After a successful first book signing, I’ve got a lot of work to do. Here’s my plans and how you can help if you’d like to!

Getting Reviews from Readers

The best way to get a book suggested to Amazon users on their app and website is by getting positive reviews. If a book has a lot of positive reviews, Amazon will automatically start suggesting it to more people. So… if you have read the book, PLEASE REVIEW IT ON AMAZON!

AI says: Yes, you can leave a review on Amazon for a book even if you did not purchase it. Amazon allows users to write reviews as long as they have an active customer account. However, keep in mind that reviews from non-purchasers may not carry as much weight as those marked as “Verified Purchase”

It would also be good to get a review on Goodreads. It would help immensely if you’ve read the book, to review it on Amazon and goodreads. Here are links to review Project Sidekick!

• Other ways to help Mike
  • Read it and tell other people about it!
  • Share and like my posts of Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok
  • Let me know what you liked and didn’t like. I’ll adjust!

Preparing a Hard Cover Version

Right now, I’m preparing the cover sleeve for a hardcover version of the book in three places. The first is Amazon, the second is Draft2Digitial (The distributor for most online stores) and IngramSpark (the distributor for brick and mortar stores). Each of these three distributors/printers uses differing formats for how the cover sleeve is printed, so I’m doing some serious graphic design work. Luckily, my design is simple. I love the KISS rule (Keep it simple, stupid.)

The other piece of this work is updating the content and cover for the three distributors after I’ve gotten some reader feedback. Even after I reviewed the book three times, a friend read it and edited it, a professor proofread it, people still find mistakes in continuity, grammar and spelling. Which I suppose is fine because that means people were entertained to the point that they were no longer scrutizing with a magnifying glass. So, after I fix some errors, I’ll update the cover and content for all three distruibutors.

Lowing Prices – Extending the Audience

The price is high right now. The first step in extending the audience is to lower the price. On the same day I lover the price, I would like to release the hardcover version and execute a coupon code, sale or special of some sort. I’m working on details now.

To extend the audience, I may need to pay for some sort of marketing campaign. There are many out there, it’s all about choosing which one. Facebook seems to want me to use a specific vendor that uses AI-targeted ads on facebook. But… I’ll do my research before I spend any money. I need to sell a few more books to break even on my costs.

Writing the Next Book

All this marketing and publishing is a lot of work. But, the main goal of any writer is to write. Yes, you read that correctly. It seems obvious, but writers spend a lot of time advertising, marketing, communicating and selling. Next, I plan to keep writing.

The next book’s working title is “Dead Sidekicks.” No, it’s not really about dead sidekicks. It’s about Phineas, Pete, and Charlie following the Grateful Dead around the world in the summer of 1981. As they meet new friends, enjoy tasty tunes and take a break from saving the world, they inadvertently find one of the new Temple Guardians. They also discover Absence, True Zero and Mister White and actively seeking the new Guardians. Our heroes need to protect the new Guardians who are only children at this time by finding them first and working to help them blend in. To thwart our heroes, the villains attempt to terrorize the Deadheads that our heroes have made friends with. All the while, our heroes start to finally taste a hint of normal life.