On Good Authority: Publishing the Book that Will Build Your Business

Get Clear (And Not in a Scientology Sort of Way) Before You Write

If someone asks you why you're writing your book and your answer is "To help people," go volunteer. It's much easier, less time consuming and less costly than writing a book! Or you can just listen to this episode. It's another one based on the book I'm writing. Speaking of, if you want exclusive stories, resources and info about this book as I write it, you can sign up for that on annadbook.com. ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVA...

Why Rose-Colored Publishing Glasses Will Bite You in the Ass

You're not a delusional person. At least not usually. But you may be one when it comes to publishing. And that's why I made this episode. It's based on the book I'm currently writing and it's about the delusions I see first-time authors suffer from. Seriously, publishing seems to inspire more delusions than Hugh Grant movies! So here's your wake-up call. Don't hit snooze!  And if you want exclusive stories, resources and info about this book as I write it, you can sign up for ...

Getting Book Launch Support From Your Peeps with Amber Vilhauer

Amber Vilhauer is a leading digital strategist but she's so much more. The founder of NGNG (No Guts No Glory) has come up with a system more ingenious than any I've ever seen when it comes to helping authors corral their network to support their book launches. Longtime listeners know that I'm a pretty jaded person who's tough to impress so you know how much it means when I say that when Amber shared her system and copy and videos with me, I was as blown away as I've been by any str...

What a Book Coach Does—and How to Become One—with Jennie Nash

Jennie Nash is the book coach whisperer. Or at least that's what I've named her after talking to her. The founder and CEO of Author Accelerator, a company that trains, certifies and supports book coaches so they can help writers do their best work, Nash has helped clients land top agents, six-figure book deals and make both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Also the author of 11 books in three different genres, Nash has certified over 130 coaches. If you...

How to Launch a Book by Giving First with Kay Allison

Kay Allison is a former Senior Vice President at a global ad agency who increased her income by six, met and married a man she’s still crazy about 21 years later, helped Fortune 200 companies generate two billion in new revenue, adopted a child and invented four successful businesses since going alcohol free over two decades ago. In short, she's learned how to live a JUICY AF life. And now she's written a book it. While we talk a bit in this episode about being AF and her program ...

On Good Authority: Publishing the Book that Will Build Your Business Trailer

Where Experts Say Publishing is Heading in 2023

The new podcast name debuts with a first-of-its-kind (at least for me) episode: a compilation of thoughts from the different publishing experts who have been on the show.   I was able to get both recorded and written thoughts from a bunch of my favorites, including Dave Chesson, Roseanne Cheng, Amber Vilhauer, Shelby Leigh, Derek Murphy and more. And they talked about everything from social media to AI to taking success into your own hands to so much more.   Give it a listen and...

How to Make Writing (or Finishing) Your Book Your NY's Resolution

This solo episode is all about how you can make writing (or finishing) your book your New Year's Resolution.   The main points are:   Give yourself a month in 2023 your first draft will be done Give yourself a daily (or weekly) page count Have accountability Build your audience Don't set yourself up for failure Get clear on your "why" Set up small goals along the way Listen to get all the deets!   ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR...

Why Authors Should Be Using Pinterest with Roseanne Cheng

Roseanne Cheng is the author of six books, including The Evergreen Author: Master the Art of Book Marketing and Portable Magic: How to Write and Publish a Great Book. The co-founder of Evergreen Authors—an online school that helps authors figure out the business of being a writer—she is also a Pinterest Queen. Or so I have named her.   In this episode, she broke down why Pinterest is the mostly-undiscovered platform for book promotion, how to create boards that attract the readers...

How Authors Can Master TikTok with BookTok Sensation Shelby Leigh

If you hear words (but are they words really?) like "TikTok" and "BookTok" and go, "Ugh" or "I'm too late" or "I'm too old" or anything of the sort, this episode is for you.   Shelby Leigh got into the TikTok game relatively late and, in under two years, has sold 40,000 books as a result of her videos (one video in particular sold roughly 7000 copies!) This success has led the poet and mental health advocate not only to traditional publishing deals but also to a career as a book m...

Launch a Podcast to Find Your Readers with Whitney Gossett

Whitney Gossett is a woman after my own heart.   A former literary agent who has sold numerous books to Big 5 publishers (including 26 New York Times bestsellers), she saw that traditional publishing was broken. Rather than lamenting that face, she turned around and created an audio company called Content Capital.   In other words, if anyone has her finger on the pulse of how publishing is changing, it's her. That's why I paid attention when she told me her firm belief is that a...

