Behind the Book Cover

He Sold 87 Copies—and Made $2.5M

Anna David — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

If you're thinking about writing an authority building book, and I really hope you are, and you don't want to be counting pennies or checking your book sales all the time, you actually want a book that's going to change your life, I can tell you how. Just go to sevenfigurebooks.com. I'm not trying to capture your email or anything. You can just download this PDF that's going to tell you exactly how to turn an authority building book into revenue, speaking, authority, and no exaggeration, a whole new life.

Alex Mandossian sold 87 copies of his book and made $2.5 million from it, which is either the best argument for publishing a book or the best argument against caring about sales numbers (or both).

I've known Alex for years, and what makes him fun to talk to is that he'll just say the thing most authors won't admit: the book was never the product. It was the thing that got him in the room. He gave signed copies away on stages across six continents and every single one of his high-ticket consulting clients mentioned the book before they hired him. Not because it was a bestseller (600 copies sold, total, across two books) but because having it made him the guy who literally wrote the book on his thing.

Alex calls a book a "credentializer," which is not a word, but it should be. He also has a collection of one-liners he calls Alexisms that are annoyingly quotable. We get into all of it — how he turned one book into years of content, why he thinks most authors completely misunderstand what a book is actually for and what happens when you stop chasing sales and start using your book as the best business card that's ever existed.

In this episode:

How 87 copies sold turned into $2.5 million in revenue (and why the math makes more sense than you think)
Why every single high-ticket client referenced the book before saying yes
What happens when you give signed copies away on stages instead of trying to sell them
The Alexisms — and why deceptively simple one-liners are a branding strategy
Why most authors are obsessed with the wrong metric

Want to find out more about my hybrid book publishing company, Legacy Launch Pad? Click here. Want to discover how entrepreneurs get seven-figure returns on their authority-building books? Click here. Want to apply to work with us? Here's where you go.

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

Why Your Book Is Never “Done”—And How It Can Keep Making Money for Years

Anna David — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Kurtz spent decades helping build Boardroom into a billion-dollar business through direct response marketing, which means he knows more about what actually makes people buy things than almost anyone I've ever talked to.

So when he finally wrote his book Overdeliver, he didn't do what most authors do (cross his fingers, pray for a bestseller list, then move on). He treated the book like a business asset that would keep working for years, and that's exactly what it's done.

What I wanted to get into with Brian is his idea of the "perpetual launch"—that a book is never done launching, which sounds exhausting until you hear how he actually does it. He used bonuses, podcasts and decades of relationship capital to turn one book into a long-term client engine, and he'll tell you straight up that capturing a reader's email matters more than any Amazon ranking ever will.

He also wrote for nearly a decade before publishing, which gave him something most authors skip straight past: an actual voice.

And then there's the part of this conversation that puts everything else in perspective. The day before his book launch, Brian had a near-fatal stroke. We talk about what that did to how he thinks about legacy and why, after something like that, the long game stops being a strategy and starts being the only thing that makes sense.

In this episode:

What the "perpetual launch" means in practice (and why most authors quit too early)
Why Brian says capturing an email is worth more than an Amazon ranking
How decades of relationship capital turned one book into a multi-million-dollar asset
The near-fatal stroke that happened the day before his launch — and how it changed everything
Why writing for years before publishing is the real shortcut

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

What 50 Years in the Business Taught Him—And Why He Finally Wrote the Book About It

Anna David — Tue, 24 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Richard Lawson has spent 50+ years in Hollywood acting, teaching and mentoring people like George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer, so writing a book could have been a victory lap—a way to package the lessons and put a bow on everything.

That's not what happened. Writing The Artist's Roadmap: Navigating Your Career in SHOW Business didn't just organize what Richard already knew. It woke something up. It led to a Substack, a memoir in progress, a series of children's books and an entirely new creative chapter that he wasn't expecting at this stage of his life.

What I wanted to get into with Richard is how that happened—how the process of writing the book became the thing that renewed him, not just the product of a long career. He tells me about a moment during a college musical in 1969 that set everything in motion (and why he still feels guided by that same force today). He talks about surviving an actual plane crash and what that did to his relationship with intuition. And he explains the dialogue between his two inner voices—his spiritual guide "Richard" and his creative alter ego "Tricky Dick"—which is not the kind of thing you expect from a guy who's spent five decades in the business, and that's exactly why it's interesting.

In this episode:

The 1969 revelation during a college musical that he says still drives him today
How surviving a plane crash reshaped how he trusts his own instincts
"Richard" vs. "Tricky Dick"—the two inner voices and what they taught him about creativity
His three-part formula for show business success: politics, personality and craft
Why the book led to a Substack, a memoir, children's books and an entire second creative wave he didn't plan
What he means by "dream whisperer" (and how he helps people find their way back to their purpose)

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

He Raised His Prices 60x After Writing a Book

Anna David — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Justin Breen used to charge $500 for his PR services. After writing his first book, he started charging $30,000.

That's not a typo, and it's not because the book sold a million copies—it's because the book made him the person clients wanted to hire at that price.

Justin's path to authorship started when his journalism salary got cut in half and he cold-contacted 5,000 people to find his first five clients. He documented that whole ride in Epic Life, and it led to The Epic F.I.T. Network, speaking engagements and media opportunities that didn't exist before the book.

But what I really wanted to talk about is what happened with his second book, Epic Journey, because it got weird in the best way.

Justin describes the writing process as channeling divine inspiration while literally staring at the sun on his daily runs, which I know sounds like something you'd scroll past—but the manuscript had such an impact on early readers that one of them got a tattoo inspired by it. The book led to what he calls a "complete ego death," an amicable divorce, a total life overhaul and a new AI music company called Corvia.AI. He's currently not sure where he's going to live next, which is either terrifying or the most honest thing an entrepreneur has ever admitted on a podcast.

We also get into why he thinks not everyone should write their own book (which is a bold thing to say on this particular podcast) and his potential collaboration with Melissa Bernstein of Melissa & Doug Toys.

In this episode:

How writing a book took him from $500 to $30,000 per client
The 5,000 cold contacts that launched his entire business
Why Epic Journey led to an ego death, a divorce and a company he didn't plan
The early reader who got a tattoo inspired by the manuscript
Why he says not everyone should write their own book (and what to do instead)
The potential Melissa Bernstein (Melissa & Doug) collaboration

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

The Book Launch That Became a Movement (Billboards, Celebrities and Sold-Out Events)

Anna David — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Christos Garkinos went from being a lonely gay Greek kid in Detroit to running marketing for Virgin Megastores, launching fashion lines on HSN and becoming Bravo's "Robin Hood of Fashion"—and then lost nearly all of it to addiction, financial collapse and grief.

So he wrote a memoir called Covet the Comeback and launched it like a rock tour.

What I wanted to talk to Christos about is the launch, because it's one of the most ambitious rollouts I've seen from any author, and he did it entirely on his own terms. Celebrity-filled dinners, sold-out events across the country and a billboard in LA that ran for five months—positioned directly above an ATM he used during his darkest days. That's not a marketing stunt. That's a man staring down his own story from a billboard.

But the launch isn't actually the most interesting part of this conversation. Christos gets into what it felt like when people he hadn't spoken to in years started reaching out after reading the book—people who had written him off, people who barely knew him, people who suddenly understood something about him they never had before. He talks about sobriety, ego and surrender with a kind of honesty that you don't usually hear from someone whose instinct is to produce a show. And he gets into how the book didn't just change his public image. It changed his business, his relationships and the way he thinks about what he's actually building.

In this episode:

The five-month LA billboard placed directly above an ATM from his worst days
Why he refused a traditional book launch and built a rollout that looked more like a concert tour
What it felt like when people who'd written him off started reaching out after reading the book
How sobriety reshaped his instincts, leadership and creativity
The moment his community turned his story into their own

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

He Lost Everything—Then Wrote the Book That Rebuilt His Authority

Anna David — Tue, 03 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Walter Clarke lost his investment management firm after a catastrophic business failure involving regulatory action and bad advice, and then did the thing most people in finance would never do: he wrote a book about it.

The Big Risk told the whole story—the painful parts, the parts that could have stayed buried—and it turned what could have been a career-ending chapter into the reason people started hiring him. Writing the book transformed shame into authority because he was teaching from experience, not theory, and that distinction is the difference between a consultant people tolerate and one they actually trust.

What I wanted to get into with Walter is what happened next, because he didn't stop there. He wrote a second book, 401Kid, built around an idea that sounds simple until you think about it: financial education should start at birth, not adulthood. Walter has spent 30+ years advising wealthy families, and he's watched money quietly destroy relationships, identity and mental health when people aren't prepared for it. He says you lose your kids' attention around age 11, which means every parent who's waiting until their teenager "is old enough" to talk about money has already missed the window.

We also get into why he thinks sudden wealth is more dangerous than not having money at all and why avoiding the "entitlement" conversation with your kids does far more harm than just having it.

In this episode:

How losing his firm led to writing the book that rebuilt his authority
Why sudden wealth is more dangerous than lack of money
The reason financial education has to start before age 11 (and what happens when it doesn't)
How The Big Risk turned a career-ending story into a business asset
Why 401Kid clicked as a title—and as a philosophy

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

He Spent Decades Behind the Scenes on ER and The West Wing—His Book at 78 Put Him in Front

Anna David — Tue, 24 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

When we published Right for the Role, I figured John would sell a few books, make some actors cry and call it a day. I was wrong.

John is a four-time Emmy-winning casting director who spent decades casting ER, The West Wing and Shameless, and his memoir didn't just tell that story—it completely rewired his creative life at 78. The book sparked a podcast, packed acting schools, landed in the Studio City Barnes & Noble window and somehow made him Instagram-famous (his words, not mine). He's now directing plays in New York and reconnecting with collaborators he hadn't spoken to in years.

What I wanted to talk to John about is what it's like to spend your entire career shaping other people's performances and then, in your late seventies, step into the spotlight yourself for the first time. He gets into what it took to drop the privacy he'd protected for decades, what it's like to relive your life with a co-writer on Zoom and why the Smoke House book signing turned into something closer to an LA industry reunion than a reading. He also swears he "discovered no one," which—if you know anything about the casts of ER or The West Wing—is one of the more generous lies I've heard on this podcast.

The thing he said that stuck with me: the book didn't give him a new life. It gave him his old one back.

In this episode:

How Right for the Role turned into a podcast, a tour and a creative second act at 78
The Smoke House signing that became an industry reunion
Why he insists he "discovered no one" (he's being modest)
What it's like to publish your first book in your seventies and go viral for it
Why he says the book gave him his old life back, not a new one

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

How One Book Turned Into $1M (And Why Most Don’t)

Anna David — Tue, 17 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Dan Nicholson is just the founder and CEO of Nth Degree CPAs.

He’s also one of my favorite Legacy Launch Pad clients.

One of the reasons for this favoritism is that I had the privilege of watching him go from being just another CPA to becoming the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of Rigging the Game. As a result of the book, he now commands up to $20,000 a speaking gig and has generated over seven figures in revenue from the ripple effects of authorship.

How did he do it? Well, he had a system—and you could say he rigged it.

First, he pre-sold hundreds of copies to his network before the manuscript was even complete, ensuring the project would be profitable before it launched. Then he started circulating the book with a focus on speaking and watched his speaking fees skyrocket. Masterminds and conferences have even built entire events around his book!

Now prospects arrive at his CPA firm already pre-sold on hiring them, referrals flow in at record levels and his close rates have jumped significantly—even as he raised his prices by 30%. And that’s not all: thanks to his book, he's also doubled his media appearances, landed more podcast interviews and attracted new clients not only to Nth Degree CPAs but for his other ventures, including Certainty U and Certainty News.

Listen in to find out why Dan’s system rigging leaves me in awe.

Episode Highlights:

How Dan pre-sold his book and turned it into a seven-figure revenue generator
The challenges of writing authentically and why ghostwriters didn’t work for him
Why Rigging the Game resonates with entrepreneurs tired of cookie-cutter advice
How speaking gigs, referrals and media appearances multiplied after publication
The real difference between relationship-based and transactional businesses and how books impact each
The systems Dan created to get 80% of his early readers to leave Amazon reviews
Why giving away free copies can sometimes be more valuable than selling them
The philosophy of eliminating downside risk to guarantee upside

Key Takeaways:

A book is not a lottery ticket—it’s a system and success requires planning
Reviews not vanity bulk sales are the most powerful long-term marketing
For service-based businesses credibility from a book allows you to raise rates and close more clients
Media exposure and speaking opportunities don’t happen by accident—you must design the outcomes

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

The Book That Led to a TEDx Talk—and 350,000 Views

Anna David — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

I had a front-row seat to Bonnie Habyan’s transformation. A seasoned CMO with over 20 years in financial services, Bonnie wrote The World According to Bess—a book about her mother's wisdom that we released on her mom's 91st birthday, just months before she passed.

In our conversation, Bonnie walks me through all that the book opened up for her: she landed a TEDx talk that now has 350,000+ views, launched her podcast This Is How SHE Did It and became a keynote speaker on resilience and personal brand power.

We dive into the unexpected wins—Barnes & Noble book signings, knowing her book is available at Target and having strangers sharing intimate stories about their own mothers after hearing her speak. She also reveals how the writing process helped her understand her relationship with her mom better. In the end, she explains how the book scratched an itch that no CMO title ever could—giving her something authentically hers that will outlive her while also teaching her that her superpower is tenacity.

She opens up about being terrified at first—worried about her employer's reaction, about being vulnerable, about putting herself out there. But as she explains, pushing through that fear brought unquantifiable rewards: confidence, legacy and the fulfillment of bucket-list dreams she'd had since childhood.

Topics Discussed:

Why book sales don't matter: How the real value comes from credibility, platform, and opportunities—not revenue from copies sold
From book to TEDx stage: How The World According to Bess became the foundation for Bonnie's TEDx talk, which garnered 350,000+ views and created deep connections with audiences
The power of pre-launch marketing: Building a reader group to generate reviews before publication day, ensuring the book launches with social proof that stays on Amazon forever
Overcoming fear and self-doubt: Bonnie's journey from worrying about her employer's reaction and being vulnerable to embracing confidence and not caring about naysayers
The book as connection machine: How strangers approached Bonnie after her TEDx talk, sharing intimate stories about their own mothers and revealing the impact of her work
Understanding family through writing: How the process of writing the book gave Bonnie deeper insight into her mother's love language, upbringing and their relationship
Discovering your superpower: How the book-writing process revealed that Bonnie's superpower is tenacity and persistence
The gift that keeps giving: Unexpected moments like seeing the book at Target, doing book club talks and receiving messages from readers on the beach
Finding your tribe: The importance of surrounding yourself with supporters rather than naysayers during the creative process
Legacy over career advancement: Why the book's impact on Bonnie's personal fulfillment and legacy mattered more than advancing her CMO career
Vulnerability and authenticity: Putting personal stories into the world and learning to care less about criticism
The book cover moment: How seeing the final cover design was the "aha" moment that brought everything together
Bucket list achievements: Checking off childhood dreams of writing a book, creating a podcast and delivering a TED talk—all stemming from the book

The Book That Started Legacy Launch Pad—and a Foundation That's Sent 200+ People to Treatment

Anna David — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Aiming High was the first book I ever published, and it's the reason Legacy Launch Pad exists. So I'm biased. But the story of what this book did is worth telling regardless.

Darren Prince was one of the most successful sports and celebrity agents in the country—Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali, Charlie Sheen—and he was also quietly battling an addiction that nearly killed him. When we started working together, he wanted to write about his career. I told him his addiction was the real story. He didn't love hearing that, but he listened.

He released the book on the anniversary of Ali and Frazier's "Thrilla in Manila" fight (because of course he did—the man is an agent to his core). Magic Johnson wrote the foreword. A CNN interview with Chris Cuomo launched a global media tour that led to Tucker Carlson, Dr. Oz, Fox & Friends and Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast. A six-figure spokesperson deal came in, and instead of keeping the money, Darren used it to start the Aiming High Foundation, which has now sent over 200 people to treatment.

What I wanted to get into with Darren is all of it—the stuff that makes us laugh and the stuff that makes us a little teary. How his father's death and a conversation with Magic Johnson pushed him to finally tell the truth. How the book revitalized his agency in ways he didn't expect. And how a memoir about hitting bottom turned into a foundation, a speaking career and a life that actually looks like the one he was pretending to have before.

In this episode:

Why I told Darren his addiction—not his celebrity roster—was the real book
The behind-the-scenes story of Magic Johnson writing the foreword
How a CNN interview launched a global media tour
The six-figure spokesperson deal he turned into a foundation that's sent 200+ people to treatment
Why Aiming High was the first book I published and the reason I started Legacy Launch Pad

And if you just want to know more about me, visit my website or connect with me on LinkedIn or Instagram.

Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

One Book → TV Show, Harvard Role and a 61-City Tour

Anna David — Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Matt George isn't just a Harvard Business School executive leadership coach.

He's also one of my favorite Legacy Launch Pad clients. Yes, I say that a lot but I only have my favorites on this show.

I've had the privilege of watching Matt go from being a longtime nonprofit CEO to becoming a three-time #1 bestselling author who leveraged his book into a multimillion-dollar portfolio of speaking, consulting, media and coaching opportunities. As a result of his books, he now works at Harvard Business School, hosted his own prime-time TV show for four years and has generated over a million dollars in revenue from the ripple effects of authorship.

How did he do it? Well, he treated the book we published, Non-Profit Game Plan, like a "business card for life"—he never stopped networking with it.

First, he carried copies everywhere, giving them out on flights, at conferences and to nonprofits across the country. He even packed a full suitcase with 50-60 books for a John Maxwell conference and refused to bring a single one home. Then he embarked on an epic 61-city, 67-day book tour across America, combining media appearances with grassroots nonprofit visits where he literally saw his book help save a young girl's life. (He and I also got to meet for a cup of hot chocolate when his tour took him to LA.)

Today, his media appearances have multiplied 10-15x, his consulting fees have skyrocketed and his speaking invitations stretch from Ivy League alumni clubs to global conferences. And that's not all: thanks to his book, Matt was able to leave his 30-year nonprofit career, land a coveted position at Harvard Business School (coaching C-suite executives from around the world) and launch his own company.

Listen in to find out why Matt's "business card for life" strategy shows why a book truly is the world’s best business card.

Episode Highlights:

How Matt turned his book into the catalyst for a career reinvention at Harvard Business School
The intentional strategy of carrying and giving away books to build brand and revenue
Why books outperform business cards for authority and credibility
How Business Forward and other media opportunities emerged directly from authorship
The 61-city book tour that combined grassroots impact with national visibility
Why reviews and relationships matter more than bulk sales
How Matt monetized his book into consulting, speaking and global coaching streams

Key Takeaways:

A book is a lifelong business card when used strategically
Reviews, not sales rankings, drive long-term credibility
Speaking, consulting, and media come from intentional design, not accident
Authorship creates authority, self-confidence and new revenue streams
The impact of a book goes beyond business—it can literally change lives

The Book Party That Changed Everything

Anna David — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Calvin Bagley spent his childhood dodging the school bus and adulthood building business empires. The founder of multiple eight-figure Medicare companies and a self-proclaimed “big fish in a very specific pond,” Calvin went from growing up in rural isolation with nine siblings and no formal schooling to becoming one of the most respected names in his industry.

His memoir Hiding from the School Bus doesn’t teach you how to scale a business—it shows you how to survive one hell of a childhood and still come out kind, successful and grateful.

In this episode, Calvin and I cover everything from family feuds to Kirkus raves to what it’s like when people you barely know suddenly know all your darkest secrets. He talks about writing 1,000 pages during a bout of shingles (because of course he did), taking his co-writer back to the “scene of the crime” to really feel the trauma and throwing a Vegas book launch complete with goats, carrot cake and cocktails named after his childhood pain.

It’s equal parts therapy session, comeback story and gratitude circle. Calvin somehow manages to turn abuse, neglect and educational deprivation into punchlines—and then pivots to heartfelt lessons on self-acceptance, fatherhood and what it means to finally stop running from your past.

Episode Highlights

What happens when your mom doesn’t know you wrote a memoir
How a shingles outbreak became a literary blessing (seriously)
The Vegas book party that doubled as emotional closure
How radical honesty can make your business stronger
What happens when you tell your story and the world actually listens

Ethlie Ann Vare on Going From Gatekeepers to Algorithms

Anna David — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Ethlie Ann Vare has lived through every incarnation of the media machine—from the era when editors and agents were true gatekeepers to today’s age of algorithms and the “wisdom of the crowd.” A journalist, TV writer and author, Vare built a career on talent, timing and serendipity. She went from covering rock shows in 1980s Los Angeles to penning biographies of Stevie Nicks and Ozzy Osbourne then spent 15 years writing for television shows like Renegade, Silk Stalkings, Andromeda and CSI.

In this episode, Vare reflects on how the publishing world she once knew—where publicists flew authors to The Today Show and books stayed in print for decades—has vanished, replaced by a firehose of content and a marketplace where visibility often trumps talent. She laments that authors are now the product, forced to become their own marketers and brands while readers drown in choice.

A savvy observer of both life and the publishing industry, Vare has proven that good work finds its way. Her New York Times–noted Mothers of Invention and later Love Addict: Sex, Romance and Other Dangerous Drugs (which began as a Tumblr called Affection Deficit Disorder) both emerged from two respective subjects she cared deeply about—women inventors and the psychology of love addiction. Now through her Substack of the same name ,she continues to write “for fun and for free,” offering hard-earned wisdom without worrying about the clicks or sales.

Episode Highlights:

Ethlie recounts her early days in rock journalism where being “good and lucky” opened doors to Billboard, Rock Magazine and national TV appearances.
The shift from gatekeepers to algorithms: how the fall of traditional publishing replaced discernment with popularity contests.
Behind the making of her hit book Mothers of Invention and why its success led to a national lecture tour and lasting influence.
Her perspective on today’s “firehose of content,” author branding and the exhaustion of self-promotion.
The origin of Love Addict, her dive into sex and love addiction and how it evolved from personal exploration to public service.
Reflections on age, authenticity and the strange liberation of being a “digital immigrant” in a youth-driven culture.

Key Takeaways:

The creative industry has shifted from talent being discovered to visibility being demanded.
Writing remains a calling worth pursuing—for love not for money.
Democratization has come at a cost: fewer filters more noise.
The real reward of authorship isn’t fame but connection and survival through reinvention.

Jamie Rose on Finding True Fulfillment After Traditional Publishing's Broken Promises

Anna David — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Jamie Rose is proof that reinvention can be a superpower. After decades as a working actress, she did what most in Hollywood never dare: she pivoted.

First came writing. She landed a Penguin deal for her memoir Shut Up and Dance, diving headfirst into the brutal world of publishing. Then came coaching, where she transformed her 37 years of training with psychiatrist Phil Stutz (of The Tools and Jonah Hill’s Netflix doc Stutz) into a career helping others unlock their potential.

Now she’s tackling her boldest project yet: Facing Madame X: An Initiation into Feminine Power (out March 2026). Part memoir, part self-help, the book distills Stutz’s groundbreaking tools through Jamie’s uniquely female perspective, weaving hard-won lessons of resilience, humor and creativity.

Jamie had to figure out the system for herself. She rode the highs (landing a book deal with a major publisher) and the lows (refreshing Amazon rankings until she nearly lost her mind). She discovered that success wasn’t about fame or money alone—it was about emotional “f-you money,” joy in the process and leaving a legacy that makes people weep (in the best way).

Episode Highlights

Jamie’s leap from Hollywood (Falcon Crest, The Tonight Show) to published author and coach
The rollercoaster of her first book Shut Up and Dance—Penguin deal, PR mishaps, Amazon obsession
Lessons from 37 years with mentor Phil Stutz, now shaping her new book Facing Madame X (2026)
Redefining “f-you money” as emotional freedom, not just financial security
Why reinvention, resilience, and joy matter more than chasing external validation

Key Takeaways

Traditional publishing offers prestige but little control—authors must drive their own success
Setbacks can spark reinvention and deeper purpose
Mentorship and long-term practice transform both work and life
Emotional wealth and detachment create true power
Books are about legacy and impact, not just sales numbers

Mark Ebner on How to Survive the Death of Publishing (and Still Tell the Truth)

Anna David — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Mark Ebner has lived every journalist’s dream. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, Hollywood insider and the guy behind some of the most notorious exposés in entertainment history. But behind the bylines and book deals is a story about an industry that chews up even its most fearless voices—and a writer who found a way to keep telling the truth anyway.

In this conversation, Mark and I talk about everything the publishing world doesn’t want you to know—from missing royalty checks and botched releases to what happens when AI starts scraping your life’s work. He opens up about his unlikely friendship with Andrew Breitbart, the chaos of the book business and how he went from bestselling author to private investigator—while somehow staying one of the funniest, most unflinchingly honest people I’ve ever met.

Episode Highlights

The truth about what it really means to hit the New York Times list (and why it doesn’t make you rich)
How HarperCollins mishandled his biggest book deal—and what it taught him about the industry’s dysfunction
The unexpected camaraderie between a radical leftist and a far-right pundit and how it produced Hollywood, Interrupted
Why bookstores literally killed one of his bestsellers by shelving it in the wrong section
The burnout and betrayal that pushed him to leave journalism and launch a private investigation firm
His take on AI, intellectual theft and the future (or end) of nonfiction writing
The celebrity scandals, lawsuits and cult investigations that defined his career—and why he’s done telling other people’s stories
The strange parallels between chasing leads as a PI and chasing truth as a reporter
The book he still wants to write—and why he might call it Dirtbag

Tom Zoellner on Letting Go of the Hustle to Find Meaning in Writing Rather than Publishing

Anna David — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Tom Zoellner has no illusions about fame, sales or the myth of the “life-changing book.” A National Book Critics Circle Award winner and New York Times bestselling author, Zoellner has written nine acclaimed works of nonfiction including Island on Fire: The Revolt that Ended Slavery in the British Empire, which also became a finalist for the Bancroft Prize and the California Book Award. But despite the accolades, he’s learned to see writing not as a climb toward visibility but as a lifelong meditation on curiosity and craft.

In this episode, he and I had a lively debate about such things as whether technology is the death knell of creativity or an amazing opportunity, if one should be writing to build authority or to simply to experience the satisfaction of delving deeply into a topic and even how to pronounce BISAC (not to mention his last name).

We also talk about how I once said a sentence to him summarizing how I feel about book publishing that he quotes back to me all the time.

Tom may be my polar opposite in terms of using a book to strategically advance but I do admire the way he writes, as he says, to add one small spark to the larger fire of human knowledge. Listen in to find where you may lie on the spectrum of creativity and commercialism (and where the two meet).

Episode Highlights:

Tom recounts his journey from local newspapers in Nebraska to national recognition as an award-winning author.
The evolution of publishing from thoughtful gatekeeping to chaotic marketing—and why he prefers the old systems where “the rules were known.”
The strange hazards of traditional publishing, from miscategorized books to tone-deaf cover designs and dismissive editors.
How his first book, The Heartless Stone, grew out of a broken engagement and a trip to the Central African Republic to investigate the diamond trade.
His growing frustration with publicity, branding and the myth that every author must be a marketer—and how rejecting that mindset changed his relationship to writing.
His perspective on authorship as both isolation and immersion—solitary work that still requires a deep engagement with life.

Key Takeaways:

The best part of writing happens at the keyboard, not on the bestseller list.
Traditional publishing has lost its certainty but the writer’s task remains the same: contribute something meaningful.
There’s power in humility, patience and persistence in a field obsessed with visibility.
A book’s true success isn’t measured in sales or awards but in the moment it adds light to the collective bonfire of ideas.

Dennis Hensley on Going from Landing a Book Deal to Working at Crate & Barrel (And Everything in Between)

Anna David — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Dennis Hensley was the very first real writer I ever knew—back when getting a book published felt like spotting a unicorn in 1990s LA.

His debut novel Misadventures in the (213) came out in 1998, and I thought it was the coolest thing imaginable.

Years later, we'd find ourselves sweating through Ben Allen's dance classes together, proving that creative people really do wear all the hats.

Dennis has written for everyone from Joan Rivers to Wondery podcasts, created party games and somehow made more money dancing in commercials than writing this year.

Our conversation (recorded the day before his 61st birthday) goes deep on resilience, disappointment and figuring out how to keep creating when the scoreboard stops making sense.

Topics Discussed:

The 1990s writing gold rush: When Gen X believed you could actually make a living as a writer, gift bags overflowed at parties. and magazines paid $1 per word
Breaking in: How an audition rejection for Madonna's Blonde Ambition tour became Dennis's first published article, leading to gigs at Movieline, Detour and beyond
Writing for free (for three years): The unglamorous hustle behind Misadventures in the (213), including interviewing Carrie Fisher in her bed and scoring a gym membership through barter
The 2013 Fashion Police strike: How standing up for freelance writers' pay during the Writers Guild organizing effort traumatized Dennis, cost him his best friend/roommate and triggered a health crisis that changed everything
Rehab for disappointment: Dennis's raw account of hospitalization, thinking he'd "die of disappointment" and the long road through somatic therapy, meditation and redefining success
Changing how you keep score: Why tracking wins vs. losses will destroy you, and how Dennis learned to measure creative life by "who I'm being" rather than what he's getting
The game that almost was: Pitching "You Don't Know My Life!" to Jason Bateman's production company, feeling good about the pitches, getting rejected—and being sad for only five seconds
"Everything is impossible, so anything is possible": Life lessons from artist Stephanie Elizondo Griest and why trying matters more than outcomes
Dancing pays better than writing: How Dennis made more money this year from Vegas commercials than his writing career, and why he's okay with that

Mentioned:

Misadventures in the (213) and Screening Party books
Rob Weisbach, Detour, Movieline, Fashion Police
"You Don't Know My Life!" party game
Podcasts: Dennis, Anyone? and Dennis Hensley's Happy and Gay
Ben Allen's Group Three dance class (RIP the Thriller flash mob)

Heather Wood Rudulph on $0 Royalty Checks and Why the Dream Isn’t the Golden Ticket

Anna David — Tue, 18 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Heather Wood Rudulph has done many things in the publishing world, including co-writing Sexy Feminism: A Girl's Guide to Love, Success and Style with Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (a title that very much captured a specific moment in feminist evolution but makes Rudulph give a tiny cringe now).

We met back in the New York media heyday when things like "readings and rub downs" (yes, book readings with massages) seemed totally normal.

Heather's spent over a decade writing about culture and entertainment for everyone from Cosmo to Rolling Stone and now wears many hats in the words world (including as an occasional editor for my company!) This conversation digs into the realities of traditional publishing: the battles you pick, the dreams that get dashed and why understanding business matters as much as loving words.

Topics Discussed:

Fighting for your title: How Heather and her co-author battled their publisher five times to keep Sexy Feminism as their title and why picking your battles matters when you have so little control
The subtitle that aged: Why A Girl's Guide to Love, Success and Style captures a specific moment in feminist history that "wasn't quite there yet"
Traditional publishing reality check: Self-funded book tours, throwing yourself parties in cities where you have friends and learning that you're essentially your own PR machine
The $0 royalty statement: Getting trolled by emails showing zero earnings, letters about books being destroyed in landfills and the occasional thrill of foreign translations
"You're lucky to be publishing a book": Why authors have to make compromises to get to the finish line but also when to stand firm
The proposals that break your heart: Six months developing a Madonna book pitch, not getting the deal, watching someone else write basically the same book
Writers don't get paid for proposals: The reality that you don't earn anything for pitching articles, writing proposals or preparing to teach—only for the finished product
When the golden curtain opens: Jennifer Keishin Armstrong's revelation that publishers only hold real marketing meetings after you've proven you're successful (her Seinfeld book hitting the NYT list)
The advance is not vacation money: Why even six-figure book deals aren't what people think and how writers should already be thinking about the next book before the first one comes out
From entertainment reporter to marketing: How Heather pivoted from writing fluffy celebrity profiles and traveling to spas worldwide to understanding that storytelling lives in business too
The entrepreneurship of writing: Why understanding business isn't selling out—it's survival and how freelancers have to become their own marketing departments
Amazon is the list that matters: Not the New York Times bestseller list but Amazon rankings and reviews from regular people that live forever
"Anybody can write a book": But it's like running a marathon—you have to train, know what you're getting into, keep going when it hurts and want it for the right reasons

Mentioned:

Sexy Feminism: A Girl's Guide to Love, Success and Style
Jennifer Keishin Armstrong (co-author and TV show book specialist)
SexyFeminist.com (their website that became the book)
The era of Feministing and Jezebel
"Readings and Rub Downs" events at Birch Coffee
Work at Cosmo, DAYSPA magazine, LA Daily News and various digital media companies
The sustainability startup that paid $2/word (briefly)
Launch Pad Publishing (Anna's company where Heather now occasionally freelances)

Jeanne Darst on Landing Every Author's Dream Deal (and What Happened Next)

Anna David — Tue, 04 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Jeanne Darst's story is what happens when everything goes right—and then you realize "right" is more complicated than you thought.

After years of doing plays for 200 people in Vermont, she hit the publishing lottery: a bidding war sparked by a “This American Life” appearance that had publishers hunting her down by the next morning.

Riverhead Books won with serious money, the New York Times loved it, Vogue excerpted it, HBO optioned it and she wrote the pilot. It was the full fantasy—except the show didn't get picked up (Girls was coming out), and she spent the next decade in the Hollywood machine.

