Creatorwood

Tropetails is a cocktail recipe book for readers. It's made $10k+ and has hundreds of customers. In this episode, Michael helps Maggie go beyond the books to create a scalable business with cocktail mixes for readers that could turn the IP of Tropetails into millions.

Check out Maggie's Tropetails book here: https://tropetails.com/

EPISODE CHAPTERS:

0:00:59 Intro to Maggie Beeler

0:03:16 How Maggie Found an Illustrator

0:04:21 How Maggie Launched Tropetails to $10k+

0:08:18 Maggie's Dream and What's Holding Her Back

0:11:16 The Economics of the Tropetails Book

0:14:19 How Can Maggie Go Beyond the Book?

0:18:41 How Maggie is Working with Manufacturers for Drink Mixes

0:23:55 How to Test Your Product Before a Launch

0:27:08 What Makes a Good Drink Mix?

0:33:55 How Maggie Will Launch Her Drink Mix

0:38:35 How Maggie is Going to Scale Her Brand

0:48:16 How Does Maggie Know When to Go All in On Tropetails?

0:49:37 How Maggie is Fulfilling Her Product

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.

Here’s your very quick Sunday update (I promise, most Sundays there will be no emails, but this was a very busy week).

First, you can watch an exclusive video for Sidekick Plus members above all about the Investor v.s. Day Trading Approach to Publishing.

Next, you can RSVP here where you will get text reminders and the virtual link to February’s live Author Sidekick Plus workshop. It takes place on February 28th from 5 pm ET to 6:30 pm ET on Google Meet.

The workshop will be recorded! So if you can’t make it live, there are no worries!

The workshop is all about a very special project I have been cooking up behind the scenes with a great author friend. It’s called 10 Bonus Marketing Superpowers that will ONLY be available inside this workshop to Sidekick Plus members.

But wait… what are marketing superpowers?

It’s key concepts, strategies, and tactics that can supercharge your readership and revenue as an author.

These will all be made available as part of Author Sidekick Decks. They contain:

* 50 Marketing Superpowers for Authors (and 10 bonus ones available in February’s webinar just for Sidekick Plus members)

* Written by Me (Michael Evans)

* 50 Storytelling Superpowers for Authors

* Written by David Viergutz (creator of Scaremail)

* 50 Productivity Superpowers for Authors

* Co-authors by me and David Viergutz

Here’s an example of one of the cards (there will be 150 of these in total + 10 bonus ones just for Author Sidekick plus members!).

*The illustration below is NOT FINAL (we are hiring an awesome illustrator to help us… this is just an early mock-up).

And the best part about all of this… the digital version of Author Sidekick Decks will be made available for free to every author in the world.

We want every author to have a sidekick by their side to teach them core fundamentals and advanced strategies to succeed in publishing, completely for free.

It makes learning fun, bite-sized, and super impactful!

We also will be making physical versions of the Author Sidekick Decks available for purchase. They will contain everything in the digital version along with a beautiful set of cards and a card holder to sit by your deck.

All 3 physical Author Decks will be available in a bundle for $99. Insane value when you compare it to courses, webinars, and other author education produced that won’t be covering the breadth and depth we do in the 150 superpowers we share with you.

And remember, the digital version will be *completely free* to every author.

I’ll send everyone here on Sidekick Plus an early digital version of the 50 Marketing Superpowers ahead of our workshop on the 10 BONUS Marketing Superpowers. We’d love any feedback so we can edit the cards digital before we do a print run (cards are significantly harder to change after a print run 😅).

Alright… that’s it for this one.

I have an in-depth newsletter coming out tomorrow on the top 5 Newsletter Platforms for Authors in 2025.

In the meantime, don’t forget…

Together we are boundless,

Michael Evans

The Author Sidekick

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

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/

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

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

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 😊.

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/

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

ABOUT THE HOST: MICHAEL EVANS

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.

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

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 😊.

Before we dive into the replay of the first-ever Author Sidekick Plus Workshop… a huge, heartfelt THANK YOU for all the support today.

Yes — that absolutely whacky email you received earlier was a parody… all to raise money for charity 😄

And because of you, it worked.

We’ve already raised hundreds of dollars for:

All from a fun little joke that started between me, David Viergutz, and Christopher Hopper… and somehow became a fundraiser involving calendars, leggings, and the whole OnlyAuthorz madness.

Honestly? That’s a win in my book.

