I traveled to the ScareMail HQ where 100,000+ story letters are shipped out each month by David Viergutz and his team. Join me on this adventure into a world beyond the book... where 1 story makes this author $3 million per year.

Note: The video for this podcast got corrupted, but I do include some b-roll of inside the ScareMail HQ 😊.

Check out ScareMail by David Viergutz: https://scaremail.com/ Join the Beyond the Book Mastermind waitlist, the ultimate community for authors turning their stories into empires: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the Beyond the Book Membership, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:05:12 How David Ships 100,000 Letters a Month

0:06:32 What is a Story Letter?

0:08:40 David's Author Story

0:16:24 The Biggest Mistake David Made Scaling Story Letters

0:20:22 How David Tests New Ideas

0:22:33 How David Gets New Ideas to Serve His Readers

0:25:56 How David Works with Manufacturers with His Business

0:28:59  How David Keeps Writing With All of His Business Operations

0:31:09  When and How to Hire Help as an Author

0:33:42 How David Scaled The Production of ScareMail

0:37:44 How to Grow Your Audience

0:41:10 David's Advice to Authors Getting Started

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue).

In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends). I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Publishing Nihilism: the belief that the pursuit of authorship is increasingly meaningless or hopeless.

How many of you have felt this recently?

How many of you have been feeling this way for years?

In today’s edition of the Beyond the Book Podcast, I want to offer an alternative vision for our collective future as authors.

One of Publishing Boundlessness rather than Publishing Scarcity or Publishing Nihilism.

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Join the Beyond the Book Accelerator waitlist, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Creator Economy for Authors Book: https://www.amazon.com/Creator-Economy-Authors-Future-Publishing/dp/1949458253

Intention Economy Book: https://www.amazon.com/Intention-Economy-When-Customers-Charge/dp/1422158527

Tolan App: https://www.tolans.com/

Belonging to the Brand Book: https://businessesgrow.com/belonging-to-the-brand/

Get Together Book: https://gettogether.world/

Bowling Alone Book: https://www.amazon.com/Bowling-Alone-Collapse-American-Community/dp/0743203046

On the Origin of Stories Book: https://www.amazon.com/Origin-Stories-Evolution-Cognition-Fiction/dp/0674057112

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:08:09 What the Next Publishing Revolution Has In Common With the Past

0:19:35 Opportunity #1: Community

0:31:48 Opportunity #2: Creator Street

0:38:16 Opportunity #3: New IP Formats

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue). In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends).

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This podcast here features guest storytellers innovating in the world of publishing and succeeding by going Beyond the Book. We also have the Beyond the Book Accelerator (opens 2x per year), Beyond the Book Summit (takes place every fall), and the Beyond the Book Mastermind (an application-only community for authors going beyond the book).

Learn more here: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

ABOUT READER METER:

Reader Meter helps you discover where readers stop turning the page in your stories. You get insights on exactly where readers are most and least engaged with your stories so you can write better books. Typically, authors use Reader Meter with Zero Edition stories (think ARCs and beta readers).

Then armed with the power of Reader Meter, authors use those insights to revise their books so when they launch them to the market you can have happier readers and sell more books.

Learn more here: https://readermeter.io/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Learn from one of the most storied authors in publishing about how he's written 50+ bestsellers, has 23 million copies of his books in print, and has succeeded in novelizations, indie publishing, Kickstarter, and more.

Check out Kevin's latest Kickstarter, Terra Incognita, an epic seafaring fantasy series with accompanying rock albums: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thekja/terra-incognita-epic-fantasy-trilogy-and-rock-albums

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Kevin's books: https://wordfire.com/

Attend Superstars writing conference: https://www.superstarswriting.com/

Kevin's publishing company: https://wordfirepress.com/

Western Colorado University's Publishing MFA: https://western.edu/program/publishing/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:03:16 The Origin Story of Kevin J Anderson

0:07:27  What Made Kevin Shift to Indie Publishing

0:12:24  How Kevin Gets Through "Black Ice" in Publishing

0:18:55  How Kevin Started on Kickstarter

0:22:28 What Projects Are Best for Kickstarters

0:25:55 Kevin’s New Kickstarter with Books and Rock Music

0:35:39 How Kevin Collaborates with Dozens of Creatives

0:38:47 The Kevin J Anderson Business Model

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue).

In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends).

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

And that’s it for this edition of the Beyond the Book Podcast.

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the Beyond the Book Membership, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

From chocolate to card games to interactive stories, here are 6 wild ways authors are making bank on Kickstarter and how you can do the same. Oriana Leckert, Head of Publishing at Kickstarter, joined me to break these campaigns down and share some behind-the-scenes insights 😁.