Her TV writing career was a success—she got a series of TV staff writing jobs—but her second book, Dad's Trying to Kill Me, couldn't find a publisher (despite glowing rejections). Now she's back to putting on shows while continuing to write, because sometimes the dream coming true teaches you what you actually want.

Episode Highlights:

How Jeanne's This American Life story triggered a massive publishing bidding war overnight
The strategic decision to write a proposal instead of submitting a completed manuscript
Why Jeanne chose Riverhead and editor Sarah McGrath over the highest bidder
The simultaneous media blitz: book launch, Vogue excerpt, and This American Life feature
How HBO optioned the book before publication, leading to pilot writing opportunities
The reality of post-success hustle: why the dream is "just the beginning of heartbreak"
Jeanne's second book rejection and the lesson about going to small presses
Why she's returning to grassroots theater after a decade in Hollywood
The father-daughter dynamic when children outachieve their parents professionally

Key Takeaways:

Two years of persistence can lead to overnight success
Agents and gatekeepers are "smart secretaries" - you must drive your own career
Women wait 8 months to resubmit after rejection; men wait 3 days
Big advances don't guarantee book tours or sustained marketing support
Publishers only invest real marketing dollars in books that are already succeeding
Hollywood packaging deals often benefit agencies more than the writers themselves
Complete projects teach more than abandoned ones - finish what you start
Traditional publishing success requires constant self-advocacy and hustle
Family reactions to memoirs can be complicated, especially around professional jealousy

Hannah Sward on Whether or Not It's Worth It to Chase a Book Deal

Anna David — Tue, 21 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hannah Sward’s publishing journey reads like a masterclass in persistence meets divine intervention.

After years of writing short stories for underground literary journals, she stumbled into a free writer’s group at a library—complete with homeless people sleeping on the sidelines.

That’s where she met Jill Sherry Robinson, an 80-year-old bestselling author who essentially kidnapped her and mentored her until she finished her book.

Through a comedy of errors involving three different agents (one retired three months after signing her), Sward eventually sold her book for a whopping $500 advance.

But here's the kicker: by the time her book Strip came out in 2022, Sward had built such authentic relationships in the recovery community that the book found its audience organically. No Instagram strategy needed—just good old-fashioned showing up. Now she's chronicling her sexual adventures after 50 on Substack, where she’s learned that—guess what?—vulnerability pays off when book deals may not.

Episode Highlights:

How Hannah's 14-year friendship with Anna led to confessing literary jealousy at an AA meeting
The serendipitous connection with 80-year-old mentor Jill Sherry Robinson at a free library writers group
Hannah's unconventional memoir structure: 75 short chapters designed for non-readers
The grueling agent search: 100 rejections and three failed agent relationships before going solo
Publishing with a small press for a $500 advance while her father was dying in hospice
How building authentic community relationships over years created organic publicity opportunities
The launch of "Summer of Men" Substack about sex after 50 that had readers paying to find out what happens next
Why Hannah refuses to repeat the traditional publishing process for her next book

Key Takeaways:

Jealousy among writers is normal and can be processed healthily through honest conversation
Mentorship can appear unexpectedly - stay open to guidance from unlikely sources
Persistence pays off: Hannah's father modeled being "the king of rejection" as a badge of honor
Community building matters more than platform building for authentic book promotion
The publishing process can be an "integrated experience" when you work through disappointments internally
Small press publishing with low advances can still lead to meaningful success and readership
Leading with credentials (blurbs from Nobel Prize winners) gets manuscripts read, not just good writing
Writing partnerships and accountability groups sustain creative work over years
Success doesn't fill the internal "hole" - there will always be compare and despair moments
Sometimes the journey to publication teaches more than the publication itself

INTRODUCING: Behind the Book Cover

Anna David — Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:51:00 +0000

if you’re a subscriber, hi! It’s been a minute. And by a minute I mean it’s been almost a year.

That’s because one of the main reasons I do a podcast is so that I can educate myself and after hundreds of interviews, I felt like I’d learned everything I could about how to build authority with a book. I even used many of those interviews in the book I published in 2023, also called On Good Authority.

I was surprised to discover that despite not posting any new episodes, this podcast has been kicking along—remaining in the top 1% of podcasts just because new people are finding the show, or some of you authority junkies are listening to episodes over and over?

Anyway, lately, I’ve been feeling that podcast itch again: that craving for the mic. And I also started a Substack that I’ve loved writing. One day recently it occurred to me that the Substack could have an accompanying podcast and then it occurred to me, hey I already have a podcast – it’s just been lying dormant. And so I’ve renamed the show Behind the Book Cover, same name as my Substack.

Now I’m going to be focusing less on how to build authority from a book and more on the past, present and future of book publishing, as I see it.

The past is the traditional publishing model, which means I’m going to spend the first season talking to authors who come from that world. We’re going to dive into the things no one wants to talk about: the tough days that follow getting the book deal.

Season two will focus on the present: entrepreneurs that are earning literal millions as a result of their books, and how they’re doing it.

And season three will delve into where book publishing is going, with a special focus, of course on AI.

So why am I passionate about this new direction now? I’m so glad you asked!

The Penguin Random House trial in 2023 revealed a lot that had previously been secret—namely, that 85% of book advances never earn out and Random House got its name because, as the CEO said in the trial, they never know which books will succeed so it’s random!

The reality is that most authors make less than minimum wage. And here's the kicker—the entrepreneurs who get caught up in these publishing fantasies often end up worse off than when they started. They're so focused on impressing agents and publishers that they forget their actual goal: growing their business.

So I'm going to be talking to authors about why traditional publishing dreams often backfire for business owners. I'll introduce you to smart entrepreneurs who use books strategically—not as lottery tickets, but as lead generation machines and authority builders. And I'll expose what the publishing industry doesn't want you to know about how this business actually works.

Think of this as the same as On Good Authority but with a sharper edge. Depending on when you’re hearing this, I’ve either already released or am weeks away from releasing the show you know and love but fine tuned for your success. Same juicy interviews, same truth-telling, just more focused on what actually moves the needle in your business instead of feeding publishing fantasies that lead to disappointment.

Whether you're thinking about writing a book, struggling with your first one, or wondering if any of this makes business sense, these conversations will save you time, money and heartache.

Because here's the thing: once you stop chasing publishing validation and start using books as the business tools they actually are, everything changes. And I can't wait to show you how.

Welcome to Behind the Book Cover.

Remaining Behind-the-Scenes with 16-Time NYT Bestselling Author Hilary Lifton

Anna David — Wed, 27 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Hilary Lifton is not one to boast, and I write that with more understatement than you can imagine.

I was introduced to her recently at a party by someone who said she was a big ghostwriter. When I asked her about her career, she mentioned working on a self-help book.

It was only when I Googled her later that I learned she has written 16 New York Times bestsellers and is one of the most sought-after ghostwriters alive. (While she chooses not to name her bold-faced clients, you can find out who some of them are by going to her site.)

I've never had such an interesting conversation about ghostwriting and I challenge you that you've probably not heard one. I know that's setting expectations quite high but I'm ready to meet them!

Use Your Book to Build Your Brand with Katie DePaola

Anna David — Wed, 06 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Katie DePaola is an author, speaker, entrepreneur and the founder of Inner Glow Circle, a company dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs find their glow and live purpose-driven lives.

But most relevantly for our show, she is the author of At Least You Look Good: How to Glow Through What You Go Through, the latest release from Launch Pad Publishing. The book is part memoir, part self-help and all love; it's Katie's story about surviving Lyme disease and her brother's death by overdose while building her multi-million dollar business.

WANT MORE INFO ON THE POD AND OTHER STUFF? GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

How to Set Up an Author Podcast Tour with Alex Sanfilippo

Anna David — Wed, 29 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

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 to talk about how authors can book podcast tours? Everything he shared was fascinating but what I found especially fascinating is what he had to say about why authors should pass on opportunities to go on certain shows and why appearing on smaller podcasts can be way more beneficial than going on the big ones.

Good one! Don't miss it!

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

Raising Money for Your Book with Craig Stanland

Anna David — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

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 his next book, in this episode.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE POD AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

Getting Press for Your Book with Peter Shankman

Anna David — Wed, 15 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

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 salmonella, Peter shared with me how he started HARO accidentally, the best way to get a journalist's attention and why someone stealing a Yoo Hoo truck ended up being the best PR Yoo Hoo could get, among many other topics.

WANT MORE INFO ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER THINGS? GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

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 anyone who requests it and how writing a book could, theoretically, make an entrepreneur a cool five million.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER THINGS, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

How to Write a Book Everyone Recommends with Rob Fitzpatrick

Anna David — Wed, 01 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This may be the most useful podcast I've ever released. That's because it's with a guy who's an expert on something EVERY author wants: getting people to recommend your book.

His name is Rob Fitzpatrick and he's a former programmer who dropped out of grad school to go to YCombinator with his first startup.

It's that background—along with his nearly decade and a half of experience as an entrepreneur—that helps make sense of the fact that he's the guy who's seemingly cracked the code on how to write a book that everyone will recommend.

He breaks down his process in his latest book, Write Useful Books, and we also get into our decidedly unique story of how we met (in short, he quoted my interview with Chris Voss in Write Useful Books and I didn't see that he credited me and I fired off an email and anyway, listen to the episode and you'll hear what happened next).

But that's far less interesting than the methods he describes in this conversation—including how to find beta readers, what to ask them and how to use them to craft a book that's DEEP (Desirable, Effective, Engaging and Polished).

How sure is he that his process works? Well, the results speak for themselves. His monthly earnings from his three books are roughly $25k a month, with 1000 copies a week being sold, and, in his words, "growing pretty steadily."

I am not being hyperbolic when I say I think this is the most useful interview yet. (Even more than the Chris Voss one Rob quoted!) If I were you, I would literally study the transcript below. (That's what I'm doing.)

WANT MORE INFO ABOUT THE POD AND OTHER STUFF? GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

Use Social Media to Sell Books with Zara Barrie and Dayna Troisi

Anna David — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

I literally don't have the words to describe the experience of recording this episode but suffice it to say that it was the most fun interview I've ever done.

Back story: Zara Barrie and I knew each other online (I find her incredibly glam and we're mutual fans of one another to the point that I recommended her book, Girl Stop Passing Out in Your Makeup, on KATU). She told me that she and her podcast co-host slash work wife Dayna Troisi were going to be in LA (they're NYC ladies, natch). We decided to do a podcast swap, they rented a studio and the rest is history. If history involved me becoming obsessed with these two hilarious and brilliant lesbians who, in addition to co-hosting their podcast GirlZ Interrupted, also, between them, regularly write articles that go viral, are university professors (one of them, anyway), produce an audio series (the other of them) and do so many other things that it would be impossible to summarize.

We recorded this right after they recorded their interview with me so were already BFFs by the time this particular recording started. This means that, in addition to covering our main topic—how to turn an online audience, once you've gone viral, into an audience that buys and reads your book—we had many delightful diversions (swag, whether or not your friends support your book, if you should be on your book cover and more).

Listen and you'll become as obsessed with them as I am.

FOR MORE INFO, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

The Slow Climb to Selling 100,000 Books with Paul Angone

Anna David — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

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 him on the pod so I could Interview him about the process of turning his book into a course.

Listen in on this mega inspiring conversation about how courses and books work symbiotically—and how your reality may end up being even bigger than your dreams...how you may even end up selling over 100,000 copies of your book.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

Build a Twitter Following Using Your Book Material with Jesse J. Anderson

Anna David — Wed, 11 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Jesse J. Anderson's journey to bookdom is unlike any other guest I've had on the show.

For one, he's not launching a book to help build his business.

Also, that book—Refocus: A Practical Guide to Adult ADHD—hasn't launched yet. In fact, he hasn't even finished writing it.

Why, then, you may ask, would I have him on the show?

Well, Jesse has also built up an impressive Twitter following by releasing Twitter threads of book chapters—a topic we dive into in detail.

When he's not writing books in public, Jesse is a designer and developer who has made it his mission to help others better understand what ADHD really is.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

Turning Your Books Into Movies with Ben Mezrich

Anna David — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

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 Millions, which led to Kevin Spacey snapping up the film rights before the book was even out, which led to the book spending over 60 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

Then there was his book, The Accidental Billionaires, which David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin jumped on as Mezrich was writing the book and which, of course turned into the multi award-nominated movie The Social Network. (Mezrich is the only non-fiction author to have two adaptations open at #1 at the box office.)

He’s written numerous other books, including Bitcoin Billionaires and The Antisocial Network and is also a consulting producer on Billions. Oh, and his most recent book, The Midnight Ride, has an NFT component that already has over 3500 owners.

So how does this happen? How does a former struggling novelist become Hollywood’s go to guy pursued by designers who want to dress him for his book tours? And what is the secret to finding the sort of story that makes Hollywood salivate? It’s all in this episode.

GET MORE INFO ON THE POD AND OTHER STUFF BY GOING TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

How to Sell Ads in Your Book with Alex Strathdee

Anna David — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Alex Strathdee is no ordinary writer.

That's because he's as much an entrepreneur as he is a writer.

How do we know this? Because when he wrote his book, Experience Over Degrees, and it didn't transform the world—or even his life—he didn't just shelve the book and the experience like most people.

Instead, he asked: how can I get more people to see this?

What followed was a targeted campaign to colleges and then a targeted campaign to businesses to pay for that first campaign. It's an ingenious approach and he breaks it all down in this episode.

Now he helps other authors make an impact with his company, Advanced Amazon Ads and he even has a free gift for YOU where he breaks down his strategies. Get that free gift here.

IF YOU WANT MORE INFO ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

Turn Your Book Into a $7.5 Million Product with Mike Koenigs

Anna David — Wed, 20 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Mike Koenigs is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, co-host of Capability Amplifier podcast with Strategic Coach founder Dan Sullivan and 13-time bestselling author, Mike is regular contributor to Entrepreneur and Forbes. He's interviewed, consulted and advised celebrity clients, billionaires and bestselling authors including Tony Robbins, Paula Abdul, Richard Dreyfuss, Dave Asprey, JJ Virgin, presidential candidate Tim Ryan, John Assaraf, Brian Tracy and XPrize founder Peter Diamandis, among many others.

He's also ALL love. I met him a few years ago and he was so kind and welcoming and usually wearing red shoes. But that is NOT why I asked him to come on the podcast. I asked him to come on because he is a master at taking advantage of business opportunities and I knew he'd be able to talk about how he's done that with books.

And BOY has he done it. Bet you didn't know you could generate millions from a book. In this episode, he explains how.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

How to Prep for Your Book Launch with Sober Sexpert Tawny Lara

Anna David — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Tawny Lara is a self-proclaimed natural born promoter.

She's also a delightful person known as The Sober Sexpert, co-host of the Recovery Rocks podcast and author of the book, Dry Humping: a Guide to Dating, Relating, and Hooking Up Without Booze.

This was recorded months before the book's release because I wanted to get a sense of what she was doing at this stage of her launch...turns out, a lot. In this episode, we talk about the ways she's incentivizing pre-orders, why she got a shirt made of her Publishers Marketplace book announcement and how outsourcing can help with a book launch.

Tips galore in here...as well as some good motivation to start the launch work early!

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER COOL THINGS, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

How to Get on Podcasts to Promote Your Book with John Corcoran

Anna David — Wed, 06 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

John Corcoran may be my new favorite human. A former White House speechwriter and attorney who worked in Hollywood, he now runs Rise25, which helps businesses get more clients, referral partners and strategic partners through their done-for-you podcast service.

In the brief time we've known each other, he's introduced me to countless people, advised me on my business and given me ideas that have sent my head spinning, in all the right ways. This man is a fount of wisdom!

And Corcoran isn't just an expert in podcasts—he's an expert in getting podcasts to further your career.

He's been in the podcasting game over a decade and his show, Smart Business Revolution, is a must for anyone building a business (and if you're an author, I do hope you're building a business that your book can support).

In this episode, he explains how you can promote your book on podcasts, when you should be reaching out and why having your own podcast is the best promotional tool of all.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF BY GOING TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM!

An Entirely Amusing Episode with Joel Stein

Anna David — Wed, 30 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

He's also such a funny person that he manages to come across as incredibly likable both while penning a book defending elitism and while dis-inviting me to his book launch party (true story; listen to his defense in this episode and let me know if you think it means you think I should forgive him).

In this episode, we talk about how to ask friends to recommend you to a show as a guest, why to never rely on a publicist and ways to make an audiobook much better, among many other topics.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

How to Get an Influencer to Promote You with Jess Lahey

Anna David — Wed, 23 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Jess Lahey can talk about so many things so brilliantly that interviewing her felt a bit like walking through an outlet mall: so many choices and they all look so good!

