Grow Your Publishing Empire by Putting Readers First 💙
I share actionable insights that help you grow your readership, revenue, and happiness as an author faster and more sustainably than ever before.
The secret? Readers First Publishing. Readers First Publishing is all about putting your readers first before your stories. This means a relentless focus on building your audience in novel ways and expanding your income beyond just selling books so that you can reach new readers and serve your existing ones as deeply as possible.
I share essays that fall into three themes:
Readers First Growth: how can you grow your audience using social platforms faster than ever?
Readers First Storytelling: how can you create stories across different mediums, formats, and platforms that help you reach new readers and make more money?
Readers First Products: how can you create products and services that help your readers beyond the books, enabling you to turn your stories into an empire?
Meet Michael (aka the Author Sidekick)
My name is Michael Evans, the creator of Author Sidekick, a holding company for education, community + events, and technology for authors. In this newsletter, I help everyday authors (beginner and experienced alike) grow their readership and income by putting their Readers First.
TLDR: I’m here to help you grow your follower counts and bank accounts while sticking true to your heart as a storyteller.
In just over 7 years since beginning my tragic hero’s journey as an author, I’ve:
Published 12+ science fiction books (I know what it’s like to be scared shitless and just starting this journey. I know what it’s like to get that orange bestseller tag and that crazy dopamine rush. And I also know what it’s like when you feel like your
lifeauthor career is broken and nothing is working.)I attended Harvard where I lived out of a school bus my freshman year. I roadtripped America with my roommate and livestreamed our lives (I’ve had mental breaks, done some wild things, and am here to help you stay grounded.)
Co-founded and was the CEO of a publishing app/platform for authors that was named the 2023 Publishing Start-up of the Year by Jane Friedman (I’m grateful to know a ton of incredible people in this industry, know all sides of this space, and have created 100+ hours of content for authors)
And I worked on the Strategy Team doing data and analytics for MrBeast, the largest creator in the world with ~1 billion followers (I know how the largest creator in the world grows his audience by over 10 million followers a month… and can help you grow like crazy from first principles).
This newsletter is a culmination of everything I’ve learned in self-publishing and the creator economy. I’ve made more mistakes than I can count, and have done a few things right along the way 😅.
Oftentimes as authors it feels like we are out of control, at the whims of technologies, platforms, and markets that are ever-changing, opaque black boxes.
As your Author Sidekick, I will share with you insights that demystify the business of publishing and even the success of your own stories (this is exactly why I’m creating Reader Meter, but more on this at a later time).
On top of that, I will then help you take action on these insights by using your passion to build the publishing business of your dreams.
Ultimately I’m on a mission to usher in a revolution for storytellers where authors have the knowledge, community, and tools to rule the future.
As a society, we need your stories more than ever to navigate through an unbelievable amount of change and hardship.
Together — we can create a better future for humanity.
You are the heroes. I’m simply your friendly sidekick. And together we are boundless 💙.
Now what can you expect in your inbox from the Author Sidekick, you ask?
(almost) Every Monday, I share a new blog to help you grow your readership, revenue, and happiness as an author with Readers First Publishing. They are actionable, inspiring, and always seek to pack a punch with data, visualizations, and personal stories. Some weeks I may not share an article on Mondays if I don’t have something super valuable to share. But usually 3 weeks out of 4, I will!
In the middle of most weeks, I share a new episode of Beyond the Book, the show that helps you make money beyond books to turn your stories into an empire.
On Fridays, most of the time you won’t be hearing from me. But occasionally, there will be exciting updates to share from across the holding company such as the launch of new technology/services for authors. I’ll often share these in dedicated emails, but promise I’ll pack them with useful insights too!
P.S. If your heart so desires, for $10/month you can join Author Sidekick Plus (or just $5/month if you purchase an annual membership).
Access to the archive of Sidekick essays (after 30 days each of my essays is exclusive to Sidekick Plus members)
Access to the monthly Author Sidekick Workshops (and the library of previously recorded ones)
Every 90 days a new bonus to help you grow including book marketing templates, bonus downloads, and juicy data on the publishing market compiled
And besides supporting my time in continuing to write these newsletters, your support goes directly to funding data collection and novel research from our team of Sidekick Pros that makes the insights shared with all authors better.
P.P.S. Do you have a podcast, newsletter, or community focused on helping authors? I’d love to collaborate with you.
Just drop me a line at hello@authorsidekick.com.
The best collaborations are when we can both deep dive into something in our way and share the awesomeness the other person created with the wonderful authors who read us.