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the Beyond the Book Membership, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

Unleash your Author Marketing Superpowers by getting your Author Deck here: https://authordecks.com/

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Article about Special Editions on Kickstarter: https://updates.kickstarter.com/the-allure-of-special-editions-on-kickstarter-and-how-to-create-your-own/

Kickstarter for Authors Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/429764288910415 INKfluence: https://theinkfluence.com/

Holly Black's card campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hollyblack/enemies-and-lovers-the-crown-of-elfhame

Lee Savino's special edition campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/leesavino/dark-billionaire-velvet-special-edition-omnibuses

Junction Cafe Chicago: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/semicolonchi/help-us-bring-junction-cafe-to-chicago

Lucy Eden speciality book boxes: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/lnfpbb/lucy-edens-love-notes-from-paradise-book-box

Beehive Books: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/beehivebooks/created

Bookish Chocolates: https://www.kickstarter.com/profile/gegallas/created

Author Nation: https://www.authornation.live/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:02:34 #1: Turning Books into Games

0:10:18 #2: Special Editions

0:17:14 #3: Literary Spaces

0:23:27 #4: Speciality Book Boxes

0:31:11 #5: Interactive Stories

0:37:33 #6: Food and Drink

0:41:14 How to Get Started on Kickstarter

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙. I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue). In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends).

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Here's the 50 Author Marketing Superpowers Audiobook by Michael Evans for FREE! The goal of this book is to give you frameworks, concepts, and tactics to help you market your stories in a way that is enjoyable, sustainable, and profitable.

This audiobook has exclusive insights and anecdotes about the superpowers not available anywhere else!

To get the physical deck of cards "sidedeck" and some amazing digital bonuses to help you unleash the superpowers to grow your income visit: https://authordecks.com/

Here's the bonus links and resources from Author Marketing Superpowers: https://authorsidekick.com/pages/audiobook-links-author-marketing-superpowers

OTHER RESOURCES:

Reader Meter: https://readermeter.io/

Authoropolis: https://www.facebook.com/groups/authoropolis

Top 5 Newsletter Platforms for Authors: https://authorsidekick.com/p/5-best-newsletter-platforms-for-authors

Story Supper: https://storysupper.com/

AUDIOBOOK CHAPTERS:

00:00:00 Introduction to Author Decks

00:03:35 The Book Marketing System (Start Here)

00:04:54 How to Use the Sidedeck and Audiobook

00:06:11 #1: Reader Lifetime Value (RLV)

00:07:48 #2: Story-Market Fit

00:10:31 #3: Story Investor VS Author Day Treader

00:12:19 #4: Readernapping

00:14:47 #5 People Over Algorithms

00:16:54 #6: The Trust Moat

00:19:25 #7: Story Spy

00:21:22 #8: Reader Cities

00:22:57 #9: Whale Readers VS. Casual Readers

00:24:44 #10: Write to Community

00:26:57 #11: Story Suit

00:28:49 #12: Author Mask

00:30:53 #13: Book Marketing Plan

00:32:48 #14: The Publishing Sales Model

00:36:10 #15: One-Time Marketing Events

00:38:13 #16: Author Flywheels

00:42:19 #17: The Testing Trick

00:45:59 #18: Copy Cooker

00:49:24 #19: The Promotion Elements

00:51:29 #20: Reader Sales Triggers

00:53:09 #21: Double Dips

00:56:07 #22: The Power Law

00:57:50 #23: Hero's Lair

01:01:44 #24: Reader Journeys

01:02:04 #25: Emails to Readers

01:06:34 #26: Social Listening

01:08:03 #27: Minimum Viable Story

01:11:10 #28: Reader Retention

01:12:35 #29: Retention Point

01:19:00 #30: Don't Shill Your Story:

01:20:33 #31: The Reader Growth Engines

01:22:30 #32: Marketing Fuel 

01:23:30 #33: Content Cannon

01:24:36 #34: The Swap Secret

01:27:14 #35: The Launch Code

01:28:47 #36: The Invisibility Cloak

01:30:49 #37: Freebie Fun

01:34:16 #38: The Paid Ads System

01:38:09 #39: Infinite Reader Loop

01:42:36 #40: Social Hacking

01:46:23 #41: Short-Form Video System

01:48:17 #42: Reader Nurturing

01:49:58 #43: Reader Revenue Models 

01:52:28 #44: Your Writer Circle

01:53:52 #45: The Super Sidekick

01:55:19 #46: Merchant of Record (MOR)

01:58:04 #47: Go Global

02:01:11 #48: The 3 Types of Reader Community

02:02:48 #49: Fanatic Builder

02:05:46 #50: Audience is Everything

02:07:50 Sidekick Signing Out

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Michael is the force behind Author Sidekick, a company on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers through education and technology. 