But really, here's what you need to know: She's a former New York Times columnist and current Atlantic contributor, podcaster and New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Failure whose new book, The Addiction Inoculation, is the one that the world has been clamoring for. It addresses the question on pretty much every parent's mind at one time or another: how do I prevent my kid from becoming an addict?

Lahey addresses this issue from her own perspective (as a sober woman from an alcoholic family who's taught high schoolers in recovery) but with a reporter's brilliance (coupled with scientific and medical knowledge, with some help, she acknowledges, from her in-house researcher, her husband Dr. Tim Lahey). In short, she's the perfect person to have penned this book and she couldn't have penned it at a more perfect time.

She's also, it turns out, the perfect person to talk to about building a business from a book—particularly if that business includes speaking, podcasting and newsletter writing. She's got tips aplenty for how to get speaking gigs, be booked on huge podcasts and have celebrities endorse your work. But—trigger warning—you'll never again think, "Oh, look how lucky that writer got, I bet it was easy for her." In other words, a sh*tload of work goes into these "lucky breaks," and Jess breaks down every single one.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

The Secret to Becoming a NYT Bestselling Author with Jennifer K. Armstrong

Anna David — Wed, 16 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Jennifer Keishin Armstrong is the New York Times bestselling author of Seinfeldia: How the Show About Nothing Changed Everything; a history of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mary and Lou and Rhoda and Ted; and Sex and the City and Us: How Four Single Women Changed the Way We Think, Live, and Love. She spent a decade on staff at Entertainment Weekly and has since written for many publications, including BBC Culture, The New York Times Book Review, Vice, New York magazine, and Billboard.

She's also an old pal from my NYC days; in fact, we used to host Readings & Rubdowns events where people would listen to writers read from their latest books while getting massaged.

In the ensuing years, Jennifer has become a huge author and in this episode she breaks down, step-by-step, what makes for a successful launch.

FOR MORE INFO, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

How to Get Readers to Hire You with Jay Abraham

Anna David — Wed, 09 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Jay Abraham is the world's highest-paid marketing consultant, a proven business leader and top executive coach in the United States.

As Founder and CEO of The Abraham Group, Inc., Jay has spent his entire career solving complex problems and fixing underperforming businesses. He has significantly increased the bottom lines of over 10,000 clients in more than 1,000 industries and over 7,200 sub-industries worldwide.

This is a man who is paid $30,000 for a day of business consulting. And I was lucky enough to not only get him to agree to come on this podcast to talk about applying lessons from other industries to a book launch but I was also able to get invaluable advice from him a few years ago that radically transformed my business (we talk about that at the very end of the episode; you definitely want to hear it).

In this episode, he doles out some of his top gems—including what to write at the beginning of every business book, how to involve influencers in your writing process, why to read the Amazon reviews of every book on your topic that's come before and how to get readers to hire you.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

Why Authors Should Be On Social Media with Jane Friedman

Anna David — Wed, 02 Aug 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Jane Friedman is 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 to get bookstores interested in hosting you, the biggest changes in the publishing industry over the past year and so much more.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

The Reality of Traditional Publishing with Jeff Garlin

Anna David — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Do you really need me to tell you who Jeff Garlin is? Well, the simple way to handle that is to tell you that he stars on arguably the most adored show of all time (Curb Your Enthusiasm).

But he does so much more than just come to you via your SmartTV. He's also a standup (um, obv), photographer and author. In this episode, he explains what happens when you sell a book to a big publisher but then it doesn't sell the number of copies anyone had hoped (and also has an odd name change somewhere between the hardcover and paperback).

This episode also has LOTS of digressions into random topics both because Jeff Garlin could be renamed Digression Garlin and also because we're pals who digress a lot. Listen and digress with us...

WANT MORE INFO ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF? GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

How to Get a Big Name to Blurb Your Book with Ed Kressy

Anna David — Wed, 19 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Ed Kressy is not your average human.

He's much sweeter than your average human and his sweetness emanates from him.

He also has a much crazier story than your average addict with a crazy story...and this is coming from someone who's heard every crazy addiction story over the past two decades.

The short version: he went into a meth-induced psychosis for 14 years that left him convinced he was involved in 9/11. The longer version is in his memoir, My Addiction & Recovery: Just Because You're Done With Drugs Doesn't Mean Drugs Are Done With You, which you can get here.

He is one of the most exquisitely talented writers I've come across in a long time—something I found, and tell him in this episode, surprising. I've read almost every book out there about addiction and recovery and few are as brilliantly crafted as this. Please get this book. Not only will you be exposed to some of the best writing around but all proceeds are being donated to prisons.

And that relationship with prisons, for those here for the marketing tidbits, is how Ed was able to get the great Seth Godin to blurb his book.

In this episode, we get into Ed's crazy story, how many drafts he wrote of this book (you don't want to know) and his mission to get the book into every prison he can (so far, it has been accepted by 108 facilities in nine states, serving an estimated 132,000 incarcerated people). Listen in to find out more about the guy whose recovery-related work has appeared in the Washington Post and who's delivered criminal justice-themed talks for groups at Amazon, Cisco, Google, LinkedIn and MIT.

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM!

Blog Your Way to Book Success with Derek Murphy

Anna David — Wed, 12 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Derek Murphy is a USA Today bestselling author with a PhD in Literature, who’s been featured in CNN, writes fantasy and sometimes lives in castles. When not trolling obscure bookshops, he prefers to be sipping espresso, surrounded by kittens and pursuing research on what it means to be a successful creative.

Now the word unique is overused but this is one unique guy. Looking at the amazing array of material he puts out there is to enter into a tireless brain of myriad interests—including educating aspiring writers, designing covers, penning paranormal fiction and hosting writing retreats in castles.

In this episode, we talked about creative ways to get Amazon to recommend your book (write a blog post that recommends other books like yours and then include a link to that blog in your email auto-responder), the importance of obeying Amazon's ever-changing rules and how to actually make money from book sales.

WANT MORE INFO ABOUT THE POD AND OTHER STUFF? GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

Selling Your Book Traditionally After Self-Publishing with David Nihill

Anna David — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Originally from Dublin Ireland, David Nihill is the founder of FunnyBizz Conference, bestselling author of Do You Talk Funny?, winner of San Francisco International Comedy Competition, runner up in the Moth’s largest US Grandslam storytelling competition and the first-ever Irishman to have a special on Dry Bar Comedy. His work has been featured in Inc, The Huffington Post, Forbes, Fast Company, Lifehacker, The Irish Times, TED, The Irish Independent, Today FM, and on TV3.

He and I met through friends a few years ago and I was immediately impressed not only with his barely indecipherable accent but also with how much knowledge he possessed about marketing, books and how to make them successful. This impression was only solidified when, a few days later, he sent me an email packed with all the strategies he'd used to make his book so successful that he was able to then sell it to a major publisher.

In this episode, we go through all those ideas and more. If you listened to the episode, you know that I promised I would give you the email he sent out to his launch team, which you are welcome to copy and steal (he will never know, unless he's reading this, in which case I say hi David!)

FOR THE SHOW NOTES [INCLUDING THE EMAIL MENTIONED] AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

Getting Articles Published & Landing an Agent with Estelle Erasmus

Anna David — Wed, 28 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Estelle Erasmus is an award-winning journalist, writing coach, teacher for Writer's Digest and adjunct instructor at New York University. The former editor-in-chief of five national consumer women's magazines, her work has appeared in dozens of media outlets, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, Huffington Post Personal, Marie Claire and more.

Now she's written a book that can show you how to do the same! Writing That Gets Noticed: How to Find Your Voice, Become a Better Storyteller, and Get Published will show you all the techniques for getting editors to pay attention to you so that you can spread your writing beyond your book.

In this episode, we dove into some of those techniques (including using your potential article name as the subject line of your pitch email and including your first paragraph of the article in your pitch) and also how to get an agent if you want to pursue the traditional publishing path.

WANT MORE INFO ABOUT THE POD AND OTHER THINGS? GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

The Scribe Publishing Scandal: What Happens When the Leader in Your Field Goes Down in Flames

Anna David — Mon, 26 Jun 2023 21:34:55 +0000

This special episode is a solo chat about the implosion of Scribe Media. While it doesn't contain tips about how to launch a book that transforms your career, it's a deep dive into what NOT to do when building a business from your book. Everything in here is, like all episodes, just my opinion but I've been in a unique position where I've been receiving constant updates and information from people who have the inside scoop on the Scribe sh*tshow.

Find Out What People Really Think of Your Cover & Title with John Li

Anna David — Wed, 21 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Regular listeners know that I'm obsessed with PickFu, a software that, in technical terms, provides actionable pre-launch feedback on creative options. (How obsessed? I never had ads on the podcast because I wanted to wait until there was something I loved so much that I could recommend it without reservations. And, well, PickFu is it!)

That's why I was delighted to welcome PickFu's co-creator John Li onto the show. And it's also why I'm delighted to use PickFu to get feedback on my covers, titles, book descriptions and Amazon book pages, among many other things. Yes, you can go onto PickFu set up a poll and ask between 50 and 500 people—hand-selected based on interests, income and thousands of other options—for feedback. This isn't "Yeah, that's good" feedback either; it's feedback that people who want to participate in polling are being compensated to do—millions and millions of people, as it turns out.

In this episode, John walks us through how PickFu started, the craziest things it's used for and why someone with no need for an income would want to participate in something like polls.

Listen in and my God, if you know what's good for you, please give PickFu a try. If you use the code Pickfu.com/anna, you'll get 50% off your first poll!

Lessons Learned from my Most Recent Launch

Anna David — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

It was a meta on top of a meta on top of a meta experience to record this episode, which is all about what worked and didn't work for the launch of my most recent book (which happened to be based on podcast interviews I've done on this show).

This means that for the launch, I tried out a lot of the things experts have recommended on this very show...some were very effective, some not so much. While it's impossible to say what the end result of all my launch efforts will be because our books have long lives and what we do at launch could end up paying off 100-fold down the line, I give you here the bird's eye view from six weeks post-launch.

WANT TO SEE THE BOOK I'M TALKING ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE? GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYBOOK.COM

Making Millions from Your Book with Cameron Herold

Anna David — Wed, 07 Jun 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Cameron Herold is the Founder of the COO Alliance & Second In Command Podcast as well as the author of five books and an international public speaker. By the age of 35, he’d help build his first TWO $100 MILLION DOLLAR companies and by 42, he engineered 1-800-GOT-JUNK?’s spectacular growth from $2 million to $106 million in revenue.

So you get it. The guy's a machine. And he's a machine well worth talking to about what a book (let alone five) can do for a career, seeing as his have added millions of dollars to his bottom line. He also knows how to engineer a fantastic book launch, since he's an expert on generating PR (exhibit A: his 2019 book, Free PR). Exhibit B: his tactics have landed him everywhere from The New York Times to Oprah.

In this episode, we talked about how to get the media to care about you (hint: it involves picking up the phone), why to put an 800 number on your book cover and how paying for 1000 copies of your own book to give away may be the smartest business decision you can make.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM

The Power of a Writing Group with Tim Gager

Anna David — Wed, 31 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

When someone says they're in a writing group, that can mean many things.

They may be doing a "write your book in a weekend" class or sitting down with fellow writers once a month.

For Tim Gager, it means showing up five days a week, online, for the past three years.

That's because Tim runs the writing group I started when the pandemic hit. In those three years, at least 10 of its members have launched books and numerous movie projects, in-person readings and lifelong friendships have come to be.

Yet, in all that time, I've somehow never talked about the writing group on the podcast. Well, that all changed with this episode, where we dove into how a writing group transformed Tim's life and career. I should mention that when he joined the group, he was already a critically acclaimed author of 16 books!

For more information about the writing group, click here. For more information about Tim Gager, click here.

Why You’re More Important Than Your Book with Nicolas Cole

Anna David — Wed, 24 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Nicolas Cole is an author and the #1 personal development writer on the internet with more than 75,000,000 views on his work.

Cole rose to internet stardom in 2015 when he became the #1 most-read writer on Quora, accumulating tens of millions of views on his viral articles, and his work being republished in Time, Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider, CNBC, The Chicago Tribune, and more. In 2016, Cole became one of Inc Magazine's Top 10 contributing writers, accumulating millions of views on his business & creativity column, and in 2017 he founded a ghostwriting and thought leadership agency called Digital Press, for Fortune 500 executives, Silicon Valley founders, venture capitalists, Grammy-winning musicians, Olympians, NYT best-selling authors, international public speakers, and more.

Cole has written two books, Confessions of a Teenage Gamer, a memoir about his high school years as one of the highest-ranked World of Warcraft players in North America (while simultaneously undiagnosed with Celiac Disease), and Slow Down, Wake Up: 150 Short Meditations For A More Present Life.

He is also someone who forever changed my business, with an offhand remark he made to me when we had coffee a year or so ago. I know of no one better at merging writing passion with entrepreneurial success and in this episode, we get into why caring about book sales is silly, what journalism professors get wrong and why having no launch strategy is the best strategy of all.

FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM!

Getting Local Love for Your Book with Carlyn Montes De Oca

Anna David — Wed, 17 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Carlyn Montes De Oca is a passionate animal advocate, international speaker and multi-award winning author of Dog as My Doctor, Cat as my Nurse who has also been featured on ABC and CBS and in Woman's Day magazine.

But it was what she did for her most recent book, Junkyard Girl: A Memoir of Ancestry, Family Secrets, and Second Chances, that we focused on. Rather than trying to tackle the whole wide world, she focused on her local area: Santa Fe, New Mexico. As a result, she got in with the local bookstores, pitched the local TV shows and set up local events. Now she's become a bit of a local celebrity.

Steal her techniques and dominate your hometown! From there, take on the world.

Want my authority-building secrets every week? Grab 'em at www.authoritysecrets.club.

Using Your Book to Build Your Business with Ian Altman

Anna David — Wed, 10 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Ian Altman is one of the world's top expert on sales, with his Same Side Academy rated as one of the top 5 Sales Development programs globally.

But instead of focusing on sales, we talked about how he has used the book he co-authored, Same Side Selling, to attract clients to his business.

We also touched on having a podcast and everything else with the same name as the book, producing an accompanying book workbook, updating a book five years after its release and so much more.

Only listen to this if you want to make money from your book!

Want my authority-building secrets every week? Grab 'em at www.authoritysecrets.club.

22 Words That Will Get You Speaking Gigs (with Joel Weldon)

Anna David — Wed, 03 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Joel Weldon is not just a Hall of Fame speaker who's been speaking for over four decades but he is also a true legend in the speaking industry—having been paid to speak at over 3,000 events and personally coached over 10,000 speakers.

In this episode, we talked about how to nail your pitch letter if you want to get into corporate speaking (he actually recites, off the top of his head, a letter that you'd be crazy not to type up and send). He also gave us the 22 words that will get you speaking gigs, why you need to replace every "I" in your speech with "you," how to make your audience want to read your book and so much more.

This one is gem after gem after gem! I highly recommend getting out the pen and taking some notes. And if you already know you want to work with Joel, you can go ahead and book a free slot here.

The Secret to Launching Your Authority Building Book

Anna David — Wed, 26 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This week, I usher a new baby into the world...

My book, On Good Authority: 7 Steps to Prepare, Promote and Profit From a How-to Book That Makes You the Go-to Expert, is now out and this week's episode is an excerpt from the audiobook.

It's the book's introduction, which is all about how we're in the Golden Age of authority building from a book and how you can take advantage of that.

Only listen if you want to build authority with your book.

GRAB THE BOOK BY GOING TO WWW.ONGOODAMAZON.COM!

Connect Your Way to a Successful Book Launch with Ryan Paugh

Anna David — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Do the words "networking for your book launch" make you want to curl up in a small ball and rock back and forth?

This week's guest will assuage your anxieties...or at least get you to uncurl.

Ryan Paugh isn't just a thought leader, but also a community-building, relationship-forging, entrepreneur-enabling force to be reckoned with. And he's a self-proclaimed introvert!

The co-author of the book Superconnector: Stop Networking and Start Building Business Relationships That Matter, Ryan shares in this episode how any author, introvert or extrovert, can use basic skills for connection in order to have a successful book launch.

Want my authority-building secrets every week? Grab 'em at www.authoritysecrets.club.

Why It's Better to Sell 100 Books Than 10,000

Anna David — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Traditional publishers lie.

They tell you that you have to sell 10,000 copies of your book for it to be successful.

Or 5000.

Or 1000.

They're wrong. I'd rather sell 100 copies of my book to the right reader than 10,000 copies to readers who won't really care.

In this episode, I explain why.

This is another of the episodes 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.

Why Podcasts are the Best Promo for Authors (and How to Get on Them)

Anna David — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Good news: going on podcasts is the best way to promote your book. Podcast listeners are eager to learn and read books.

Even more good news: Podcast hosts love to book authors.

So there has to be a catch, right?

Well, here it is: most of us are pitched daily, in the worst ways.

