Author Presence Audit — David E. Comings

The verdict

Author Presence Score

Brooks Craft scores ten areas that decide whether a reader finds, trusts and buys a book. Each is rated from what is live today on Google, Amazon and the web.

out of 100

David E. Comings — The Science of Global Warming

Critical gaps found

out of 100

Bill Gates — How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Category leader

David E. ComingsBill Gates

Google Knowledge Panel

6 / 10

Google book visibility

1 / 10

Author / book website

3 / 10

Amazon author presence

5 / 10

A+ Content

0 / 9

Categories & rank

1 / 9

Reviews & ratings

0 / 10

Formats (incl. audio)

4 / 10

Wide distribution

3 / 10

Earned media & PR

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. Dr. Comings is on the left, Bill Gates on the right.

Google search: the author's name

Gap

Dr. Comings already has a strong Knowledge Panel, backed by Wikipedia, that calls him an "American geneticist". That is the problem for this book: Google presents him as a geneticist, not as a climate author, and the panel shows no Books row. Bill Gates's panel leads with his books, Amazon author page and a Penguin video.

David E. Comings Google

Wikipedia-backed panel with photos and a YouTube interview
Labelled "American geneticist" — the climate book is not mentioned
No Books carousel; Wikipedia overview stops at his 2002 retirement

Bill Gates Google

Amazon author page is the first organic result
Penguin Random House video for his latest book in the panel
Books carousel and "What books has Bill Gates authored?"

Google search: the book title

Critical gap

This is the biggest gap. Searching the full title of Dr. Comings's book returns a generic AI answer about climate investing built from Reuters and the UN. His book is not mentioned at all. Searching Gates's title returns a book panel, a Goodreads rating and buy buttons.

The Science of Global Warming Google

Google results for If I Were A Billionaire

Google does not recognise the book — no book panel
AI Overview answers with Reuters and UN sources instead
No buy buttons, no rating, no author photo

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster Google

Google results for How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Book panel: "Book by Bill Gates", Goodreads 4.1/5
"Read now" buttons for Kindle, Audible and library search
AI Overview summarises the book's thesis

Website & book page

High gap

The Comings Foundation site is rich in research but built like a document archive: 20+ menu links, red bullet lists and the book cover shown as a flat print proof. The site promotes the book under a different title from Amazon. The book's publisher page is built to sell: a Look Inside, an audio sample and eight retailer buttons.

thecomingsfoundation.org Website

Book title differs from Amazon: The Science of Global Warming and Four Ways to Fix It
No buy button — "available on Amazon and bookstores" with no links
A menu item labelled "template" is live on the site
Dated design with 20+ navigation links

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster Book page

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster publisher page

Look Inside, audio sample and read sample
8 retailer buttons including Target and Walmart
Paperback, large print, hardcover, ebook and audio

Amazon author presence

Gap

Dr. Comings's Author Store has a photo, a bio and 5 titles. Its earlier medical books have more ratings than the climate book. A search for Bill Gates on Amazon returns Editors' Pick badges on his own books.

David E. Comings Author Store

Photo, bio and 5 titles
Bio opens with his childhood interest in evolution, not climate
Climate book has 1 rating; older titles carry the reviews

Bill Gates Amazon

"Editors' pick" badges on two of his books
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: 11.3K ratings
Hardcover, paperback, Kindle, audiobook and audio CD

Part 2

Book presence on Amazon

Most nonfiction is bought on Amazon. This is where the gap costs Dr. Comings the most.

Product listing, above the fold

High gap

Gates's listing opens with "#1 New York Times Best Seller" and an Editors' Pick badge. Dr. Comings's listing has a 27-word title, a description written entirely in italics, and none of his credentials — 37 years as a medical geneticist and 498 scientific papers — anywhere above the fold.

The Science of Global Warming Listing

27-word title that gets cut off in search results
No credentials, no reviews, no awards in the description
Only Kindle and paperback; no audiobook
Sponsored storage-cart ad under the description

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster Listing

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster Amazon listing

"Editors' pick: Best Nonfiction" badge
"#1 New York Times Best Seller" as the first line
Kindle, Audiobook, Hardcover and Paperback plus an Audible sample

A+ Content & reviews

Critical gap

Gates's page shows three branded quote cards from The Wall Street Journal, Wired and Science. Dr. Comings's page has no A+ Content and a single customer rating, so a shopper scrolling down finds nothing that builds trust.