A sci-fi author since 15, he co-founded a fiction publishing platform while at Harvard before working for MrBeast, the biggest creator on the planet. He’s helped fiction authors make over $1 million per year (combined) in membership income through his education and coaching.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Learn how to reach new readers AND make money at book signings. Anna McCluskey, urban fantasy author, shares with us the strategy she's used to make thousands of dollars at 10+ book events with the right pricing of her books, event set-up, event-selling techniques, and, of course, finding and picking the best events to attend.

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the Beyond the Book Membership, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Follow the Marketing Superpowers Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/authorsidekick/author-marketing-superpowers-deck/

Apply to sign at Reader Nation: https://www.authornation.live/reader-nation-home-2025

Join Rising Quill: https://discord.gg/JecjM4hz

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:05:04 Anna’s First Book Events

0:08:17 Books to People Who Are NOT Her Readers

0:09:39 Managing Signings as an Introvert

0:12:03 Selling to Readers Who Don’t Walk Up to Your Table

0:15:09 What Events to Sell Your Books At

0:21:08 How to Set Up For Your First Event

0:27:03 How to Attend Profitable Events

0:31:13 How to Manage Book Inventory for Events

0:35:16 How Many Books Published Do You Need to Come to An Event?

0:36:40 How to Price Your Books at Events

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue). In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends).

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Jonathan and Jynafer Yanez have raised $75k+ on Kickstarter to fund turning Jonathan's sci-fi novels into short-films. Today, Jynafer shares with us how they created Hollywood-level production quality films with no backing from a studio or major film company.

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the Beyond the Book Membership, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Watch Infinity System on YouTube: https://youtu.be/GA1Q6iqa4c4

Get it Done: A Gentle Kick in the Pants for Writers: https://www.jonathan-yanez.com/motivation

Jynafer’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jynafer/

Jonathan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/author_jonathan_yanez

Forsaken Mercenary Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wolf-pack/forsaken-mercenary-a-sci-fi-thriller-short-film

Infinity Systems Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wolf-pack/infinity-system-a-space-western-saga

Creator Camp Film Festival: https://campfilmfestival.com/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:03:14 How Jynafer and Jonathan work as partners

0:07:56 Johnathan quitting his job with no writing income

0:11:08 How They Launched Their Movie on Kickstarter

0:17:28 How to Meet Filmmakers to Collaborate With

0:21:33 How to Manage the Budget of Your Production

0:27:38 The Future of Indie Authors and Movies

0:31:49 How Authors Can Work With Operators

0:37:15 What Have You Learned from Turning 2 Books into Film

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue). In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends).

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Today I share 10 marketing superpowers that when unleashed have the power to supercharge your book sales.

Follow Author Marketing Superpowers Deck on Kickstarter here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/authorsidekick/author-marketing-superpowers-deck

Read the Author Marketing Playbook for free: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1iOymUlZ4ydk9DPTVr00FRSkzeLj2FVcigsWECK-v_sk/edit?usp=sharing

Join us at the BIG Pencil Party to learn more about the superpowers and maybe win a MASSIVE pencil: https://lu.ma/n8nuyj9r

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the Beyond the Book Membership, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:00:55 The 3 Stages of Marketing Your Book

0:07:20 The Launch of Author Decks

0:09:01 Your Story Suit

0:13:18 One-Time Marketing Events

0:16:43 Double-Dips

0:18:04 Social Listening

0:19:01 Book Liquidator

0:22:39 Reciprocity

0:24:20 Content Cannon

0:25:41 Readernapping

0:27:48 Social Hacking

0:29:50 Other People’s Resources

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Netflix's wild marketing strategy for Squid Game S2: https://about.netflix.com/en/news/squid-game-season-2-top-10-worldwide-fan-activations-and-experiences-recap

Watch How David Viergutz Makes $2.4 Million/Year from Story Letters: https://youtu.be/Z6H8uuFAlYQ

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book! I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts.

It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue). In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends).

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman. After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors.

I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Story Letters are an emerging story format where readers receive a story told through letters in the mail. Authors are making tens of millions of dollars a year from story letters across genres ranging from romance, to horror, to children's books. Today, we chat with David Viergutz, the creator of ScareMail, a story letter business that makes millions of dollars per year.