Listen to this episode to find out the absolute best way to pitch yourself to the podcasts you want to be on...and then how to slay once you're on there.

This is another of the episodes 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.

Make Sure You're Writing the Right Book with Nicole Kalil

Anna David — Wed, 29 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Nicole Kalil is someone who practices what she preaches.

A fugitive of the C-suite at a Fortune 100 company, she has coached hundreds of women in business and speaks around the world.

When she was gearing up to her launch her book, Validation is for Parking, she heavily invested in social media (to the tune of $9,000 a month!) She also set out to write a book debunking some of the advice doled out by male entrepreneurs. But she realized two things: one, social media didn't make her feel good. And two: she didn't want to write the book she had already started working on.

In this conversation, she talked about how she switched courses for her book topic, why she left social media when she was "at the top," how she handles the "head trash" that creeps up when you're writing and launching a book and how her book has impacted her speaking career, among many other topics.

WANT TO ENHANCE YOUR AUTHORITY? GO TO WWW.OGAUTHORITYPOD.COM

Using Affiliates to Launch a Book with Matt McWilliams

Anna David — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Matt McWilliams is the go-to affiliate guy, which means he's very good at helping people—including Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi, Shark Tank's Kevin Harrington and Lewis Howes—get their networks on board to help them sell their products.

Now he's launched his first book, and he employed those same strategies to drive pre-sales. While his efforts didn't land him on any bestseller lists, they did help him add numerous people to his newsletter list and sell a bunch of other products.

He has numerous tips for those who want to find the right people to help them launch books, including studying how marketing-savvy authors do book launches, using Amazon for all its worth and remembering that no response just means reach out again.

The Business Transforming Book with Tamar Hermes & Carla Moreno

Anna David — Wed, 15 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Tamar Hermes is a real estate investor with more than 20 years' experience and the CEO of Wealth Building Concierge. Carla Moreno is a serial entrepreneur, realtor and real estate investor who has more than a decade of experience buying and selling family and luxury real estate.

The two have something in common in addition to real estate: they were both published by Legacy Launch Pad. Also, Tamar is Carla's coach! In this episode, we talked about what Tamar's book has done for her business a year later (including how she signed the baker who created the launch day cake we sent her as a client) and how Carla is going to use her just-launched book as her platform for the rest of her career.

Listen in for their best tips on making the most of a book and what they say are the must-do's for the launch.

Get Over Yourself and Pay for Media with Jay Jay

Anna David — Wed, 08 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Jay Jay is tired of people thinking they just deserve media attention.

A former magician who now helps personal brands become seen as the number one in their industry, he's also tired of publicists overpromising and underdelivering.

And he has good reason to be tired of it: Jay is excellent at guaranteeing people media attention—in publications like Forbes, LA Weekly and Ocean Drive, and even Maxim, WWD and Us Weekly.

In this episode, he broke down why media attention matters, how it should be used and how authors seeking PR need to stop focusing on the wrong things.

How to Manifest a Today Show Appearance with Rachel Luna

Anna David — Wed, 01 Mar 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Rachel Luna kinda defies explanations and bios.

But if you're going to make me put her into one of these boxes, FINE! Here goes: she's an international speaker, podcast host, former U.S. Marine and cancer thriver. In addition to all that, she's a coach who hosts retreats.

As if that wasn't enough, she's now also a bestselling author: her new book, Permission to Offend, has not only been creating waves with its unapologetic, brazen and yet hilarious voice but has also landed Luna on the Today show.

In this episode, she walks us through the exact steps she took to make that Today show appearance happen—as well as who's been sliding into her DMs since that appearance, how to make self-help material fresh, methods for speaking up around your book launch and so much more.

Without Readers, You've Written a Journal

Anna David — Wed, 22 Feb 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Journals are awesome. Been using 'em since I was six. I've even published a few myself.

But the difference between the journals I've published and the books I've written is that the journals are not meant to be read by anyone once I've filled them with words.

The books are.

But Field of Dreams was wrong! Just because you write it does not mean that they will come.

You have to determine your audience, find them and write a book specifically for them. This episode breaks down how.

It's 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.

Sanity in the Time of Social Media

Anna David — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 08:00:00 +0000

Social media sucks.

It's also wonderful.

And it's my opinion that you need it if you're going to build your authority around a book.

This episode breaks down why I think it's important and how you can do it without going crazy...in fact, how you can use material in your book for your posts, and build your entire online authority in just few hours a week.

This is another episode 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.

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

Anna David — Wed, 08 Feb 2023 08:00:00 +0000

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 ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 01 Feb 2023 08:00:00 +0000

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 that on annadbook.com.

Getting Book Launch Support From Your Peeps with Amber Vilhauer

Anna David — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

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 strategy I've seen during my decades in publishing.

In this episode, she breaks that strategy down by explaining how authors should approach the people they know, what to say when they do and how to make sure that getting support for a book launch is just as much about giving as it is receiving.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR AUTHORITY? GO TO www.ogauthoritypod.com

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

Anna David — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

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've ever thought, "Hey, I might like to be a book coach," get this: the cost for certification is only $2400. If you're instead interested in hiring a coach, listen in on this episode to find out more. You can also find out more about both becoming a coach and hiring one here.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR AUTHORITY? GO TO OGAUTHORITYPOD.COM

How to Launch a Book by Giving First with Kay Allison

Anna David — Wed, 11 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

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 for women who want to go AF, mostly we focused on how she went from behind-the-scenes power woman to forward-facing voice of freedom from alcohol.

And Allison did it all by giving first. This means that when she locates a podcast she wants to be on, she listens to episodes in the car while sending herself voice notes about how she thinks she could provide something as a guest. She also sends bookers handwritten notes, makes personal videos and, in short, thinks of how she can be of service. As you can imagine, her success rate for getting booked is quite high.

In this episode, she breaks down the giving-first mentality, including a not-to-be-missed method for getting people to actually open your book and not just let it sit on the shelf.

Enjoy this delightful strategy...and delightful woman.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Behind the Book Cover

Anna David — Tue, 10 Jan 2023 17:00:00 +0000

Welcome to the book podcast that's going to save you from making some very expensive mistakes.

Here's the thing nobody tells you about publishing: if you go into it thinking your book is going to make you wealthy, or turn you into a household name, you're setting yourself up for devastating disappointment. And I've watched it happen to hundreds of authors.

The stats are brutal. Eighty-five percent of book advances never earn out. Most authors make less than minimum wage when you calculate their hourly rate. First-time authors routinely suffer from what I call post-book depression - that crushing realization that publishing your dream doesn't automatically transform your reality.

But this won’t be a downer! Who wants to listen to a downer? Not you! That’s why this is all actually GOOD news: in the first season, I’m going to interview people who will give you the reality, and make you feel way better if your traditional book dreams haven’t come true, or, conversely, have come true and left you wanting.

We're going to talk about all of it. The jealousy that eats authors alive when their friends get better deals and the way authorpreneurs avoid that because they know it’s not about the book advance. The underpaid reality of most writing careers and how people who sell 100 books can end up making more money in the long run than people who sell 10,000. The marketing myths that waste your money and the ones that work. The way publishers lie to their authors and how to see beyond the veil. And we'll dish about why some terrible books succeed and wonderful ones fail to sell a lot of copies.

Whether you're thinking about writing a book, struggling with your first one or are an entrepreneur wondering if a book makes business sense, you need to hear these conversations. Because delusion is a luxury people writing books can’t afford.

So if you want the unfiltered truth about what publishing is really like, and how to use it strategically instead of getting crushed by it, you're in the right place. Let's pull back the book cover and talk about books like the business they actually are.

Where Experts Say Publishing is Heading in 2023

Anna David — Wed, 04 Jan 2023 08:00:00 +0000

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 get ahead of everything that 2023 has in store for us.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 28 Dec 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Why Authors Should Be Using Pinterest with Roseanne Cheng

Anna David — Wed, 21 Dec 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 you want, whether you should have a page for yourself as an author or each of your books and so much more.

Plus she and her co-founder offer a FREE course on Pinterest that you can get here.

How helpful is this? Well, it's about to make me break my Pinterest cherry (will let you know how that works out).

It's all in this episode! Enjoy.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

How Authors Can Master TikTok with BookTok Sensation Shelby Leigh

Anna David — Wed, 14 Dec 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 marketer.

And she makes the whole thing sound so DO-able! In this episode, she breaks down ways to hook TikTok scrollers, what TikTok "likes," how to grow your account to sell books and why BookTok truly can work for any book genre out there (yes, even yours).

Oh, and she sells products (including a $23 TikTok for Authors course) and consults with authors about growing their TikTok accounts. Go to her site to get in on all of it (and check out her TikTok here). Also! Enjoy our conversation, which provides a whole bunch of highly implementable tips and techniques.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Launch a Podcast to Find Your Readers with Whitney Gossett

Anna David — Thu, 08 Dec 2022 00:14:38 +0000

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 authors should launch podcasts—ideally before they even launch their books.

Listen in to find out more about how to record episodes about your book in progress to encourage book pre-orders, why the podcast industry isn't as saturated as you may believe and so much more.

If you're looking to launch a podcast—or revamp your existing one—I highly recommend checking out Content Capital's services.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Why Publicists Suck with Christina Nicholson

Anna David — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 coupon for the service.

To get Christina's list of 16 outlets to pitch, click here. To get the exact pitch that got a newbie on TV in San Diego, click here. To check out her three-day bootcamp to nail a pitch, click here. To find out about her Media Mentoring Program, click here. And to get access to Podcast Clout for 50% off, click here and use the code LEGACY.

That's a lot to do but I'm not done yet! Listen in on our conversation about the easiest ways to get PR, how to make a podcast want you, what do after your media appearance and so much more.

I also may have talked her out of doing the book she thought she was going to do and talked her into doing a different one.

It's all in this episode! Enjoy.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Publishing in the Time of Cancel Culture with Tony Lyons

Anna David — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 believe, even if it's not what I believe, and that a mob mentality approach to scandals doesn't help anyone.

And so we got into all of it—how Skyhorse picked up Woody Allen's memoir after Hachette cancelled it, the ways some of his books have lost "likes" when they've been squashed, the money Vanity Fair must have spent punishing him for the Allen book and more. We also talked about which media opportunities can really move the needle in terms of book sales, why newsletter lists matter, how editorially influenced the New York Times bestseller list is and just how few sales you can have to make it on the list...among many other topics.

Brace yourself for this one.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Trademark Trouble with Brian Sachetta

Anna Davi — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 Overcoming Anxiety and Get Out of Your Head Vol. 2: Navigating the Abyss of Depression—are designed to help those struggling with anxiety and depression.

In this episode, we had every intention of discussing Amazon glitches and working the back end of the site when publishing trouble arises but we got so into our discussion about trademark troubles, beta readers and how important it is not to trash other writers that I simply didn't allow him to discuss our planned topic.

Juicy stuff here! I think you'll love it. For more about Brian and his books, go to Get Out of Your Head.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Why to Ignore the Muse with Robert Greene

Anna David — Wed, 09 Nov 2022 08:00:00 +0000

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 promotion is so important and how listening to "the muse" while you write is one of the worst things you can do.

Please soak in this re-release as much as you can. It contains GOLD.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 paid off handsomely. Spoiler alert: podcast interviews changed the game while book tours did not.

Listen to this can't-miss episode re-release to find out more.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

How to Fix a Broken Book: Misty McAfee

Anna David — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 existing Amazon reviews and what happens when you dedicate a book to a now ex-husband.

Everything we discuss can be applied to your own books so take some notes for either your upcoming launch or a relaunch of any existing book!

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 19 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 unlearn after doing all those impressive things. He poured it all into Certainty U, a program that helps purpose-based entrepreneurs "get lucky."

On this episode, we discussed how he was able to sell thousands of copies of a book he hadn't yet written—in short, how he was able to rig the book publishing game. (And how you can, too.)

For more about Dan and his book, go to www.riggingamazon.com.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

How to Fix a Broken Book: John Checki

Anna David — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 and reviews, among many other things, could be improved.

I'm terribly excited about this because even though listeners can't see the Amazon page in discussion (unless you go here), the episode contains so many actionable steps you can take if you're gearing up for a launch (or want to launch your book so successfully that you don't need to consider a re-launch).

John said he was going to implement these suggestions for a Thanksgiving relaunch and my plan is to reach out to listeners/subscribers whenever one of the books we've revamped in one of these episodes is relaunched and all support each other. (Except for me, who has been banned from doing Amazon reviews. We get into that in this episode.)

Enjoy and learn what not to do, or at least how to fix it. After all, it's never too late to fix a broken book.

ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

How Authors Can Avoid Getting Sued with Maria Riegger

Anna David — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 Authors Must Consider, that's entirely focused on these topics.

So dig into this episode. And protect yourself!

IF YOU'RE A NON-FICTION AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

"My First Launch" (Round Table!)

Anna David — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

How to Make Your Book Into a Podcast with Jeremy Enns

Anna David — Wed, 21 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 turn their books into podcasts (think Tim Ferriss' Tools of Titans).

In this episode, we talked about why you don't just want to make your podcast a rehash of your book but more a jumping off point, a way you could release a podcast while writing your book, thereby making your listeners into beta readers of sorts and how the way to be successful in a book-to-podcast transition is to have a strong thru-line.

IF YOU'RE A NON-FICTION AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

The Big Mistake You Need to Avoid with Craig Stanland

Anna David — Wed, 14 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 his next book, in this episode.

IF YOU'RE A NON-FICTION AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Author Newsletter Musts with Holly Darling

Anna David — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 to start with (hint: it's not Mailchimp), average open rates (and why open rates have been inflated lately), why to be vulnerable in your emails, how and why to split test, whether or not you should re-send emails to subscribers who don't open, where you should put your newsletter sign up in your book and finally why it's great to not have many subscribers.

In other words, actionable AF.

So dig in. And take action!

IF YOU'RE A NON-FICTION AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 31 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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!

In this interview, Tuch broke down how he gathered a list of 15,000 avid readers who love to review, why it's good to have bad reviews and how sticky the Amazon review process can be.

IF YOU'RE A NON-FICTION AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 24 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 17 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 give you feedback.

On that note, do you want ALL the advance intel about this book? In other words, do you want to be the first to hear about the latest tips and techniques when it comes to preparing for, promoting and profiting from your non-fiction book? Do you want to potentially be included in the book? PLEASE SIGN UP HERE. Excited to share the journey and all the exclusives with you!

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

Anna David — Wed, 10 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

You get it: the guy is POD OBSESSED.

Good one! Don't miss it!

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

The 5 Most Common Questions of First-Time Authors

Anna David — Wed, 03 Aug 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

11 Reasons Every Entrepreneur Should Launch a Book

Anna David — Wed, 27 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 of everyone who hears your best selling author
Have the most impressive business card imaginable on you at all times
Jump to the front of the line
Be a hero to your family (cheesy but true!)

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

The 7 Biggest Mistakes First-Time Authors Make

Anna David — Wed, 20 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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

Anna David — Wed, 13 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 heard. That's why I wanted him on the show but what I actually got out of our talk was so much more.

In this episode, we got into the importance of subtitles, why authors should be featured on their book covers and how his most recent book launch was a disaster.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 York Times, among other places.

He also wrote the HBO movie Hemingway & Gellhorn (which earned a Writers Guild Award nomination), Bad Boys II and the cult classic Dr. Caligari and has written on the TV shows Maron, CSI and Escape at Dannemora (for which he received an Emmy nomination).

So you get it; he's done a lot. So why does he hate promoting his work so much? And how does he promote his work in spite of that? Find out in our spirited, sarcastic and deeply salacious (no, it's not salacious, I was just in the mood to be alliterative) interview.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

The Business of Being a Writer with Jane Friedman

Anna David — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 22 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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, what to wear and what to do if you bomb, among many other topics.

She also shared that people never seem to care that she was a professor for decades but they all care that she has a book and a TEDx talk. So get on it! It's easier than you think.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

The Secret to Getting Media Attention with HARO Creator Peter Shankman

Anna David — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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, launching a book is a whole new animal—an animal that requires as much of a plan as any other business...complete with KPIs, plans for how the book plays into ultimate business goals and much more.

So what has she figured out about a book business plan and what are her KPI's and plans? It's all in this episode.

GET EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO MY BESTSELLING BOOK BULLETIN (4 QUICK TIDBITS EVERY THURSDAY), BY GOING TO WWW.BESTSELLINGBOOKBULLETIN.COM

Write a Letter to Your Future Reader with Elizabeth Lyons

Anna David — Wed, 01 Jun 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 publishing, in fact, that in this episode we delve into beginners luck, navigating self-publishing and much more before we get to the meat of it: what to include in your non-fiction book. She breaks down how to start (you write a letter to your reader [genius!]), how to approach your Table of Contents and how to see it through to the end.

Did I mention she's a mom of five and super funny?

You'll like this one, I promise. (Who are we kidding, you like love all of 'em!)

