Behind the Book Cover (Newsletter)

When I recently stumbled across a thread populated by women blithely declaring that they hated the ending of Yesteryear, I felt an emotion I thought I’d taught myself not to feel for strangers on the internet: anger. How dare you, I wanted to chime into the conversation. I’m happy to report that I did not chime in because though I’m not above feeling angry at strangers, I know better than to instigate a fight. Besides, how can you instigate a fight over how someone feels about creative material?

Nicolas Cole built his first ghostwriting business by answering questions on Quora in 2014, and somehow that has compounded into a $10M+ portfolio of writing companies that he runs with his partner Dickie Bush—anchored by Premium Ghostwriting Academy, the 16-week program that’s trained roughly 2,000 ghostwriters to charge premium rates. Cole is a three-time guest on this show, which is a record nobody else holds, and there’s a reason for it.

Gary White is a Scottish marketer who spent years building funnels for Russell Brunson at ClickFunnels before he got obsessed with one specific kind of client: people who cared so much about a subject they wrote a book on it. He turned that obsession into bookfunnels.io, a company that’s helped hundreds of authors stop selling books on Amazon and start using their books to acquire actual paying clients. I have to admit something.

In 2023 I opened my book On Good Authority by saying AI wasn’t going to replace writers. Three years later, I still believe that. But so much that I thought about publishing in 2023 has shifted that I’m re-releasing the book—two new chapters, an updated audiobook and a free upgrade for anyone who bought the original. Because the gap between what was true then and what’s true now is the whole story. There are three main things that made me feel like a new edition was necessary.

It’s entirely possible that I have a “thing” about updating books. I did it with Party Girl (though that was because I have become a slighly conservative Valley dwelling mom of a toddler whose former self astounds her). Now she’s done it again! To be clear, I don’t mean she’s started talking about herself in the third person again, though she’s done that, too.

Steve Sarner spent eight years at Amazon and was VP of sales at Goodreads, which means he understands something most authors don’t: Book sales are not the point. What Steve focuses on now is something I think more people should be talking about: not selling books, but seeding them—that is, getting them into the hands of the exact people who can turn them into something bigger. This, you could say, is my obsession.

Behind the Book Cover The Real Way Smart People Are Using AI (It’s Not Writing Books) 1× 0:00 Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -47:03 -47:03 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. The Real Way Smart People Are Using AI (It’s Not Writing Books) DOWNLOAD FROM ANY PLATFORM HERE! Rex Sorgatz is one of those people who has been early to everything—blogging, digital media, startups—and now AI storytelling.

Behind the Book Cover Publishing Promised Everything and Delivered Almost Nothing. So He Built His Own Version. 1× 0:00 Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -44:54 -44:54 Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Publishing Promised Everything and Delivered Almost Nothing. So He Built His Own Version. DOWNLOAD FROM ANY PLATFORM HERE! Charlie Hoehn worked for Tim Ferriss for years and got the job in a way Tim has actually written about (worth the click).

I was a snob about AI in publishing. I’ll just say it. When companies started popping up in late 2022 promising to use AI to write books, I had the same reaction I once had to self publishing when I was still in the traditional world: I want nothing to do with these people. Dan Curran has made me reconsider—some of it, anyway.

Okay, new approach happening! I started off this Substack posting essays—mostly tirades against traditional publishing with as many references to Taylor Swift as I could fit in. Then I switched to just posting episodes of my Behind the Book podcast. I did the pivot because I’ve reached a point in my career—er, life—where if I’m not passionate about something, and it’s a labor of love as opposed to a part of my bottom line, I stop.