Learn about ScareMail: https://scaremail.com/

Sign up for David's mailing list: https://davidviergutz.com/

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the Beyond the Book Membership, where we step-by-step help you turn your stories into an empire: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join the Reader Meter waitlist to see where readers stop turning the page in your book 👀: https://readermeter.io/

POPULAR STORY LETTER BRANDS:

The Flower Letters (Romance & Adventure): https://theflowerletters.com/

The Max Letters (Children's Fantasy): https://www.themaxletters.com/

Letters from Afar (Travel Fiction): https://lettersafar.com/

Mail Order Mystery (Mystery): https://www.mailordermystery.com/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:02:11 Why David Started ScareMail

0:05:25  How David Launched ScareMail and His Tips for Mailing

0:10:57  Live Group Coaching on Beyond the Book Begin

0:17:27  How David Decides if He Should Pursue Something New

0:27:49  How to Build a Merch Store That Sells

0:32:59  When to give away books for free to grow your email list

0:34:58  Hyperlinking Inside Your eBooks

0:39:53  How to Go Beyond the Book with Author Collaborations

0:46:23  Can Reddit Ads work for your book?

0:49:23  How to Reposition a Book if It's Not Selling

0:57:48  How Going Beyond the Book Makes You Stand Out

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue).

In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends). I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman.

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Join the Beyond the Book Membership waitlist here: https://beyondthebookacademy.com/

Join Author Sidekick, the newsletter to help you grow your readership and revenue as an author: https://authorsidekick.com/subscribe

Read Creatorwood, the free book helping writers turn their stories into movies using AI: https://www.makeyourownmovies.tv/subscribe.

Join the waitlist for Reader Meter to see where readers stop turning the page on your stories 👀: https://readermeter.io/

In this episode, I share what 99% of authors get wrong about publishing: that the game is about selling more books. Instead, it's about something much more fundamental. And with that understanding, opens up a whole new world to make money and reach new readers... hence... 10 Weird Ways Authors Make Millions 😊.

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:00:57 #1: Card Games for Readers

0:02:40 #2: Story Letters

0:05:01 #3: Education and Consulting

0:07:31 #4: Content Tilt

0:10:46 #5: Under-Utilized Attention Markets

0:14:51 #6: Merch & Swag for a Broader Market

0:17:39 #7: Creating Content + Products for Readers

0:20:17 #8: The Community Play

0:22:22 #9: Indie Films

0:25:28 #10: URL to IRL with In-Person Experiences

EPISODE RESOURCES:

Skye Warren's Card Game: https://shop.skyewarren.com/products/romance-vs-the-world-game

Holly Black's Card Game: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hollyblack/enemies-and-lovers-the-crown-of-elfhame

Flower Letters: https://theflowerletters.com/

ScareMail: https://davidviergutz.com/collections/scaremail

Onley James' Merch Store: https://www.onleyjames.com/collections/merch-2

Example of Visual Book Summaries: https://substack.com/home/post/p-153868661

The Anatomy of Genre by John Truby: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374539221/theanatomyofgenres/

Haley Pham's Book Sleeve: https://haleypham.com/products/custom-booksleeve

Listen to the Last Podcast Episode with Maggie Beeler: https://authorsidekick.com/p/turning-her-book-into-a-multi-million

Aleron Kong LitRPG Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/LitRPGGroup/

Jonathan Yanez's Kickstarter to fund his Short Sci-fi Film: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/wolf-pack/forsaken-mercenary-a-sci-fi-thriller-short-film/rewards

Lizzie Bennet Diaries on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pemberleydigital/the-lizzie-bennet-diaries-dvdand-more

Airbnb's list of Literary Getaways: https://news.airbnb.com/en-uk/curl-up-with-a-classic-at-one-of-airbnbs-literature-inspired-stays/

Thank you so much for listening! You can always reach out to [email protected] if you have any guest/episode recommendations or questions about going Beyond the Book!

I’d also super appreciate it if you rated Beyond the Book wherever you listen to podcasts. It helps us grow and get bigger & better guests to share their insights with you in going Beyond the Book 💙.

I’m on a mission to bring Power to Storytellers. Here’s my story 👇

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

I’m the creator of Reader Meter (the reader intelligence platform for authors), Beyond the Book (the place that helps you turn your story into an empire), and Author Sidekick (the newsletter that helps authors grow their readership and revenue).

In high school, I wrote and self-published 12 sci-fi novels (aka I didn’t have many friends). 

I then attended college at Harvard, where I road-tripped the country filming YouTube videos during COVID (school was online🫣), live-streamed myself playing scavenger hunt with my roommate for ~1,000 hours, and eventually co-founded a software company that was named Publishing’s Start-up of the Year in 2023 by Jane Friedman. 

After graduation, I worked on the data & analytics team at MrBeast and am now back in publishing, dedicating my life to bringing power to authors. I’m really grateful to be living my dream, and am hopeful I can help you get one (or a few!) steps closer to doing the same for yourself 😊.

ABOUT BEYOND THE BOOK:

Beyond the Book exists to help authors expand their revenue and readership beyond books. We are rewriting the rules of publishing by helping authors build “mini-Disneys” from their stories through physical products, community experiences, games, other media formats, and more.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dispatch.authorsidekick.com/subscribe