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 25 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Ben Mezrich has sold over 10 million copies of his books.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Making Books Into Movies with Warner Bros Studio Head Mike DeLuca

Anna David — Wed, 18 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 and David Fincher and running New Line studio at the age of 27.

But in this episode, we focused on the process of turning a book into a movie—including how producers find out about the books they end up adapting, how much control the author has over the movie and how much money they can make, among many other topics.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

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

Anna David — Wed, 11 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

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 him on the pod so I could Interview him about the process of turning his book into a course.

Listen in on this mega inspiring conversation about how courses and books work symbiotically—and how your reality may end up being even bigger than your dreams.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Making a Newsletter Into a Book with Jeff Kober

Anna David — Wed, 04 May 2022 07:00:00 +0000

While Jeff Kober is a terribly successful actor—having appeared on The Walking Dead, Sons of Anarchy, Shameless, New Girl, NCIS: Los Angeles, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, ER, 24, The Closer and Criminal Minds, among many other shows—it is only one of the many things he does. In fact, although he's a good friend that I adore, I will admit right here and now that I've never seen any of his acting. Sorry, Jeff! But that's because I think of him primarily as a gifted meditation teacher and writer.

And I am selfishly so grateful that he recently turned his daily newsletter into a book, Embracing Bliss: 108 Daily Meditations. See, for many years, I read his newsletter religiously every morning before meditating and I pretty much curse Jeff every day for making me have to look at my phone to access it. I'm an addict, people! I can't help but get sucked into some stressful email or Instagram rabbit hole when I was just hoping to take in some spiritual truths, Damn it! Well, now that he's made these brilliant daily thoughts into a book, I have no one but myself to blame if I go down an internet rabbit hole before meditating.

You can grab your copy of his book of daily thoughts here. You will not regret it—I ordered multiple copies because I plan to give it out as gifts. But before you order it, do listen in on our conversation so you can learn about his process for turning pre-existing content into a book; it involved spreadsheets, consultations with a colleague and a whole lot of reflection on what people respond to (spoiler alert: musings on relationships and love).

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Writing a Book in Public with Jesse J. Anderson

Anna David — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Jesse J. Anderson's journey to bookdom is unlike any other guest I've had on the show.

For one, he's not launching a book to help build his business.

Also, that book—Refocus: A Practical Guide to Adult ADHD—hasn't launched yet. In fact, he hasn't even finished writing it.

Why, then, you may ask, would I have him on the show?

Well, part of the reason is entirely selfish: he's writing a book in public and I want to write my next book in public so this is simply a shameless attempt to get some intel.

If you're wondering what "writing a book in public" even means, you may want to go back to the Rob Fitzpatrick episode, where he breaks down the process he documents in his book, Write Useful Books. If you don't have that kind of time, I'll tell you: it's essentially getting feedback from your readers while you're writing the book. Jesse is in fact doing it using software Rob designed for that very process and, as of this recording, he's about three-quarters of the way done with writing.

Jesse has also built up an impressive Twitter following by releasing Twitter threads of book chapters—a topic he dove into in detail.

When he's not writing books in public, Jesse is a designer and developer who has made it his mission to help others better understand what ADHD really is.

WANT 4 QUICK TIDBITS EVERY THURSDAY TO HELP YOU GET YOUR BOOK LAUNCHED? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHPADWEEKLY.COM.

Yes, You Can Sell Your Book as a Series of NFTs

Anna David — Wed, 20 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Elle Griffin is the Editor-of-Chief of Utah Business and a freelance journalist and co-founder of Cryptopia, a web3 festival that debuted in 2022.

But I most wanted to talk to her about how she's brought her books into the Web 3 world. See, she's not only crowdfunded a novel using crypto but she's publishing her next novel as an NFT series on Twitter.

I first became aware of her through Jane Friedman and began subscribing to her Substack. Then I came across this story in Hacker Noon about how she was selling chapters of her book as NFT's. I wanted to know more. And so I reached out to interview her and now my brain is on fire with ways writers can enter the Web 3 world. Yours will be too once you listen to this.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Is Making an NFT Out of Your Book Ridiculous?

Anna David — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Lee Richter is a business, leader, visionary and entrepreneur since the 1990’s who has built and sold several multi-million dollar companies. Lately she's been schooling me on the whole Web 3.0 space—in particular how authors can get into the NFT world.

And that's exactly what we talked about in this episode. She broke down different tactics authors can take—whether it's writing special intros to certain copies of the book, sending physical copies of the book to your NFT buyer, including a free speaking gig along with the digital asset or anything else.

Perhaps more important while it's still only one percent of the population that's engaging in the Web 3.0 world: she tells you how to dip your foot in the water. (Hint: first you approach it as a buyer and then as a personal seller before even trying to mint an NFT for your professional life.) And if you're going "WTF, I don't even know what Web 3.0 MEANS," good news: she defines it at the top of the episode.

To learn more about Lee and the NFT world, go to Go Ask Lee or Global Leaders Collective.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

How You Can Write a Book Everyone Recommends with Rob Fitzpatrick

Anna David — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 07:00:00 +0000

This may be the most useful podcast I've ever released. That's because it's with a guy who's an expert on something EVERY author wants: getting people to recommend your book.

His name is Rob Fitzpatrick and he's a former programmer who dropped out of grad school to go to YCombinator with his first startup.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Creating the Biggest Audience Possible with Becky Robinson

Anna David — Wed, 30 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Becky Robinson has helped launch over 150 books. Now she's launching her first traditionally published book of her own—and it's all about having a lasting impact on your readers.

WANT 7 DAYS OF WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

How to Figure Out Your Business Book: Case Study Tim Westbrook

Anna David — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

Listen in on my "booktervention" with rehab owner Tim Westbrook about the book he needs to write—and how it will grow his business.

WANT 7 DAYS OF WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

Lesbians Gone Viral with Zara Barrie & Dayna Troisi

Anna David — Wed, 16 Mar 2022 07:00:00 +0000

GirlZ Interrupted co-hosts and authors Zara Barrie and Dayna Troisi on how to turn an online audience into an audience that buys and reads your book.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Finding the People Who "Get" Your Message with Veronica Valli

Anna David — Wed, 09 Mar 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Listen in on my conversation with Soberful author and recovery addict Veronica Valli as we discuss listening to that inner voice that tells you that you need to write a book, getting help from the experts and finding the journalists and bookers who "get" your message.

WANT 7 DAYS OF WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

How Authors Can Get Media Attention with Kristin Marquet

Anna David — Wed, 02 Mar 2022 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, we discussed how authors can get booked on TV and featured in interviews, the secret websites that showcase what sources journalists are looking for and why it's crucial to figure out your angle.

WANT 7 DAYS OF WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

Become the First Author People Find by Overhauling Your Google Presence with Josh Greene

Anna David — Wed, 23 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Josh Greene helps companies manage how they’re found online. In this episode, we discussed the three steps you should take right now if you want to control what people find when they Google you.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Talking About Your Book on TV and Podcasts with Media Coach Susan Harrow

Anna David — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Susan Harrow is a world-renowned media coach, marketing strategist and author of the best-selling book, Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul (HarperCollins).

We met in a cave in Mexico, which isn't untrue but also just makes a better story than the literal truth. And that way of explaining our relationship is highly relevant in this case because our conversation was all about how to tell your story in the media in a way that's compelling—and gets viewers interested in your book. My big takeaway from the interview was, after doing media for over a decade, I had a lot more control over how I was presented than I realized.

For over 32 years, Susan has helped thousands of CEOs, entrepreneurs and thought leaders shine on Oprah, 60 Minutes, Today, Good Morning America, Fresh Air, Marketplace, NPR and CNN—without selling their soul. Her course, The Zen of Fame: Your Genius Gone Viral™, shows people how to promote themselves with integrity and spirit.

WANT 7 DAYS OF WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

Make Your Book into a Talk and Get Speaking Gigs with Topher Morrison

Anna David — Wed, 09 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Topher Morrison has tips aplenty when it comes to authors getting booked to speak and it makes sense: he is, after all, the founder of Personofi, a firm that specializes in brand messaging for small business owners. He is the author of four best-selling books and was voted one of the top 10 business speakers in Tampa Bay. His extensive speaking career, spanning over the past 30 years, has earned him a global reputation as an expert in mass communication and influence. He has spoken for top execs with American Express, Microsoft and Google, just to name a few.

In this episode, he shared so many gems I'd never heard before—including where authors who have never spoken before can get experience for a reel, the importance of a one-sheet, how to make a book into a speech by using the vignettes in it, why the opening of the speech should not be the same as your first chapter and how to sell your book while speaking without sounding like a douche.

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Writing a Book About Your Greatest Passion with Robert Sikes

Anna David — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Robert Sikes is one of the sweetest men you'll ever encounter.

And that may not be obvious when you first look at him.

Because, you see, he's a bodybuilder and massive.

And I don't just mean massive in terms of bulk. He's also massively influential in the bodybuilding space, as the leading spokesperson about following a ketogenic diet for bodybuilding. He's a natural ketogenic bodybuilder, author and entrepreneur as well as the CEO and founder of Keto Savage, a health and fitness company that offers coaching, training and nutrition for athletes and bodybuilders. He is also CEO and founder of Keto Brick, a company that produces ketogenic meal replacement bars for efficient nutrition with the highest quality ingredients. And he holds first-in-class titles from his bodybuilding competitions within the OCB and WNBF federations and lives in Northwest Arkansas with his wife Crystal.

I'm truly honored to be able to say Legacy Launch Pad is launching his book, Ketogenic Bodybuilding, this week. And while he has a built-in audience (his podcast alone has millions of downloads), he still has to have a specific plan in place for how to use the book to build his business.

In this episode, we discussed a few specific launch plans (including releasing the first three chapters of his book as podcast episodes) as well as his ideas for how the book will add to his business—specifically, by selling copies with his Keto Brick bars, using a lead magnet to bring readers to a download and his mailing list and teasing out his upcoming online program. But his greatest message is perhaps this: write your book and build your business around what you were most passionate about as a kid.

WANT 7 DAYS OF WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

Is Angela Lauria Right When She Says That Book Quality Doesn’t Matter?

Anna David — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Dr. Angela Lauria is a big believer in using your book to build and grow a business. So why does she say that those who hire you won't ever read your book?

IF YOU'RE AN AUTHOR, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH! GET YOUR ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Can Being a Part of an Anthology Help Build My Business?

Anna David — Wed, 19 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

As an entrepreneur, you might think the best way to build your brand is to write and publish your own book. But have you considered participating in an anthology? In this episode, I discuss the three golden nuggets necessary for an anthology to build your business.

WANT TO KNOW THE 3 THINGS YOU NEED IN TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO: WWW.LEGACYLAUNCHPADPUB.COM/LAUNCH-YOUR-BOOK-LM

Writing (and Not Publishing) Four Books with Joe DeMaria

Anna David — Wed, 12 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Listen in on my "booktervention" with the genius entrepreneur Joe DeMaria about why on earth he hasn't published a book yet. Recorded on the Wisdom app!

Should I Hire a Company to Write and Publish My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

A book is an excellent way to build your brand. But what if you're not a writer? In this premiere episode of the Entrepreneur Publishing Academy podcast I discuss why hiring a company to write and publish it for you is a better idea than you may think.

WANT TO KNOW THE 3 THINGS YOU NEED IN TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO: WWW.LEGACYLAUNCHPADPUB.COM/LAUNCH-YOUR-BOOK-LM

2021's Most Popular Topics: Media Attention, Book Relaunches & Book Parties

Anna David — Wed, 29 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

It wouldn't be a year-end episode without some sort of a year-end summary. So please enjoy this compilation of 2021's three most popular Launch your Book podcast episodes: How Do I Get Media Attention from my Book? What Did I Learn from the Party Girl Relaunch? and How Do I Throw a Launch Party?

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Do I Have to be a Famous Author to Do a Book Store Reading?

Anna David — Wed, 22 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, I discuss how you can have your reading at a book store even if you're not a famous author. I also offer other creative ideas and venues you may not have considered that will make your reading a fun and memorable event.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Is Creating T-Shirts and Other Swag for My Book a Good Idea?

Anna David — Wed, 15 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

To swag or not to swag, that is the question—for authors looking for a marketing edge when releasing their books. In this episode, Anna draws on her experiences with the S-word, when it worked and when it didn't.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

What Makes a Great Book Cover?

Anna David — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, Anna draws on her years of experience as an author and publisher to walk you through every aspect—design, story, marketing, cost, tools—necessary to create a great book cover.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

What 5 Books Do You Need to Read This Month?

Anna David — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 08:00:00 +0000

What are the five books Anna recommends this month to Portland's KATU viewers? Find out in this audio version of the TV segment.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Writing about Sex Addiction with Brianne Davis

Anna David — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, actor Brianne Davis tells all about her roman a clef, The Secret Life of a Hollywood Sex and Love Addict, and how it’s launched her massive coaching business and speaking career.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

The Jeff Garlin Book Soup Event!

Anna David — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Listen in on the hilarious virtual event Jeff Garlin and I did with Book Soup and find out why one of the key elements of getting a movie made is to first write the book.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

The Secret to Writing Success: Finding a Mentor with Ashlea Hearn

Anna David — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Ashlea Hearn is a recent college graduate, a 1st Lieutenant in the Army Reserves and the author of Genesis Mortalis, Book 1 of the Take It Trilogy.

She's also my mentee, and a completely delightful one at that. Listen in on our chat, hear how she got her book in countless bookstores and see why I think she's going to take over the world.

WANT 7 DAYS OF FREE WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

Brian Meeks on How NFTs Fit Into the Writing World

Anna David — Wed, 03 Nov 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Brian D. Meeks writes under his name and the pen name Arthur Byrne. He’s currently working on his 20th novel and has six non-fiction titles, including Mastering Amazon Descriptions: An Author’s Guide. Additionally, he has a thriving author copywriting business.

And he's obsessed with NFTs—and how they fit into the writing world.

In this episode, we talked about how his NFT project has inspired him to love writing again, why he writes some of his books on Facebook and how we can all start selling our writing as NFTs on bitclout, among many other topics (he's what's known in the talking world as a "digressor").

WANT 7 DAYS OF FREE WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

Ed Kressy on Meth Psychosis and Landing Big Blurb-ers

Anna David — Wed, 27 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Ed Kressy has a much crazier story than your average addict with a crazy story. He also got a much bigger blurb-er than the average author. We got into both of those things in this episode.

WANT A WEEK'S WORTH OF FREE WRITING TIPS? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM

What I Learned From the Party Girl Re-Launch

Anna David — Wed, 20 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Ohhhhh, does your own book launch teach you some lessons and that goes double when it's a re-launch like my recent one for Party Girl.

In this episode, I broke down what went right (fun events out of town, asking someone I knew to help me get in a cool store), what didn't (Launch Squad, I'm talking to you if you said you'd review the book and still haven't!) and what was kinda ehh for the money put out (a publicist). That last question really comes down to...Is this story worth $5k?

Hear the whole rant in this episode!

AND PROVE ME WRONG ABOUT REVIEWS BY BUYING THE BOOK AND REVIEWING IT HERE.

A Breakdown of the Bad Art Friend

Anna David — Wed, 13 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

"Bad Art Friend" is a story that ran in the New York Times last week and it has the publishing world abuzz in a way only the publishing world can be. In this episode, I broke down my thoughts about the scandal and what I think it means for the future of publishing.

WANT A WEEK OF FREE WRITING TIPS FROM ME? GO TO WWW.YOURBOOKWRITINGTIPS.COM.

Erika Schickel on How Friends Make Your Launch

Anna David — Wed, 06 Oct 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Erika Schickel author of You’re Not the Boss of Me: Adventures of a Modern Mom (2007) and whose work has appeared in The Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, Tin House and Salon, discusses the launch of her new book The Big Hurt.

WANT TO RECEIVE A TIP A DAY FOR A WEEK THAT WILL GET YOU STARTED WRITING YOUR BOOK? GO TO: WWW.LEGACYLAUNCHPAD.COM/FREE-TIPS

Party Girl Excerpt, Chapter 3

Anna David — Wed, 29 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

In this episode, I read the final excerpt from my recently re-released first book, Party Girl.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Party Girl Excerpt, Chapter 2

Anna David — Wed, 22 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

In this episode, I'm giving you another excerpt from my recently re-released first book, Party Girl.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Party Girl Excerpt, Chapter 1

Anna David — Wed, 15 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

In this episode, listen to the first chapter from my recently released first novel, Party Girl.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Mimi MacLean on Being a Bad Ass Entrepreneur and Author

Anna David — Wed, 08 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Mimi MacLean is an angel investor who focuses on female-led companies with something to say. A mom of five, she’s also a CPA, a Columbia Business School graduate and the host of The Badass CEO, a weekly podcast where she interviews entrepreneurs and high-level executives to discuss business strategies, life experiences and what a Badass CEO needs to know.