Why Publicists Suck with Christina Nicholson

Christina Nicholson has seen all the bad publicity pitches.   A former TV anchor who hit "delete" faster than publicists could send her terrible pitches, Nicholson is the CEO of Media Maven, a PR agency that offers an online course and group program to help people get media coverage without having to hire a publicist.   Nicholson is also a TEDx speaker and the founder of Podcast Clout, a database for pitching podcasts. And she's offered you—yes you, lucky listener—a 50% off coup...

Publishing in the Time of Cancel Culture with Tony Lyons

Tony Lyons, the CEO of Skyhorse Publishing, is not one to shy away from controversy.   He's known, in fact, for picking up books from other publishers when the authors are "cancelled."   I'll be honest...I was scared to record this conversation because the times we live in—where anything you say if you don't subscribe to a certain way of thinking can be an opportunity for others to take you down. But the fact is, I believe that everyone should have a right to say what they belie...

Trademark Trouble with Brian Sachetta

Brian Sachetta is the author and owner of “Get Out of Your Head,” a brand and book series that seeks to help folks overcome anxiety and depression.   As a software developer, he combines his experiences in the tech world with previous mental health battles to draw parallels between computer systems and the human mind in order to give readers practical strategies for evading their own psychological demons.   His two books—Get Out of Your Head: A Toolkit for Living with and Overco...

Why to Ignore the Muse with Robert Greene

Of all the interviews I've done, the one I'm asked about perhaps the most often is with the iconic Robert Greene.   This, of course, is not surprising. Greene is an icon in the writing world—as adored by rappers as he is by intellectual entrepreneurs for his meticulously researched tomes on power, seduction, narcissism and more.   What is surprising is what he revealed in this interview—namely, that traditional publishers don't do anything to support authors, why podcast promoti...

Why a Book Is the World's Best Business Card with Chris Voss

Chris Voss is someone who seems to have popped up out of nowhere before beginning to appear everywhere.   A former hostage negotiator, Voss watched his New York Times bestselling book, Never Split the Difference, become an instant classic in the business world as entrepreneurs soaked up his tactics.    But how, exactly, did his book skyrocket to the top of bestseller lists and become so highly quotable? Turns out Voss took a very deliberate approach to his book promotion and it ...

How to Fix a Broken Book: Misty McAfee

Misty McAfee is an author, marketer, real estate agent and delightful human. She's also someone who has some writing out there that could be relaunched—in particular a book on codependence she released in 2015 and a play she released in 2021.   In this episode, we went through both and discussed how she could change her title, cover, description, publishing company and more.   We also discussed what made her launch the way she did, how to relaunch a book while keeping your exist...

How to Sell 1000s of Books Before Even Writing it with Dan Nicholson

Dan Nicholson graduated summa cum laude from Seattle University with degrees in accounting and information systems before completing a fellowship at the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. He went on to work at Deloitte and various Fortune 500 companies and has been named to CPA Practice Advisor’s 40 Under 40 list of global accountants four times.   But, as he might say, blah blah blah.   His passion—and what he wrote his book Rigging the Game about—is what he had to unlear...

How to Fix a Broken Book: John Checki

Did you launch a book and have it not go according to plan?   That's what happened to John Checki, which is why he's the ideal person to feature on my new type of episode, "How to Fix a Broken Book."   He released his book, Spend Time and Save Money, in 2020 and while it's served as a business card for his son JJ (they wrote it together), it hasn't moved the needle nearly as much as it could have.   And so we discussed how his title, cover, description, byline, publisher name ...

How Authors Can Avoid Getting Sued with Maria Riegger

Many authors are afraid of getting sued.   Many authors are confused about copyright. (It's legit confusing.)   Many authors don't know that they should establish an LLC.   That's why author and attorney Maria Riegger's advice and suggestions were so useful.    In this episode, we talked about how to copyright your book, the risks of writing about someone you know and the importance of setting up an LLC, among many other things.   She's also written a book, Legal Issues Au...

"My First Launch" (Round Table!)

Oh, wait a treat this one is!   Here you're getting four for the (free!) price of one: a round table interview with four of my clients at ONCE: Barbara Legere, Tamar Hermes, Chris Joseph and Lauren Schwarzfeld on the anxieties and excitement of their first book launch.   Only listen if you want to hear the disparate experiences authors have on their first book launch!   IF YOU'RE WRITING A NON-FICTION BOOK, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BO...

