Beyond the Book
Beyond the Book
Podcast Description
I help authors make money beyond selling books and turn their stories into empires.
I have a big dream. The first billionaire indie author will rise this decade. And there will be 100+ making 8-figures a year and more. But it won't come from selling books alone... it's going to come from building a "mini-Disney" for your readers.
Now, I have to be honest with you. Not every author who listens is going to build a media empire Beyond the Book. BUT my promise to every one of you listening is that you will grow your readership & income as an author by learning the power of Readers First Publishing.
This means...
1. Readers First Growth: Treating your marketing as a "product" and approaching all reader discovery from a creator-first mindset so that you can leverage social platforms to grow faster than ever
2. Readers First Storytelling: Immersing fans into your stories across media formats (including but not limited to story letters, interactive stories, ebooks, audiobooks, serial podcasts, web movies, and more)
3. Readers First Products: Creating physical and digital products connected to your stories that serve your readers (merch, games, drinks, food, candles, community, and more)
Each episode, I'll be sharing with you how you can grow, create stories, and make products that rewrite the rules of publishing using the principles of Readers First. I'll feature guests that range from academic experts on specific topics to multi-seven-figure authors who have innovated and gone beyond the book in unique ways.
This podcast is perfect for both fiction and nonfiction authors, but it has a bent toward fiction authors.
After writing and publishing 12 science fiction novels, helping thousands of authors make millions beyond the books by creating a community of their superfans, and then working for the largest creator in the world, I'm ready to help YOU go beyond the book and build the storytelling empire of your dreams. authorsidekick.com
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores a range of topics centered around the theme of 'Readers First Publishing', focusing on creative ways authors can monetize their works beyond traditional book sales. Examples include building community experiences, product development related to stories, and innovative marketing strategies. Episodes often feature discussions on immersive storytelling across various media, case studies of successful independent authors, and innovative publishing methods.
I help authors make money beyond selling books and turn their stories into empires.
I have a big dream. The first billionaire indie author will rise this decade. And there will be 100+ making 8-figures a year and more. But it won’t come from selling books alone… it’s going to come from building a “mini-Disney” for your readers.
Now, I have to be honest with you. Not every author who listens is going to build a media empire Beyond the Book. BUT my promise to every one of you listening is that you will grow your readership & income as an author by learning the power of Readers First Publishing.
This means…
1. Readers First Growth: Treating your marketing as a “product” and approaching all reader discovery from a creator-first mindset so that you can leverage social platforms to grow faster than ever
2. Readers First Storytelling: Immersing fans into your stories across media formats (including but not limited to story letters, interactive stories, ebooks, audiobooks, serial podcasts, web movies, and more)
3. Readers First Products: Creating physical and digital products connected to your stories that serve your readers (merch, games, drinks, food, candles, community, and more)
Each episode, I’ll be sharing with you how you can grow, create stories, and make products that rewrite the rules of publishing using the principles of Readers First. I’ll feature guests that range from academic experts on specific topics to multi-seven-figure authors who have innovated and gone beyond the book in unique ways.
This podcast is perfect for both fiction and nonfiction authors, but it has a bent toward fiction authors.
After writing and publishing 12 science fiction novels, helping thousands of authors make millions beyond the books by creating a community of their superfans, and then working for the largest creator in the world, I’m ready to help YOU go beyond the book and build the storytelling empire of your dreams.
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 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 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
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