And I'm proud to say that Legacy Launch Pad has just released her first book, How to Be a Badass Female CEO: Slay the Competition and Reach the Top! Inspired by the statistic that fewer than two percent of female-led companies reach over a million in sales, How to Be a Badass Female CEO packs all of MacLean's myriad experiences into a guidebook for the female CEO's of tomorrow.

On this episode, we talked about her process of deciding to do a book as well as the fear that you're not even conscious of which creeps up right before the launch.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK OF YOUR OWN? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM FOR A CHEAT SHEET THAT BREAKS DOWN HOW YOU CAN.

What to Do 60 Days, 30 Days and 7 Days Before Your Launch

Anna David — Wed, 01 Sep 2021 07:00:00 +0000

What you do after you've written your book can be just as crucial to its success as writing it. In today's episode, I'll walk you through what to do 60 days, 30 days and 7 days before your launch.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Sarah Alaimo on Going From "I Can't Write a Book" to Launching Her Book

Anna David — Wed, 25 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Career happiness coach Sarah Alaimo wasn't planning to write a book, let alone release it. So how did she come to launch her debut memoir? Listen to this episode to find out!

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How Do I Re-Launch a Book?

Anna David — Wed, 18 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Re-launching your book once it's been traditionally published can be more complicated than you may imagine. In this episode, I walk you through how I did it for my first book, Party Girl.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How Do I Throw a Book Launch Party?

Anna David — Wed, 11 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Your party, no matter how awesome, won't help with book sales. Chances are, you'll actually be giving books away! So why do it? In this episode, we explain why it's worth it.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

10 Free Ways to Promote a Book

Anna David — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 07:00:00 +0000

From creating graphics to reaching out to the media, there are numerous ways to bring attention to your book without spending a dime. We go into a bunch of them in this episode.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

What Are the Exact Steps to Publishing a Book?

Anna David — Wed, 28 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000

The crucial steps to publishing a book are writing, editing, cover design, layout and back end Amazon wizardry. This episode walks you through them all.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How to Get on Podcasts to Promote Your Book with John Corcoran

Anna David — Wed, 21 Jul 2021 14:45:20 +0000

In this episode, John Corcoran explains how you can promote your book on podcasts, when you should be reaching out and why having your own podcast is the best promotional tool of all.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How Did Alex Strathdee Get 40,000 Students to Read His Book?

Anna David — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Alex Strathdee is no ordinary writer. That's because he's as much an entrepreneur as he is a writer. And it's how he got 40,000 students to read his first book.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How Does an Author Build a Newsletter List?

Anna David — Wed, 07 Jul 2021 07:00:00 +0000

A newsletter list is the single most important tool a writer can have when launching a book. But how do you get started—and what do you do once you have?

First off, you need to, no matter how daunting it seems and how much it seems like you don’t have time to.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BEST SELLING BOOK? VISIT WWW.BESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How Does Pat Flynn Launch a Book?

Anna David — Wed, 30 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Pat Flynn is one of the kings of the marketing world and that showed in the way he launched his 2016 Wall Street Journal bestseller, Will it Fly?

Because he’s very open about the methods he used, I was able to do research and determine some of his most effective strategies. In this episode, I broke them all down.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BESTSELLING BOOK? VISIT WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM.

How Does John Lee Dumas Launch a Book?

Anna David — Thu, 24 Jun 2021 14:18:15 +0000

The king of podcasting is also quite kingly when it comes to launching a book. This episode breaks down how he blew his most recent release up.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How to Land a Book Deal With Rea Frey

Anna David — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Oh, do I have a great guest for you today. Rea Frey is the award-winning bestselling author of three suspense novels and four nonfiction books with St. Martin's as well as the CEO of Writeway, a multiple six-figure business that helps connect authors to agents so they can land publishing deals (Writeway does proposal writing, query letters...the whole shebang.)

Frey also knows her way around a book launch, having built up an active Instagram through a very specific strategy and landing herself in publications like US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour, Popsugar, Hello Sunshine, Marie Claire, Parade, Shape and Hello Giggles (spoiler: this also involves having a very specific strategy).

Listen to her share her top launch tips, her journey through the web of publishing and find out how you can get a free 30-minute consultation with her by listening to this episode.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM.

How Long Does It Take to Publish a Book?

Anna David — Wed, 09 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Obviously, the length of time it takes to write and launch a book varies from writer to writer; Anthony Burgess wrote A Clockwork Orange while Junot Diaz took a decade to write The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

And I know people who have written massively successful books in a weekend. But the rough statistic I've heard quoted is that if you’re going to write it yourself, expect to spend about 300 hours on the first draft.

This episode breaks down how long not just the writing but also the publishing takes.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Do People Look Down on Self-Publishing?

Anna David — Wed, 02 Jun 2021 07:00:00 +0000

One thing I need to tell you right off: there was no bigger snob about self-publishing back in the day than the person writing this post. My, how times have changed. This episode breaks down how.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

What Do I Need to Know to Record an Audiobook?

Anna David — Wed, 26 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

The audiobook market is a $1.2 billion business but recording and launching your own isn't as easy as you may think. This episode breaks down the sound requirements, what it takes out of you and whether or not you should publish exclusively on Audible, among many other topics.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

What's the Difference Between a Ghostwriter, Editor & Coach?

Anna David — Wed, 19 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Do you need a ghostwriter, editor or coach—and what's the difference between those three, anyway? I answer all that and more in this episode.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GRAB MY CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How Can I Use Social Media to Promote My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 12 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Social media isn't just for influencers who are shamelessly hawking products. It's actually an amazing tool for authors—provided they follow certain recommendations. I get into all of them in this episode.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GRAB MY CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How Do I Get My Book Made Into a Movie?

Anna David — Wed, 05 May 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Hollywood is not just going to come banging down your door unless you have a crazy number one bestseller that everybody wants. In this episode, I talk about how to try to make it happen for yourself.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GRAB MY CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

What Does an Author Website Need?

Anna David — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

You need an author site and they are so easy to create. But what should be on it?

WANT MY "20 WAYS TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK" CHEAT SHEET BY GOING HERE: WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM.

Can I Get Sued for Writing About Someone?

Anna David — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Are you at risk when you write something less-than-flattering about someone in your memoir? Well, sure. Anyone can sue anyone for anything and even if they don't have a case, you probably don't want to have to deal with the inconvenience of defending yourself. In this episode, I get into my experiences writing about people and not getting sued. PLEASE NOTE: I am not a lawyer, nor have I ever been. While this breaks down advice from attorneys, none of this can be considered a substitute for legal counsel.

WANT MY 20 WAYS TO LAUNCH A BOOK CHEAT SHEET? GRAB IT HERE: WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM.

Do I Need an Agent and If So, How Do I Get One?

Anna David — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

If you're trying to publish your book the traditional way, you need an agent. The good news: agents want to find the diamond in the rough. The bad news: They're hammered with a lot of potential diamonds. Here's how you can stand out.

WANT MY 20 WAYS TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK CHEAT SHEET? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM.

How to Get an Influencer to Promote Your Book with Jess Lahey

Anna David — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Jess Lahey can talk about so many things so brilliantly that interviewing her felt a bit like walking through an outlet mall: so many choices and they all look so good!

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

How to Crowd Fund Your Book Launch with Jesse Krieger

Anna David — Wed, 31 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Jesse Krieger knows his way around a book launch. His company, Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press, has published over 100 books in six years. Now he's teaching authors how to raise money for their book launches.

In this episode, we broke down that business model and also got into some launch ideas you may never have thought of.

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM FOR MY CHEAT SHEET.

How Do I Avoid Hiring the Wrong Editor for My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 24 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Unlike doctors, editors do not need a license or even a degree and there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, people out there calling themselves editors who shouldn't be.

Don't be like the dozens of clients who have come to me having busted the bank hiring an editor who did nothing. This episode gets into everything you need to ask and consider when hiring your editor.

Only listen if you want to avoid spending your whole book budget on an editor when you don't need to!

WANT TO LAUNCH A BESTSELLING BOOK? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHABESTSELLINGBOOK.COM

Samantha Perkins on the Anxiety of Launching Your First Book

Anna David — Wed, 17 Mar 2021 07:00:00 +0000

Samantha Perkins had all the anxiety that any first-time author has.

Except she had more.

Her book, after all, is about anxiety—well, anxiety that was exacerbated by drinking.

That book, Alive AF: One Mom's Journey to Becoming AF, has not only become a #1 bestseller but has also ushered in a plethora of opportunities—including coaching, speaking, writing assignments and more.

And I had a front-row seat through all of it, since I walked her through the process of writing her story and sat back proudly as she took what I'd guided her through and ran with it.

In this episode, we talk about when she knew she was going to follow through on her desire to write a book, the anti-climax of release day and the emotional hangover no one tells you about, among many other topics.

How Do I Get Reviews for My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Readers are a thousand times more likely to buy your book if it has more than a handful of reviews. Here are the secrets to getting people to come through with reviews.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BOOK? GO TO WWW.BOOKBUILDBIZ.COM.

How Do I Get Media Attention From My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 03 Mar 2021 08:00:00 +0000

It's actually quite self-obsessed of us to believe our book is newsworthy to anybody; you need to give the media a reason to cover you.

Here's how.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BOOK? GO TO WWW.BOOKBUILDBIZ.COM TO FIND OUT HOW.

How Do I Figure Out the Core Audience for My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 24 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Remember that the riches are in the niches and go find that rabid group that will become advocates for your book. This episode breaks down how.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BOOK? GO TO WWW.BOOKBUILDBIZ.COM TO FIND OUT HOW.

How Do I Make Money From My Book (Aside From Through Book Sales)?

Anna David — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

I didn't make a lot of money from book sales but I've probably added a hundred thousand dollars to my bottom line as a result of the book. This is how.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BOOK? GO TO WWW.BOOKBUILDBIZ.COM.

How Do I Use My Book to Get Email Subscribers?

Anna David — Wed, 10 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

With newsletters, you are offering readers opportunities to do what they want to do—whatever it is that had them buy your book and then sign up for your list. So how do you use your book as an opportunity to get them to do that?

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BOOK? GO TO WWW.BOOKBUILDBIZ.COM.

How Do I Use My Book to Get Speaking Gigs?

Anna David — Wed, 03 Feb 2021 08:00:00 +0000

If an event organizer is considering two different people to speak on a certain topic and one of those people has a book and is a bestselling author, that person is going to get the gig. But it is not as simple as writing a book and waiting for these speaking offers to come in. This episode breaks down the steps you need to take.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS WITH A BOOK? GO TO WWW.BOOKBUILDBIZ.COM TO FIND OUT HOW.

How Do I Get Blurbs for my Book?

Anna David — Wed, 27 Jan 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Blurbs, also known as endorsements, are one of the most misunderstood aspects of publishing. Authors tend to prioritize these so much when they need to be asking themselves if they've ever bought a book because of who blurbed it (99% of the time: no). But blurbs are still nice to have so this episode breaks down the most effective ways for authors to get them.

How Do I Use My Book to Get on Podcasts?

Anna David — Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Podcasts are one of the best ways an author can reach an audience (as you well know, you podcast listener, you!) But how do authors get on them? Well, there are definitely right and wrong ways to pitch yourself and this episode breaks down both, and also provides information on how you can become a beloved guest.

How Do I Get Clients From My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 13 Jan 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Experienced authors know that very few of us make money from book sales. Some know, however, that it's quite possible to make a lot of money if you use your book to build your business. Since most businesses don't exist without clients, this episode breaks down exactly how to use your book to get those clients.

Marleen Seegers on Selling the Foreign Rights to Your Book

Anna David — Wed, 06 Jan 2021 08:00:00 +0000

Marleen Seegers is the co-founder of 2 Seas Agency, which sells the foreign rights of books by authors such as James Altucher. She's also the host of the Make Books Travel podcast. Her team pays regular visits to international book fairs such as those in Beijing, Turin, Guadalajara, Rio de Janeiro, Sharjah, New York, Leipzig and of course Frankfurt and London, combined with trips to major publishing cities including Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Munich and Berlin.

Jealous yet? Well, COVID put a damper in that publishing schedule. Yet Marleen has still managed to thrive—and educate the rest us about how the whole foreign rights think works, which countries like which books and whether or not it really means doing book readings on Greek islands. Listen to the episode to find out more.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BRAND WITH A BOOK? GRAB OUR CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.BUILDYOURBRANDWITHABOOK.COM.

How a Book Can Transform Your Business with Gene Moran

Anna David — Wed, 30 Dec 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Gene Moran has helped myriad clients navigate the murky waters of federal sales. As the Founder and President of Capitol Integration and an active duty Navy Captain, Gene has established himself as an expert who consistently brings agility, creativity and results to companies of all sizes: small startup firms, prime and sub-prime contractors, and large multi-billion dollar public enterprises. He is a proven Navy Financial Manager, designated Joint Specialty Officer and was just named one of top lobbyists of 2020 by the National Institute for Lobbying & Ethics,

But to me, he's much more than that; he's a client who I'm thrilled to call a friend. We published his #1 Amazon bestselling book, Pitching the Big Top: How to Master the 3-Ring Circus of Federal Sales, last year and are publishing his second book next year. Why is he doing two books, you ask? Well, you won't have to ask once you listen to this episode.

WANT TO BUILD YOUR BRAND WITH A BOOK? GRAB OUR CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.BUILDYOURBRANDWITHABOOK.COM

How Do I Get People to Buy My Book?

Anna David — Wed, 23 Dec 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Whether authors go traditional or indie, we are all faced with the same issue: getting people to actually buy our books. In this episode, I get into the four best methods:

Just Ask
Be Strategic
Reach Out—and Out Again—to Everyone You Know
Don’t Expect Strangers to Care

For the show notes, where I break down each of those methods, go to www.launchpadpub.com/blog/buy

How Do I Make My Book a NY Times Bestseller?

Anna David — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 03:08:42 +0000

It's the question I'm asked more than any other. In this episode, I get into:

Why is it So Hard to Get on the New York Times Bestseller List?
How Many Copies Do You Have to Sell to Hit the List?
What Happens If You Try to Game The List?
If You Still Want to Get on the List...
Here's Why I Don't Think It Matters

For show notes, which break down all of these bits, go to: www.launchpadpub.com/blog/NYT

Should I Give Up on Traditional Publishing?

Anna David — Wed, 09 Dec 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Today I'm going to dispel some publishing myths and maybe discourage you a little bit, all in the name of showing you how you can launch a book that will build your brand and your business. But first we have to dispel myths. And so today I am answering a question that came to me from a listener, @michaelcringering is his Instagram handle.

Here's the question: “I started submitting to agents in March because I'm hoping to secure someone interested in my novel. I submitted to 153 agents in my genre but heard back from less than 25 percent. With that said and the pandemic raging, should I continue to wait or go ahead and self publish?”

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

The Caveat: I'm Biased Against Traditional Publishing
How Much Does It Matter to You?
You Can Publish Your Book Yourself
The Rules with Novels Are Different
I Couldn't Make a Living Until I Could Answer the Question: What Do I Want This Book to do For Me?
You Have to Get Realistic
You Don't Need Them
If Your Goal is to Have a Writing Career...

FOR SHOW NOTES, WHICH INCLUDE A TRANSCRIPT, GO TO www.launchpadpub.com/blog/publishing

Katie DePaola on Building Your Brand with a Book

Anna David — Wed, 02 Dec 2020 08:00:00 +0000

This is an exciting time for the podcast for several reasons, at least one of which is that WE HAVE A NEW NAME! Yes, this has happened before. Oh yes, AfterPartyPod, Recover Girl, Light Hustler, Struggle to Success and some names I'm forgetting were used at some point. But this is the one we're sticking with and I'm not just saying that!

So why this change? Well, in this episode, I explain that since the show was becoming increasingly about how to build your brand with a book, it seemed only right to have a podcast name that reflected it. And now we've got it!

I couldn't have asked for a better guest for this pivot, since she's not only a brand builder extraordinaire but also a friend whose book I feel privileged to be able to publish.

Katie DePaola is an author, speaker, entrepreneur and the founder of Inner Glow Circle, a company dedicated to helping women entrepreneurs find their glow and live purpose-driven lives.

Just because I have a guest this week doesn't mean those Q&A or break-the-expert's-strategy-down episodes are no longer. I'll continue alternating different ways of showing you guys how to build your brand with a book, both on my own and with special guests.

All of which is to say: if you want me to answer your writing question on this show, DM me on Instagram at @annabdavid!

WANT TO BUILD YOUR OWN BRAND WITH A BOOK? GO TO WWW.BUILDYOURBRANDWITHABOOK.COM AND GET MY CHEATSHEET ON HOW.

How Do I Get My Book in Book Stores?