How to Make Your Book Into a Podcast with Jeremy Enns

Jeremy Enns is the founder of Podcast Marketing Academy, the only growth-focused podcast education platform for experienced creators, brands and marketers looking to build long-term, sustainable audience growth systems.   We met five years ago at the World Domination Summit in Portland and I've followed his work religiously ever since. I've had other guests on before to talk about how authors can get booked on podcasts but I wanted to bring him on to talk about how authors can tur...

The Big Mistake You Need to Avoid with Craig Stanland

Boy, does Craig Stanland have a story to tell.   It starts with the FBI knocking on his door, followed by two years in prison.   But that's not really what we delve into here. Instead we talk about the book he wrote on his experience—and the one major mistake he made.   Now that he's at work on book number two (title TBD—we get into that in the conversation), he's approaching everything differently.   Find out about that, as well as how he's planning to use videos to launch ...

Author Newsletter Musts with Holly Darling

Holly Darling is the owner of Holly Darling HQ, a business that focuses on helping authors create and implement their email marketing strategies to sell more books and build their brand loyalty.    In other words, she was the perfect person for me to interview about why you need to start your author newsletter list now—and the most effective ways to do that.   In this episode, we talked about so many things, including but not limited to: which newsletter provider is the best one...

The Secret to Getting Amazon Reviews for Your Book with Craig Tuch

Craig Tuch is doing God's work.   At least when it comes to the author who really wants Amazon reviews.   See, Tuch started a company called Hidden Gems that, among other author services, provides a way for authors to gather reader reviews for their books. As anyone who has managed an Advanced Reader Team can attest, getting people to follow through on actually writing the reviews they've promised is no simple feat. Hidden Gems to the rescue—with very reasonable prices to boot! ...

How a Book Can Make You $5 Million with Rich Goldstein

Rich Goldstein is a patent attorney, speaker, host of the Innovations and Breakthroughs podcast and, most relevantly for this show, the author of the bestselling book The ABA Consumer Guide to Obtaining a Patent, which was published by the American Bar Association.   He's someone who understands through and through what a book can do for someone's business and in this episode, we got into all that as well as how writing a book changed Rich's career, why he sends a copy of the book...

What a Book Can Do For an Entrepreneur with Rich Goldstein

Rich Goldstein is a patent attorney, speaker, host of the Innovations and Breakthroughs podcast and, most relevantly for this show, the author of the bestselling book The ABA Consumer Guide to Obtaining a Patent, which was published by the American Bar Association.   He's someone who understands through and through what a book can do for someone's business and in this episode, we got into all that as well as how writing a book changed Rich's career, why he sends a copy of the book to any...

What You NEED If You Don't Want Your How-To Book to Fail

This solo episode is material from the book I'm currently writing (working title The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Preparing, Promoting and Profiting from Your How-to Book). I'm sharing it with you for several reasons:   1) If you're writing a how-to book, you need it. It is all about the WHY, WHAT and WHO of conceptualizing a how-to book.   2) I am practicing what I preach in this book, which is SHARE WHAT YOU'RE WORKING on with your audience so the people you're writing it for can g...

You’re Going About Promoting Your Book on Podcasts all Wrong with Alex Sanfilippo

Alex Sanfilippo is the host of the top-rated podcast Podcasting Made Simple, the founder of PodPros.com, a software company focused specifically on the podcasting industry and the co-creator of PodMatch, a service that matches podcast guests and hosts together for interviews. That's not all! He also co-founded PodcastSOP, a project management tool that helps podcasters keep up with their episode releases.   You get it: the guy is POD OBSESSED.   So who better to come on the show...

The 5 Most Common Questions of First-Time Authors

Today, in this solo episode, I'm answering the five most common questions first-time authors have. They are:   Do I need a copyright for my book? How many copies of my book will be printed? If I launched a book, and I didn't sell many copies, should I relaunch it? Should I sell my book only on Amazon?   Forgive me, that's four. I honestly thought when I recorded it that it was five. I am truly this bad with numbers. Good thing I can do words, no?   IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU ...

11 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Should Launch a Book

This solo episode is focused on 11 reasons every entrepreneur should launch a book. They are:   Less money spent on ads Less money and time spent on client acquisition Less money spent on PR More effective podcast interviews Less time spent creating content Less time spent coming up with keynotes since they can come from the book Less worrying about the competition, and wondering why someone else got the media hit or speaking gig Numerous opportunities to impress the F out ...

