Book marketing coaching for fiction authors who'd rather measure than guess
You write. I'll teach you to run the campaign.
The Readership Engine is a six-month program for self-published fiction authors who want consistent sales and a growing reader base, built the same way I build it for my done-for-you clients: run ads, look at the data, adjust, run again.
Self-guided · $497, coming soon: get notified
350+ authors coached · $225,000+ in managed ad spend · 105 five-star reviews on Reedsy
"JD is obsessed with all the things I hate: Facebook ads, Amazon ads, reporting of results from same."
Gregg O., Reedsy reviewWhat the Readership Engine is
The Readership Engine is a book marketing coaching program from Weekend Publisher that teaches fiction authors to acquire readers with Facebook and Amazon ads and to judge every campaign on two numbers: cost per new reader and value per new reader. It combines a 12-step setup plan, a video library, a performance dashboard, and, on the coached tier, six months of live office hours with JD Caron.
That's the definition. Here's the reasoning.
Start with the thing most authors get wrong
A single book rarely pays back its own marketing. When you run ads to one book and look at that one book's royalties, it will almost always look like a loss. People do that math, panic, and quit.
You're not buying a sale. You're buying a reader. A reader who comes in on book one is worth far more than that one book, because they move through everything you write next. Once you think in terms of what a reader is worth across your whole catalogue, the math stops being scary and starts making sense.
Across the 350+ authors I've worked with, profitability tends to kick in around the three-book mark. That's not a rule. It's what the numbers say. If you're earlier than that, it's not a reason to wait. It's a reason to build the foundation now: your reader base, your ad data, your next book.
Here's what that looks like when it clicks. One fantasy author with a four-book series came to me losing $60 a month on his ads. We repriced book one, moved the series into Kindle Unlimited, and rebuilt the targeting. Four months later: $553 in monthly ad spend returning $1,332 in royalties, a $779 monthly profit. The full math is public. The books didn't change. The math did.
If you're here to make book one profitable, I'm probably not your person. If you're here to build something that compounds, keep reading.
What's inside
The 12-step plan. A worksheet that takes you from baseline to a running campaign. Step 0 is a baseline read of your current numbers before anything changes. Most people finish the first few steps the day they get it. One author rewrote her blurb that afternoon.
The video library. Every step, on demand. Cover testing, blurb structure, Facebook ad setup, Amazon Attribution, reading your numbers, what to change when a campaign stalls. Watch what you need, when you need it.
"User-friendly format, chock full of useful worksheets and informative videos. I can go back on my own time and refresh my memory on the next practical step."
Corey J., Reedsy reviewThe dashboard. Clients get access to KdpDeck, the app I built to see how everything is performing in one place. Ad spend, clicks, orders, cost per new reader. You open it and you know.
Office hours, twice a week (coached tier). Tuesdays at noon and Thursdays at 8:30 pm Eastern. Bring your numbers. We look at them together and decide what to change. Six months of that.
A 30-minute kickoff call (coached tier). Before anything else, we look at where you're starting from and set the plan.
Two ways to run it
| Self-guided | Coached | |
|---|---|---|
| 12-step plan and worksheet | ✓ | ✓ |
| Full video library | ✓ | ✓ |
| KdpDeck dashboard | ✓ | ✓ |
| 30-minute 1:1 kickoff call | — | ✓ |
| Twice-weekly office hours, six months | — | ✓ |
| Price | $497, or 2 × $259 | $2,497, or 3 × $899 |
| Guarantee | 14 days, no questions | 14 days, no questions + 6-month coaching extension |
| How to start | Checkout (coming soon) | Short application |
Pricing is published because that's how I'd want to buy. No calls to find out the number, no scarcity banners, no "price goes up Friday."
For scale: the coached tier costs one month of my done-for-you rate, for six months of the same system, run by you. That's the whole pitch in one sentence.
"You can pay a ton of money to have someone else do the work for you (which I did, only to discover they were doing it wrong), or you can have JD actively teach you how to master it yourself."
Kristen W., Reedsy reviewThe guarantees
Self-guided: Watch it for 14 days. If it's not for you, email me and I'll refund it. No questions.
Coached: Two guarantees, one for the first two weeks and one for the six months.
- Take the kickoff call and your first two office hours. If by day 14 you don't think this is for you, full refund. No questions.
- Do the 12 steps, show up to office hours, run the ads. If after six months you don't have a campaign bringing in new readers at a cost you can measure, I coach you for another six months. No charge.
