plead his case and try to convince moving forward with an audiobook version of the book with me as the narrator–and he did–the ultimate decision of doing so was out of his hands. And if the audiobook was contracted out with a production company (again, this is common), they would make the decision on who the narrator is. 

This all made sense to me, but having an audiobook was and is extremely important to me, as is narrating it myself. Before I signed the book deal contract, I checked in with my literary agent specifically about this matter. While she assured me that every part of this was typical to the industry, she also felt that it was in the publisher’s best interest to get this contract secured and also use me as the narrator. She, too, couldn’t guarantee it, but she thought the odds were high.

With all that mumbo jumbo being (mostly) understood, I signed my publishing contract in September of 2025. I didn’t receive official word until 8 months later that I’d get an audiobook.

In the meantime, I’d check in routinely with my publisher. I made my best cases about me being a podcaster, my audience expecting an audiobook, and how I as the narrator would be the most natural pick. I volunteered to do it unpaid, assured them I could easily record in Salt Lake City (there are many studios here, so no travel costs!), and (I assumed) I would be very efficient in the recording. 

The first bit of “potential good signs” happened when the publisher had me send in an audition tape. Yes, I had to try out to narrate my own book!

And guess what? I get it. As an avid audiobook listener, I’ve listened to dozens of non-fiction books that the author had no business narrating. I know I don’t have the best “radio voice” in the biz, but I do know that my listeners are accustomed to my voice and would certainly expect it to be the voice they listened to if we were lucky enough to get an audiobook contract.

Once I sent in my audition (a 90-second, unedited clip of me reading the preface), I felt nervous. I honestly wondered if it would be better to not get the audiobook if I couldn’t be the narrator. My biggest fear was that we’d get the audiobook contract secured, but the narrator would be A.I.-generated. (Yikes!)

Finally, the best news since landing the book contract came in May–my editor said not only was it official that we’d get an audiobook, I would be the narrator. Cue: alllllll the cheers and happy dances! 

We scheduled 3 days of recording, 6 hours assigned per day. I didn’t want to jinx it so I didn’t say anything publicly, but I’ve officially recorded the full book!

How did it go? 

I came into the recording feeling nervous, but ready. I told myself for weeks leading up to our sessions that I didn’t have to have a super “professional” voice, I just had to be “me.” 

I had read through the book likely a dozen or more times, as it’s one of the ways I both write and edit. So, I felt like I had good familiarity with how it would feel to read the words aloud.

I also have 10 years and 800+ episodes of podcasting under my belt, so countless opportunities to learn how to enunciate, how to emphasize words and pause to communicate meaning, and how to listen to myself while I’m talking so I recognize when to stop and redo a sentence or phrase, all in ways that ease editing.

This is all to say two very good things about recording the audiobook:

Despite my voice getting (expectedly) tired and my jaw (unexpectedly) locking, 

1. It felt more natural than I thought it would.

2. It went more smoothly than we anticipated.

On that last point, we only needed two days to record instead of the allotted three. Hooray!

The producer was fantastic, very attentive, and told me that my years of podcasting set us up for great recording sessions. I feel certain that means the finished product is up to snuff!

Now, for one honest thing: I found a few errors in the book. Maybe five to seven in total, but three I believe that were pretty obviously wrong, albeit minor (think: a missing word or an unneeded word).

The audiobook won’t reflect those errors (they give you some freedom to shift words, as needed), but I’m a little (OK, at some moments, a LOT) disappointed that those errors made it into the final product.

However, I also know that minor errors are normal. Even with me editing the book over and over, and it being professionally edited by 4 editors (including one I hired myself) with 6 advanced readers, even a good book won’t be perfect.

My inner perfectionist has had to be comforted a bit, and I’ve done my best to make peace with these minor errors. The producer told me that he has yet to record a single book where the author narrating their own book doesn’t find at least a few mistakes. That made me feel better, too.

I may not be able to listen to the final product (does anyone like the sound of their own voice?), but I can tell you that I’m already VERY proud of this audiobook.

Best of all? Reading through Sticky Habits after about 2 months away from working on it made me think, “You know, this is a really good book!”

I know I’m not alone in working really hard towards something big, only to get *so* close to the finish line and think, “Is this absolute crap?” You are simply too close to it. So, a little time and distance between my last round of proof editing and narrating the audiobook was just what the doctor ordered.

More than ever, I know this is a book that will change a LOT for women. And I truly hope it gets the attention I believe it not only deserves, but women deserve, too.

On that note, I need your help. 

My pub date of September 8th is less than 6 weeks out. These weeks are essential to how the book performs.

Here’s how you can help:

1. Preorder the book! See HERE for online options.

2. Submit your preorder details HERE, too, so you can get access to the preorder bonuses. (Remember, an exclusive preorder bonus for the Book Launch Committee is an invite to the Garden Party I’m hosting soon at my home in late-August. More details + an RSVP request is coming soon.)

3. Share the word! Text this link to your friends, neighbors, family, and social followings: https://www.aboutprogress.com/stickyhabits 

ANYTHING helps, truly. 

The last few years, there have been several bestselling books that took the world by storm, and it wasn’t because they got a lot of press, accolades, or the publisher money poured into marketing: The Correspondent, Theo of Golden, The Martian, The Tipping Point, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and The Glass Castle, just to name a few.

As a first-time author, I’ve poured everything I have–time, energy, and money–into marketing this book the best I can. That’s to say: limited, but passionate. There are many gaps in what I can do to make this book take off on my own, but these are gaps I’m certain other women from our community can help fill (read: you!). 

If you have any specific ideas or even connections you can make for me, I’d appreciate them. But more than anything, your greatest source of influence is simply opening your mouth and sharing about Sticky Habits with those you know.

Coming up: a newsletter devoted to the covers (I’ve pondered making this one a podcast episode instead?), information on the Garden Party you’re invited to if you’ve pre-ordered the book, About Progress Live on August 31st, and the virtual launch party for preorder customers on pub date, September 8th (a “save the date” is coming soon). 

The time is already flying. Thanks for being my co-pilot.

Monica