Author Presence Audit — Diane Merrill Wigginton

The verdict

Author Presence Score

Brooks Craft scores twelve areas that decide whether a romance reader finds, trusts and keeps reading a self-published series. Each is rated from what is live today.

out of 100

Diane Merrill Wigginton — Angelina's Secret

Critical gaps found

out of 100

Christi Caldwell — For Love of the Duke

Self-publishing leader

Diane Merrill WiggintonChristi Caldwell

Google Knowledge Panel

4 / 9

Google book visibility

2 / 10

Author website

6 / 10

Amazon author presence

5 / 10

Series packaging

2 / 10

Editorial Reviews

7 / 4

Categories & rank

2 / 8

Reviews & ratings

2 / 10

Social media presence

3 / 9

Author profile (Goodreads)

6 / 10

Print on demand & print retail

7 / 6

Kindle Unlimited & audio

5 / 10

Scores are Brooks Craft Publishing's assessment. Every figure on this page comes from live pages captured on November 7, 2026.

Part 1

Author branding: 1:1 comparison

Each pair was captured the same day, at the same size. Diane is on the left, Christi Caldwell on the right.

Google search: the author's name

Gap

Both authors have a Knowledge Panel. Caldwell's shows a Books carousel, a live Facebook post, her Amazon store and Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn profiles. Diane's shows photos and three social links but no books.

Diane Merrill Wigginton Google

Google results for Diane Merrill Wigginton

Knowledge Panel with photos and social links
No Books carousel
Her own website does not rank on page one

Christi Caldwell Google

Books carousel across her series
Amazon store rated 4.5★ from 8.7K, shown by Google
Facebook (14.6K+), Instagram and LinkedIn in the panel

Google search: the book title

Critical gap

For Love of the Duke gets an AI Overview naming the series order, ratings from Goodreads (4/5) and Audible (4.3/5), and genre tags. Angelina's Secret returns plain retailer links.

Angelina's Secret Google

No AI Overview and no book panel
An old Amazon listing shows "no longer available"

For Love of the Duke Google

AI Overview with "Preceded by" / "Followed by" series links
Goodreads 4/5 (7,680) and Audible 4.3/5
Her own book page ranks second

Author website

Gap

christicaldwell.com is a romance brand: a cinematic header, "USA Today Bestseller · Regency from the Heart", a Sarah MacLean quote and the newest release with a buy button. Diane's site is polished but leads with a stock photo and three genres.

dianemerrillwigginton.com Website

Stock-photo hero, not Diane or her covers
Romance, suspense and children's pitched at once
No reading-order page for the series

christicaldwell.com Website

Single romance brand: "Regency from the Heart"
NYT bestselling author quote in the hero
Store, Bonus content and Coming Soon pages

Amazon author presence

Gap

An Amazon search for Christi Caldwell returns 124 results, every one labelled with its series, most free on Kindle+. Diane's store has 9 titles, but its "Most popular" slot is a thriller.

Diane Merrill Wigginton Author Store

Photo, bio and 9 titles
"Most popular" is The Magician Killer, a thriller

Christi Caldwell Amazon

124 results, each tagged with its series
Kindle+ (Kindle Unlimited) for most titles
Audiobook and paperback options

Part 2

Book presence on Amazon

Both books are self-published, so both authors control the same tools. Caldwell uses them to sell a series, not a single book.

Product listing, above the fold

High gap

Both listings show "Book 1" of a series. Caldwell's adds Kindle+ (read free), an Audible sample and 9,543 ratings. Diane's has 56 ratings and a household ad above the book.

Angelina's Secret Listing

"Book 1 of 3: Jeweled Dagger Series"
56 ratings
Award not mentioned in the description

For Love of the Duke Listing

"Book 1 of 22: The Heart of a Duke"
4.4★ from 9,543 ratings
Kindle+ "Read for Free" + Audible sample

Series bundles below the fold

Critical gap

Neither book uses A+ Content. Caldwell replaces it with something more powerful for a series: a "Shop this series" box that sells the first 3, 5, 10 or all 22 books in one click. Diane's page has no bundle and no box set.

Angelina's Secret Below the fold

No A+ Content
No series bundle or box set

For Love of the Duke Shop this series

One-click bundles: 3, 5, 10 or all 22 books
"All 22" priced at $92.78

Categories & Best Sellers Rank

High gap

Caldwell's Kindle edition ranks #1,603 in Regency Historical Romance, a precise sub-genre. Diane's paperback sits only in three broad romance lists.

Angelina's Secret Product details

#72,756 Historical Romances · #96,997 Romantic Suspense · #107,800 Paranormal

For Love of the Duke Product details

Publisher: Christi Caldwell Incorporated (self-published)
#85,170 Kindle Store · #1,603 Regency Historical Romance

Editorial Reviews (Kindle edition)

Diane ahead

This is a genuine strength for Diane: her Kindle page carries three named trade reviews — BlueInk (Starred), Foreword and Kirkus. Caldwell's has only an author bio. Diane's reviews just need to be moved higher, into the description and A+ Content, where buyers see them.

Angelina's Secret (Kindle) Editorial Reviews

BlueInk Starred Review, Foreword, Kirkus
Full About the Author
Reviews sit low on the page, unseen by most buyers

For Love of the Duke (Kindle) Editorial Reviews

About the Author only
Relies on 9,543 reader ratings instead

Part 4

Print on demand & print retail

Diane's print-on-demand distribution is strong — her paperback is in stock at Barnes & Noble. Caldwell's model is ebook-first: her paperback is sold mainly through Amazon's used and third-party sellers.

Print-on-demand paperback

Diane ahead

Diane's print edition reaches bookstores; Caldwell's sales live in Kindle Unlimited and audio. Diane should keep her print advantage while adding the ebook-subscription and bundle model that drives Caldwell's numbers.

Angelina's Secret Barnes & Noble

Paperback in stock, ships in 1–2 days
"Find in Stores"
1 review on B&N

For Love of the Duke Paperback

Paperback "from $12.24" via other sellers
Main sales through Kindle+ and Audible

Format & distribution	Jeweled Dagger	Heart of a Duke
Publishing route	Self-published (Jeweled Dagger Publishing)	Self-published (Christi Caldwell Inc.)
Print on demand / B&N	In stock	Third-party sellers
Kindle Unlimited	Banner shown	Most titles free on Kindle+
Audible	Yes	Yes
Series bundles / box sets	None	3, 5, 10 and 22-book bundles
Books in series	3	22

The Brooks Craft plan

How we close the gap in 90 days

Caldwell proved that a self-published historical romance series can reach tens of thousands of readers. This is the same playbook, built on Diane's awards and print reach.

Weeks 1–3

Fix Amazon

Move BlueInk, Foreword and Kirkus quotes into the description and A+
Categories: Pirate, Georgian, Gothic and Historical Mystery romance
Jeweled Dagger 1–3 box set and series bundle
Kindle Unlimited strategy for the series

Weeks 3–8

Build the brand

Books carousel in the Knowledge Panel
Website: Diane in the hero, series reading order, newsletter
Rename the Facebook page to her author name
Instagram content about 18th-century history and the books

Weeks 6–12

Grow readers

Review drive to 150+ ratings on Book 1
Amazon Ads aimed at Christi Caldwell and Regency readers
BookBub featured deal for Book 1
Plan Book 4 to extend the series

Live

Series box set

Top 100

in a niche category

150+

ratings on Book 1

2,000+

social followers

Added

Books carousel on Google

The Jeweled Dagger deserves Heart of a Duke-level readers.

Diane Merrill Wigginton

Christi Caldwell

Author Presence Score