The Science of Global Warming Below the fold

One customer rating on David Comings book

No A+ Content
1 global rating, no written reviews
No editorial reviews section

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster From the Publisher

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster A+ Content

Quote cards: The Wall Street Journal Magazine, Wired, Science
Branded with the book's cover colours
Backed by 11,329 customer ratings

Categories & Best Sellers Rank

Critical gap

Gates's book ranks in the top 115 of three focused categories. Dr. Comings's book is placed in only one broad category, Environmental Science, where it ranks #9,081.

The Science of Global Warming Product details

#5,199,671 in Books
Only 1 category: #9,081 Environmental Science
Published March 5, 2025 — 174 pages

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster Product details

#289,808 in Books (hardcover, five years after launch)
#86 Environmental Engineering · #114 Environmental Policy · #114 Environmental Economics

Amazon factor	The Science of Global Warming	How to Avoid a Climate Disaster	Gap
Best Sellers Rank	#5,199,671	#289,808	Critical
Ranked categories	1 (#9,081)	3 (all top 115)	Critical
Ratings	5.0★ · 1 rating	4.5★ · 11,329 ratings	Critical
A+ Content	None	3 press quote cards	Critical
Badge	None	Editors' Pick: Best Nonfiction	High
Formats	Kindle, paperback	Kindle, audiobook, hardcover, paperback, large print	High
Title	27 words, different from the website title	Short title + clear subtitle	Medium

Platform	The Science of Global Warming	How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
Amazon Kindle + paperback	Yes	Yes, plus hardcover and large print
Audiobook (Audible)	Not available	Yes
Barnes & Noble	Not found	Yes
Bookshop.org / indie stores	Not found	Yes
Target / Walmart	Not found	Both
Libraries (WorldCat)	Not found	Yes
Translations	English only	Spanish, Chinese and more
Buy links on own website	None	8 retailer buttons

Part 4

Marketing presence

Dr. Comings has credentials most climate authors can't match and is already doing podcasts. None of it is connected to the Amazon page or to Google's view of the book.

Channel	David E. Comings	Bill Gates
Bestseller lists	None	#1 New York Times Best Seller
Press reviews	None on Amazon	The Wall Street Journal, Wired, Science
Credentials	Medical geneticist, City of Hope (1966–2002); 498 scientific papers	Microsoft co-founder; Breakthrough Energy founder
Podcasts & video	Global Book Network, Chris Voss Show, Robert Plank Show, Flobo Boyce Show	Netflix series, TED talks, national TV
Owned channel	Foundation site with quarterly climate updates	Gates Notes blog, YouTube, Instagram
Goodreads	Not established for this book	4.1/5, shown in Google

The Brooks Craft plan

How we close the gap in 90 days

Ordered by speed of impact: fix what Amazon and Google show today, then turn Dr. Comings's scientific authority into a climate-author brand.

Weeks 1–3

Fix Amazon

One title everywhere: short title + keyword subtitle
Description rewrite: credentials and podcast quotes first, normal formatting
Three focused categories: Climatology, Environmental Policy, Global Warming
A+ Content: "Four Ways to Fix It" visual, author-credentials banner, quote cards
Editorial reviews section filled in

Weeks 3–8

Build the brand

Knowledge Panel: add a Books carousel and "author" role next to "geneticist"
Google book entity for the climate title (Google Books, schema, Goodreads)
Book landing page with buy buttons on the Foundation site; remove the "template" link
Wide distribution: B&N, Bookshop, libraries

Weeks 6–12

Grow readers

Audiobook production for Audible
Review campaign to 50+ Amazon ratings
Amazon Ads aimed at readers of Gates, The Uninhabitable Earth and Drawdown
Pitch to science and climate podcasts using his 37-year research career

Live

Google book panel

Approved

A+ Content

Top 500

in a climate category

50+

Amazon ratings

Started

Audiobook production

A climate book that deserves Bill Gates-level reach.

David E. Comings, M.D.

Bill Gates

Author Presence Score