The 7 Biggest Mistakes First-Time Authors Make

This solo episode is focused on the seven biggest mistakes first-time authors make. They are:   Skimping on cover design Not optimizing book descriptions Not have a reason why/CTA Slacking on editing Not gathering reader reviews Not getting that it's not about them Listening to people who give bad advice once the book is written   Listen to get all the deets!   IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM ...

Why You Need to Make Sure Your Readers Aren’t Broke with Scott Duffy

Scott Duffy is an entrepreneur and business strategist. He is listed as a “Top 10 Speaker” by Entrepreneur and has been named one of the “Top Influential People To Follow” by Yahoo! Finance.   He's also the author of three different business books on three different topics, from three different publishers and launched in three entirely different ways. When I was at his mastermind a few weeks ago, he articulated why entrepreneurs should launch books in a way that was clearer than I...

How to Save Yourself From a Disastrous Book Launch with Scott Duffy

Scott Duffy is an entrepreneur and business strategist. He is listed as a “Top 10 Speaker” by Entrepreneur and has been named one of the “Top Influential People To Follow” by Yahoo! Finance.   He's also the author of three different business books on three different topics, from three different publishers and launched in three entirely different ways. When I was at his mastermind a few weeks ago, he articulated why entrepreneurs should launch books in a way that was clearer than I'd ever...

How to Get Over Yourself and Just Promote Your Book with Jerry Stahl

Jerry Stahl is the iconic author of Permanent Midnight (made into a movie starring Ben Stiller), among nine other books (among them, OG Dad, Pain Killers, I, Fatty, Perv, Plainclothes Naked, Happy Mutant Baby Pills, Bad Sex on Speed and his latest, Nien Nien: One Man's Tale of Depression, Psychic Torment, and a Bus Tour of the Holocaust).   A Pushcart Prize–winning author, Stahl’s work has appeared in Esquire, Vice, The Believer, Tin House, Los Angeles Review of Books and the New ...

The Business of Being a Writer with Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman has an icon in the publishing space. With over two decades of experience in the business, she is truly considered the world's leading expert on traditional publishing, self publishing and where the twain shall meet. She's the curator of The Hot Sheet, a biweekly paid newsletter, oversees a wildly popular blog and is also the author of The Business of Being a Writer.   In this episode, we discussed how important it is to know what you want your book to do for you, how...

How to Make Your Book Into a TEDx Talk with Bridget Sampson

Bridget Sampson is a Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies, the author of Communication Secrets for Success and the co-author of Communication Training and Development. She's also a TEDx speaker who helps other people write and deliver their TEDx talks.    All of this made her the perfect person to talk to about how to convert your book into a TEDx talk, whether or not you should outline or write the talk out completely, how to book a TEDx slot, how many times to practice, w...

How to Get a Journalist's Attention with HARO Creator Peter Shankman

Peter Shankman is many things, among them a five-time best selling author, entrepreneur and corporate in-person and virtual keynote speaker who focuses on customer service. But in this episode I got him speaking about something so many of you ask me about: HARO, or Help a Reporter Out...the website he started (and sold to Cision many years ago) that helps so many authors get featured in mainstream media.   In this conversation, which happened in rapid fire while he was in the throws of s...

The Secret to Getting Media Attention with HARO Creator Peter Shankman

Peter Shankman is many things, among them a five-time best selling author, entrepreneur and corporate in-person and virtual keynote speaker who focuses on customer service. But in this episode I got him speaking about something so many of you ask me about: HARO, or Help a Reporter Out...the website he started (and sold to Cision many years ago) that helps so many authors get featured in mainstream media.   In this conversation, which happened in rapid fire while he was in the thro...

Approaching Your Book Like It's a Business with Bonnie Habyan

Bonnie Habyan is a communications marketing professional with an MBA in banking and finance. She's been a news reporter, a wedding DJ and even a Miss Baltimore Oriole. But now she's taken on a whole new role: as an author. Her book, The World According to Bess, is a true love letter to her 90-year-old mother—a woman who can definitely give the Sh*t My Dad guy's dad a run for his money. What surprised Bonnie the most about the book process is that, despite her history in marketing,...