👇 Grab your whacky calendar if you missed it Get Your Whacky Calendar

🎥 Your First Author Sidekick Plus Workshop Replay

On Friday, we hosted our very first Author Sidekick Plus Workshop — and it was a blast. We covered 10 BONUS Author Marketing Superpowers designed to grow your readership, sell more books, and expand your IP.

Because so many of you asked… I’m extending the 20% off lifetime discount for Author Sidekick Plus until TOMORROW at midnight.

If you upgrade to Author Sidekick Plus, you get:

👉 Upgrade to Author Sidekick Plus (20% off ends tomorrow)

💥 Here’s What We Covered in the Workshop

A rapid-fire tour through the 10 Superpowers:

🔥 Meme Marketing Use memes to reach new readers + spark sharing.

🩺 The Book Doctor Five diagnostic questions to fix a book that isn’t selling.

🔀 Storyshifter Pivot your story to reach a new audience or trend.

🎁 The Holiday Spirit Three strategies to turn holidays into book-selling moments.

💳 MPO (Multiple Payment Options) Boost conversions by giving readers more ways to buy.

🚀 Content Hacking Study viral content and ethically “steal like a creator.”

💼 Author Debt What to invest in now to set up long-term success.

✨ Epic Reader Magnets Fresh, outside-the-box ideas that convert like crazy.

👑 Story Ambassadors Build a street team on steroids.

🌊 Wave Maker Turn your brand into a movement readers want to follow.

We covered a lot in 90 minutes. And now you can watch the whole thing anytime.

📺 Watch the Workshop Replay

Click here to watch the full recording

Thank you again for being part of Author Sidekick Plus. This first month has been incredible, and I’m already excited for everything ahead.

🗓️ Next Author Sidekick Plus Workshop Friday, March 28th 5:00–6:30 PM ET

More details coming soon.

In the meantime, don’t forget…

Together we are boundless,

Michael Evans The Author Sidekick

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

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

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 😊.

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

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

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 😊.

I planned to get you the eBook and audiobook over the weekend… but I ended up making one last round of edits and added a TON of bonus content to the audiobook. I hope it was worth the wait 😊

Before we dive in…

🎉 You smashed the Kickstarter goal!

The Author Marketing Superpowers Deck is officially funded — and I cannot thank you enough for all the support. I’m fired up to share:

If you haven’t grabbed your sidedeck yet, you can still scoop it up — along with all bonuses — at a limited-time discount:

👉 Back the Kickstarter

📚 Your Free eBook: 50 Author Marketing Superpowers

Download your eBook in whichever format you prefer:

📘 EPUB 📕 PDF

In the next few days, I’m setting up a dedicated BookFunnel download page so authors outside this newsletter can get the digital deck for free too.

Since this is my first time delivering digital downloads through Substack… How’s the experience for you? Easy enough? A pain? I’d love your feedback!

And if anything’s confusing, I’m here to help 💙

🎧 Your Free Audiobook (with bonus stories!)

The audiobook includes extra personal stories I couldn’t fit into the cards or eBook — little “easter eggs” that reinforce the superpowers and give deeper context.

You can listen right now, completely free, on:

🎧 Spotify 🍎 Apple Podcasts 🔊 Anywhere else you listen to podcasts

A YouTube version is coming too, once the final 50 illustrated cards are ready. And yes — downloads will also be available through BookFunnel soon.

❓ Want to Shape the Final Deck Before It Goes to Print?

Before I send the 1,000-copy print run, I’d love your thoughts.

What did you like? What confused you? Any superpowers you want improved or expanded?

Email me anytime at [email protected] or leave a comment on this post.

Digital can always be edited… but print lasts a long time! So your feedback really matters.

👀 Sneak Peek: New Teleportation Power Cards

I just got a fresh batch of illustrations from the Teleportation Powers set — and they look incredible. These are just the card fronts… the backs are packed with strategies, frameworks, and action steps.

(Images shown in the original post)

The Digital Deck drops at the beginning of April, and I have even more free surprises lined up before then. The adventure of making marketing fun again never ends!

Coming Tomorrow: Self Publishing 4.0

I’ll be back very soon — possibly tonight if I’m feeling ambitious — with a big article called:

Self Publishing 4.0: The New Age of Story and Commerce for Authors

I think it might blow your mind.

Until then…

Together we are boundless, Michael Evans The Author Sidekick

P.S. I also made a brief detour to Barbie Land this weekend. Yes, really. A last-minute opportunity popped up and I had to jump on it. Folks on the Beyond the Book Waitlist already know the details… and you might want to join that 👀

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 😁.

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

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

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 😊.