Hey everyone, 

So....my publisher is also printing the memoir of Mike "The Situation" from the Jersey Shore and apparently most of their time, effort, and money is going into that, so I'm not getting the help I assumed I would from them. Which means that if American Grunt is going to get out further into the world beyond my assembled friends and family, I do in fact need a bit of help. Ok, a LOT of help.

A bunch of people have asked how they can be of assistance. So here are a few ways that I've found actually work.

1) Think of five to ten SPECIFIC people to recommend it to, then either send them an email or tag them on social media mentioning how much you liked the book and how it made you think of them. I had one friend do this and in a single day, Grunt went from #860,000 in books on Amazon to #89,000, which is a huge jump due to the assistance of a single person. That five minutes of your time really makes a giant difference for me.

2) People are always looking for book recommendations. If anyone asks what you're reading, please don't forget to mention it.

3) I'm currently very humbled that I have 18 Amazon ratings and all of them are five stars. As an author, I'm constantly hoping to find another one when I (obsessively?) check each day. If you liked the book, leaving a good review is really the simplest thing you can do to help get it in front of other people. The more reviews, the more the evil algorithm puts it in front of random other people. Goodreads would also be a great place to leave a review.

4) I've already had a cool review in a small newspaper in White County, Georgia, of all places, which is unreal. If you personally know any book reviewers, podcasters, etc., who might be able to spread the word, please let me (or even better them) know about it and help us get connected. There's so much noise out there that without personal recommendations, most of it just gets lost in the void.

In the end, it's really just a word of mouth spiderweb at this point. I'm not sure what the mathematical tipping point is to get it rolling instead of stalled a degree or two of separation from me, but every single person who helps it branch out exponentially increases the chances of the book making headway in a world that looks to ignore pretty much everything that isn't ya know....written by reality TV stars.

So those are some great ways to help! Thanks again to everyone who has reached out to say they're enjoying the book and told me what stories resonated, made them laugh, think of their own dumb work situations, etc. It all means a ton to me, Fat Andy, Kingsley, and everyone else in the clown car that's been my work life. Thank you all for making a somewhat stressful ride a lot more enjoyable!

You can reach me by replying to this email or any time at KCramer@alumni.flagler.edu.

Cramer