You May Be Going About Your Non-Fiction Book All Wrong With Elizabeth Lyons

Elizabeth Lyons is the creator of the Book Writing Accelerator and a five-time author whose first book, which she wrote because she couldn't find another book on the topic and really needed it, sold over 20,000 copies.   As someone who helps aspiring authors write and publish books, she's become a bit of my comrade-in-arms the past few years, where we regularly text each other questions, concerns and the occasional (or not so occasional) gripe.   We have so many feelings and thoughts...

What Your Non-Fiction Book Needs with Elizabeth Lyons

Elizabeth Lyons is the creator of the Book Writing Accelerator and a five-time author whose first book, which she wrote because she couldn't find another book on the topic and really needed it, sold over 20,000 copies. As someone who helps aspiring authors write and publish books, she's become a bit of my comrade-in-arms the past few years, where we regularly text each other questions, concerns and the occasional (or not so occasional) gripe. We have so many feelings and thoughts about p...

Write a Letter to Your Future Reader with Elizabeth Lyons

Elizabeth Lyons is the creator of the Book Writing Accelerator and a five-time author whose first book, which she wrote because she couldn't find another book on the topic and really needed it, sold over 20,000 copies.   As someone who helps aspiring authors write and publish books, she's become a bit of my comrade-in-arms the past few years, where we regularly text each other questions, concerns and the occasional (or not so occasional) gripe.   We have so many feelings and tho...

Hollywood Special: Turning Your Books Into Movies with Ben Mezrich

Ben Mezrich has sold over 10 million copies of his books. And, by the way, that’s not even the impressive part. The impressive part is that he sells EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS BOOKS as a movie or TV show; in fact, if Hollywood isn’t interested in the treatment, he doesn’t even write the book. Mezrich has gotten into this position because of a chance encounter with some MIT students, which led to his writing Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for ...

How to Sell Over 10 Million Copies (and Have Your Books Made Into Movies) with Ben Mezrich

Ben Mezrich has sold over 10 million copies of his books.   And, by the way, that’s not even the impressive part. The impressive part is that he sells EVERY SINGLE ONE OF HIS BOOKS as a movie or TV show; in fact, if Hollywood isn’t interested in the treatment, he doesn’t even write the book.  Mezrich has gotten into this position because of a chance encounter with some MIT students, which led to his writing Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took...

Making Books Into Movies with Warner Bros Studio Head Mike DeLuca

Mike De Luca has, arguably, more experience than anyone else out there when it comes to turning books into movies: three of the four times he's done it (for The Social Network, Moneyball and Captain Phillips), he has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and the one time he wasn't nominated for one of his book-to-film adaptations, it was for a little movie called 50 Shades of Gray. He's done several other million things in his career, including discovering Paul Thomas...

Multiple Oscar Nominee Mike DeLuca on Making the Books 50 Shades, Social Network, Moneyball and Captain Phillips Into Movies

Mike De Luca has, arguably, more experience than anyone else out there when it comes to turning books into movies: three of the four times he's done it (for The Social Network, Moneyball and Captain Phillips), he has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and the one time he wasn't nominated for one of his book-to-film adaptations, it was for a little movie called 50 Shades of Gray. He's done several other million things in his career, including discovering Paul Thomas Anderson...

Hollywood Special: Making A Book Into a Movie with 50 Shades Producer Mike DeLuca

Mike De Luca has, arguably, more experience than anyone else out there when it comes to turning books into movies: three of the four times he's done it (for The Social Network, Moneyball and Captain Phillips), he has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and the one time he wasn't nominated for one of his book-to-film adaptations, it was for a little movie called 50 Shades of Gray. He's done several other million things in his career, including discovering Paul Thomas Anderson...

How Paul Angone Got a Book Deal and Sold Over 100k Books

Paul Angone had an extremely unusual journey to success as an author.   First, he tried to sell a book. For eight years. Nary a bite.   Then a blog post he dashed off went viral. Very viral. From there, he was able to sell a book based on that blog post to a publisher. The problem was that he had to finish it in a month.   Well that book and the next have sold over 100,000 copies and launched a massive speaking career.   But that's not even why I wanted to have him on the po...

Ready-Made Book Special: Turning a Book Into a Course with Paul Angone

Paul Angone had an extremely unusual journey to success as an author. First, he tried to sell a book. For eight years. Nary a bite. Then a blog post he dashed off went viral. Very viral. From there, he was able to sell a book based on that blog post to a publisher. The problem was that he had to finish it in a month. Well that book and the next have sold over 100,000 copies and launched a massive speaking career. But that's not even why I wanted to have him on the podcast. I wanted h...