There's an application on the coached tier because those guarantees only work with authors who'll do the work. If you need a way out before you begin, this isn't for you. If you're ready to run the experiments, I'm ready to read them with you.
"His coaching program honed in on methods that would consistently be worth the time and money. Personalized feedback backed by data and case studies. Their system works best if you're prepared to put in the work."
B.B.E. G., Reedsy reviewWhat it actually takes
Setup takes three to ten hours depending on where you're starting. After that, about an hour a week. Office hours are optional but they're where most of the progress happens.
The mindset matters more than the hours. We're testing, not gambling. Some ads work, some don't, and that's normal. The authors who struggle are usually the ones waiting to feel certain before they try anything.
Who this is for
Self-published fiction authors who want to treat their writing like a business. In practice, the people who do best here already think in systems: the environmental scientist who told me my process was the same one she used at work, the engineer who runs Six Sigma projects, the family doctor with fifteen books planned. Day jobs, series in progress, short on time, allergic to guessing.
If you want a quick sales spike with no ongoing effort, there are promo tools for that. This is for consistent sales and a reader base that compounds.
"My only regret is that I was already publishing my fourth book and not my first. The learning curve will be weeks instead of years."
Randy G., Reedsy reviewWhat authors say
"Self-publishing since 2018 with over a dozen books, I was still struggling to gain traction. I tried numerous services and courses, but nothing clicked. He quickly pinpointed where I was missing the mark and has helped me turn clicks into sales. Real, measurable results."
Andy W., Reedsy review"Some of the advice I received from other sources was factually incorrect. JD provided the numbers and details to back up what he says. Everything else I've tried has been a waste of money."
Tony A., Reedsy review"Three months post-launch, I had sold more than 1,000 copies. Hire him. No brainer decision."
Dustin W., Reedsy reviewFrequently asked questions
Is Weekend Publisher worth it?
It depends on what you're buying. If you have one book and want it profitable this quarter, no. If you have a series (or a series coming) and want a repeatable way to bring in readers at a cost you can measure, the Readership Engine is the cheapest way to get the exact process I use for done-for-you clients at $2,500 a month. Published pricing, a guarantee tied to the work, and an application so I only take authors it will work for.
Office hours are a group. Will I get personalized feedback?
Yes. Office hours are small, and we work through each author's actual numbers on screen. You get feedback on your ads, your cover, your blurb, your read-through, not general advice. Between sessions I check in when I see something in your dashboard worth flagging.
How much time does it take?
Three to ten hours to set up, then about an hour a week plus whichever office hours you attend.
My next book isn't out yet. Should I wait?
No. The setup, baseline, cover and blurb work, and first ad data are all things you want in place before the next book lands. Starting a few months ahead of a release is ideal.
Is cover and blurb work included?
Diagnosing them is. If the data says the cover or the blurb is where readers drop off, we find that in office hours and I tell you what to fix. Design work itself is yours or your designer's.
Facebook ads or Amazon ads?
Both, in that order. Facebook is the main driver of consistent sales because it finds readers who've never heard of you. Amazon ads help with visibility inside the store and almost always cost more per new reader. Facebook does the heavy lifting.
Do you recommend influencers, promo sites, or newsletter swaps?
Not as a core channel. I've run the case studies. The data doesn't support influencers, so I don't teach it as a strategy. Promo tools give you a spike, not an engine.
What's the difference between this and done-for-you?
Same process. In done-for-you I run it. In the Readership Engine you run it and I coach you through it. Some authors start here and move to done-for-you later; the dashboard and the data carry over.
Can I split the payment?
Yes. Self-guided is $497 or 2 × $259. Coached is $2,497 or 3 × $899, billed monthly.
When do the six months start?
At your kickoff call. If you're waiting on a launch, we'll time the call so your six months cover the launch window.
Ready?
Apply below. Takes five minutes, and I'll reply within two business days. Self-guided checkout opens soon: leave your email in the same form and I'll tell you the day it does. No list, no drip, one email.
Not sure which? Tell me what you're working with → Or if numbers-reading is the blocker, The Diagnostic might be the better first step.
Apply
Tell me what
you're building.
I'll be honest.
Five minutes: your books, where you want them to go, and what you've tried so far. I'll reply within two business days with an honest read on whether this will get you there. If it won't, I'll say so and tell you what I'd do instead.
Or email directly
[email protected]