Anna David — Wed, 25 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Today's episode is another one of those Q&A things, where I'm answering either questions people have sent me about writing and publishing or questions that I'm asked over and over. Today's question is: how do I get my book in book stores?

The short answer is: don't rely on your publisher.

The longer answer is in this episode.

Don't forget: if you want me to answer your writing question on this show, DM me on Instagram at @annabdavid.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

How Do I Build Up My Profile Enough for a Publisher to Want Me?

Anna David — Wed, 18 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

The word profile used to mean what we looked like from the side. Nowadays it means what we look like online.

And for better or worse, this has become increasingly important when it comes to selling and promoting a book. So this week I'm answering a question from a listener that's all about how to build a profile, particularly on Instagram, and why publishers may or may not care.

And don't forget: if you want me to answer your writing question on this show, DM me on Instagram at @annabdavid.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

How and When Do I Come Up With a Title?

Anna David — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Rather than interviewing a guest or breaking down an expert author's way of launching a book, this week I'm answering the question: How and when do I come up with a title?

The biggest problem I see with authors and titles is that some become so committed to the one they came up with originally that they won't consider changing it to something that's going to resonate with readers more. I break that down and talk about how my titles have changed and which I think should have changed in this episode.

And if you want me to answer your writing question on this show, DM on Instagram at @annabdavid.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

How Do I Become a Better Writer?

Anna David — Wed, 04 Nov 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Rather than interviewing a guest or breaking down an expert author's way of launching a book, this week I'm answering the question: How do I become a better writer?

The short answer is: write. The longer answer is: write and read. The still longer answer is in this episode.

And if you want me to answer your writing question on this show, DM on Instagram at @annabdavid.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

How Long Should a Book Be?

Anna David — Wed, 28 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Rather than interviewing a guest or breaking down an expert author's way of launching a book, this week I'm answering the question: How long should a book be. The short answer is: it depends. The longer answer is that books are getting shorter. Confused yet? Listen to the episode and you won't be.

And if you want me to answer your writing question on this show, DM on Instagram at @annabdavid.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

A Play-by-Play Breakdown of How James Altucher Launches a Book

Anna David — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

There's no one like James Altucher. Now I get that there's no one like any of us but there's REALLY no one like James Altucher. The hedge fund manager, podcaster and author of over 20 books has one of the most unique writing voices around—a major reason why his book, Choose Yourself, sold 40,000 copies in its first week of release.

But there are a number of other reasons he sold so many copies and I break those reasons down in this episode. I get into how he hones his writer's voice, controls his destiny, gathers opinions, comes up with unique propositions and then gets media attention for them, spends what he can afford to and—most importantly—never stops writing.

You may not be someone The New York Times writes about when you decide to embrace minimalism but that doesn't mean you can't learn from what he does and apply all the same concepts and techniques to your own book release. In fact, in this episode, I break down exactly how.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Having Curbed Enthusiasm for Publishers with Jeff Garlin

Anna David — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Do you really need me to tell you who Jeff Garlin is? Well, the simple way to handle that is to tell you that he stars on arguably the most adored show of all time (Curb Your Enthusiasm) as well as one of the most mainstream shows of all time (The Goldbergs).

This episode also has LOTS of digressions into random topics both because Jeff Garlin could be renamed DIgression Garlin and also because we're pals who digress a lot. Listen and digress with us...

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

A Play-by-Play Breakdown of How Rachel Hollis Launches a Book

Anna David — Wed, 07 Oct 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Today I'm doing one of those breakdowns of how the experts launch their books (check out my previous one on Tim Ferriss here). And this episode analyzes the moves made by the icon to middle-aged women across the globe: Rachel Hollis.

Rachel has had extraordinary success, by any standards. Her book, Girl Wash Your Face, sold three million copies JUST on Amazon. She hosts a huge conference, has a Netflix documentary and has millions of followers on social media.

But this sprightly little thing didn't just waltz into stupendous success. In this episode, I meticulously break down what I believe are the four main reasons she's had such an impact:

1) She knows her audience

2) She makes it about them

3) She's consistent

4) She listens to that audience

To understand how she's done that and hear more of my analysis of her many bright moves, check out the episode.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

A Play-by-Play Breakdown of How Tim Ferriss Launches a Book

Anna David — Wed, 30 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Tim Ferriss needs no introduction. He not only hosts one of the world's most successful podcasts and maintains one of the world's most successful blogs but he was also an early investor in companies like Uber and Shopify and is the author of five #1 New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestsellers, including The 4-Hour Workweek and Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers.

Since there's no one alive who's better at launching books, I decided to do something new for this episode: break down exactly what he does and how he does it. His tactics include reading 50 different books on his book's topic before he even starts writing, offering spectacular launch bonuses for those who buy his books in bulk, attending conferences in order to chat with bloggers and influencers and way too many others to list in this post—so many that you'll soon learn why this required its own episode.

If you like this sort of episode, I'd be excited to do more on other people who are brilliant at launching books but would be hard to land on the show. It's fun to research and talk about how someone like Ferriss manages to do what he does (spoiler alert: it doesn't involve just getting lucky). Please let me know in the form of an Itunes review if you want me to do more of these. In the meantime, enjoy this breakdown!

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Getting Over 5000 Media Hits with Cameron Herold

Anna David — Wed, 23 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET BY GOING TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Chris Joseph on Publishing a Book About His Recovery From Cancer

Anna David — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

In the last 33 years, Chris Joseph has started and managed three environmental consulting businesses, launched two fan-funded music record companies and founded a non-profit charitable foundation. He has also dabbled in philanthropy, songwriting and magazine writing, and he is currently studying for his real estate license. Chris is an LA native who lives in Santa Monica with his two teenage sons and his longtime girlfriend Susie.

He is also the author of Life is a Ride: My Unconventional Journey to Cancer Recovery which I am very proud to say Launch Pad has just published. The book is about how, after being diagnosed with third-stage pancreatic cancer and discouraged by traditional medical treatment, he embarked on his own path to healing. It's a beautiful, poignant journey that will inspire many and I'm looking forward to seeing what it does for him.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET BY GOING TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Getting Hollywood's Attention with Sex and the City's Cindy Chupack

Anna David — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Cindy Chupack is a TV writer/producer whose credits include Sex and the City, Better Things, Divorce, Modern Family, Everybody Loves Raymond and I’m Dying Up Here. She recently directed her first feature, Otherhood, now available on Netflix. She has written two comic memoirs: the NYT bestseller The Between Boyfriends Book: A Collection of Cautiously Hopeful Essays and The Longest Date: Life as a Wife. Now divorced, her latest “chapter” was published recently in Katie Couric’s newsletter, a piece called Love in the Time of Covid-19.

She's also one of the kindest, most modest people alive. Proof: that bio above, which she gave me, doesn't even mention the fact that she has won Emmys and Golden Globes. As in: multiple. We met when we both contributed essays to the anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys and in the years since, I've watched her straddle the line of author, TV writer, director and storyteller, among several other pursuits.

In this episode, we talked about how important it is to figure out ahead of time what you want your book to do for you, how likely it is to have your book adapted into a TV show or movie and the difference between writing a memoir and a book of essays, among many other topics.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET BY GOING TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Rebekah ("Bex") Borucki on Going From Food Stamps to Author and Coach

Anna David — Wed, 02 Sep 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Rebekah “Bex” Borucki, founder of BEXLIFE® and the BLISSED IN® wellness movement, is a mother of five, meditation guide, birth doula, mentor for creative healers and author of books for big and little readers. She has taught meditation and is a mentor to creative healers who have gone on to receive publishing contracts with major houses like Simon & Schuster and Hay House. Rebekah is published by Hay House, the Quarto Publishing Group, and her own imprint, Wheat Penny Press, which she founded in 2019.

In this episode, we talked about how we met (sitting next to each other on a bus in Israel—for reals), how she went from single mom on welfare to powerhouse author, mentor and a million other things and how and why writing a book changed her entire career.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET BY GOING TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Meghan Daum on What Happens When Your First Book Becomes a Cult Classic

Anna David — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Meghan Daum is the author of six books, most recently The Problem With Everything: My Journey Through The New Culture Wars. An opinion columnist for The Los Angeles Times for more than a decade, she currently writes monthly for Medium’s GEN Magazine and has contributed to The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic and Vogue, among other publications. Her new podcast The Unspeakable launched in July 2020.

In this episode, we talked about the mini scandals you can cause when writing about either leaving New York or your feelings on PhD-ers who call themselves "Dr," what it's like when your first book becomes a cult classic and what happens after cult classic-dom, among many other topics.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Robert Greene on Using Power and Seduction to Launch a Book

Anna David — Wed, 19 Aug 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Holy sh*t, it's Robert Greene on the podcast!

Yes, THE Robert Greene came on the show and he talked about the subjects he knows more about than arguably anyone else—power, seduction and narcissism—and how they're relevant when it comes to writing and launching a book.

For you rock dwellers, Greene is the author of the New York Times bestsellers The 48 Laws of Power, The Art of Seduction, The 33 Strategies of War, The 50th Law, Mastery and The Laws of Human Nature.

In addition to having a strong following within the business world and a deep following in Washington, DC, Greene’s books are hailed by everyone from war historians to the biggest musicians in the industry (including Jay-Z, Drake, 50 Cent) to the titans of Hollywood (including Brian Grazer and Will Smith).

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET BY GOING TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

The Oprah Effect with Greg Behrendt

Anna David — Wed, 12 Aug 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Greg Behrendt is the #1 New York Times best-selling co-author of He’s Just Not That Into You and It’s Called A Breakup Because It’s Broken. He's appeared on every TV show known to man, including Oprah, The Tonight Show and The Today Show, is a life long standup comedian and co-hosts the relationship podcast Don't Take Bullshit From Fuckers.

He's also a life and writing coach, who can walk you through exactly how to write a book like his—as well as how to survive any adversity that comes your way (he's in recovery from addiction and has beaten cancer twice).

In this episode, we talk about what happens when the publishing dream that wasn't even your publishing dream comes true, how to handle being categorized as "that guy" after runaway success and how becoming Oprah's obsession for a brief time doesn't mean you're set for life.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Jason Pinter on His Journey From Editor to Writer to Publisher

Anna David — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Jason Pinter has had a Byzantine journey through publishing—first as an editor, then as an internationally bestselling author of seven novels and two children’s books and finally as the Founder and Publisher of Polis Books.

So how does one go on that journey? And what does someone who's seen publishing from literally every side have to say about how the industry has changed over the years and the best way to launch a book today?

It's all in this episode, along with invaluable information about how independent and self-published authors can get their books into libraries—and why they'd want to.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Anna David (That's Me!) on Making Your Message Your Business (Final Excerpt From My New Book)

Anna David — Wed, 29 Jul 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Here we are at the final week of excerpts from my new book. This one is the final chapter, Making Your Message Your Business. It's all about the ways you can take that memoir you made out of your mess and create something that can support you for the rest of your life.

TO GET THE BOOK, GO TO WWW.MAKEYOURMESSYOURMEMOIR.COM

Anna David (That's Me!) on Always Remembering You’re The Messenger (Excerpt 2 From My Book)

Anna David — Wed, 22 Jul 2020 07:00:00 +0000

This week's episode features a very special guest: me. I got such a great response to last week's episode that I decided to release a few more excerpts from my new book. This week, it's the 13th chapter, which is focused entirely on how to find, nurture and serve your readers.

TO GET THE BOOK, GO TO WWW.MAKEYOURMESSYOURMEMOIR.COM

Anna David (That's Me!) on Launching a Book (Excerpt From MY Book)

Anna David — Wed, 15 Jul 2020 07:00:00 +0000

This week's episode features a very special guest: me. Yes, it's me giving you an exclusive excerpt from my new book. It's the 12th chapter of the book and definitely the meatiest. It's also the most relevant for you because it's focused entirely on what to do once you've finished your book and are getting ready to launch it.

GRAB THE BOOK HERE: WWW.MAKEYOURMESSYOURMEMOIR.COM

Blog Your Way to Book Success with Derek Murphy

Anna David — Wed, 08 Jul 2020 07:00:00 +0000

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Why to Read Those A**hole Amazon Reviews with Jay Abraham

Anna David — Wed, 01 Jul 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Jay Abraham is the world's highest-paid marketing consultant, a proven business leader and top executive coach in the United States.

In this episode, he doles out some of his top gems—including what to write at the beginning of every business book, how to involve influencers in your writing process and why to read the Amazon reviews of every book on your topic that's come before.

WANT THE TOP 14 BOOK LAUNCH TIPS FROM PREVIOUS PODCAST GUESTS? GO TO WWW.LAUNCHPADPUB.COM/POD-TIPS.

How to Make Your Book Not Suck with Adam Carolla

Anna David — Wed, 24 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Adam Carolla is, well, Adam Carolla. The comedian, actor, radio personality, television host and NY Times best-selling author also hosts a podcast you might have heard of since it holds the Guinness Book of World Records record for most downloaded podcast. He was also the co-host of the long-running radio show Loveline, co-created The Man Show and does like 190 other things.

His first book, In 50 Years We'll All Be Chicks, was on the New York Times bestseller list for 10 weeks, while the audio version went straight to the #1 position on iTunes. He has since released a bunch of other New York Times bestselling books and it's probably safe to assume that his newest book, the just-released I'm Your Emotional Support Animal, will also make it there.

In this episode, we talked about why he doesn't know his publisher's name, how to write a book while driving to a comedy gig and the best launch tip of all: have an amazing book.

WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD THE ONE-PAGE STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

Neal Pollack on Working with Big Publishers, Indie, Amazon—and Everyone in Between

Anna David — Wed, 17 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Neal Pollack, whose alter ego is "the Greatest Living American Writer," is the author of 11 books of fiction and nonfiction.

His latest, Pothead, covers his journey from drug-addled literary sensation to sober Austin dad. He's written thousands of articles for publications current and defunct, prominent and obscure, whoever pays. To continue with the randomness, he's a three-time Jeopardy! champion and a certified yoga instructor.

Neal and I have known each other for years, with essays appearing in some of the same books (one of which I edited). A truthteller who reveals the often brutal reality of modern-day publishing, Neal is perhaps most brutal and truth-telling when it comes to himself.

In this conversation, we talked about what happens to Gen X midlist authors, what happens when you seek literary fame and how the most important thing to do when launching a book is to enjoy it.

WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

Tyler Wagner on How to Hit the WSJ and USA Today Bestseller Lists

Anna David — Wed, 10 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Tyler Wagner is the founder of Authorsunite.com, where he helps people become successful authors. More specifically what that means is that he does something similar to what we do at Launch Pad—people pay him to write and publish their books. But he has a superpower we do not—namely, the ability to get books on the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. How does he do it? And how does a college drop-out end up connecting with Gary Vee, Tim Ferriss before launching a massive publishing business? It's all in this episode. WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK? GO GRAB MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

Jeff Goins on How Real Artists Don't Need to Starve

Anna David — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Jeff Goins is a writer, keynote speaker, and award-winning blogger with a reputation for challenging the status quo. He is the best-selling author of five books, including The Art of Work, which landed on the best seller lists of USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, and The Washington Post. He lives with his family near Nashville, Tennessee. His website Goinswriter.com is visited by millions of people every year.

He is also an idol of mine when it comes to the fine art of combining writing with entrepreneurship and the even finer art of being successful at both.

In this chat, we got into the importance of patrons, why your network is like your neighborhood and how it takes years to promote a book. And of course we chatted about his top launch tips. Spoiler alert: it has to do with being a good neighbor.

WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN MEMOIR? START WITH MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET, WHICH YOU CAN GRAB AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Chris Voss on How to Negotiate a Book Launch

Anna David — Wed, 27 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Chris Voss may be the coolest guy in the world.

The former lead international kidnapping negotiator for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as the FBI’s hostage negotiation representative for the National Security Council’s Hostage Working Group, Voss now runs Black Swan Limited, where he brings all the techniques he perfected to the business world.

During Chris’s 24-year tenure in the Bureau, he was trained in the art of negotiation by not only the FBI but also Scotland Yard and Harvard Law School. He's taught business negotiation in the MBA program as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business and at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Oh and he's also taught business negotiation at a little school called Harvard.

But we barely got into any of that. That's because this conversation focused on his book Never Split the Difference, which has sold over a million copies, changed how countless businesses operated and made Voss into a media darling with the media hits and Mastermind course to prove it.

In this episode, we talked about his top tips for a successful launch—be prepared to outwork everyone else, answer questions on Quora, do every interview, no matter how small and study the great Ted talkers, comedians and media personalities to see how they deliver information in a compelling way. We also talked about how no one wanted this book that went on to change the way business is done. And then we got into the matter of a Facebook friend request. How did this negotiation go? You're going to have to listen to the episode to find out.

WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK? DOWNLOAD MY ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM TO GET STARTED.

Nancy Levin on The Role Boundaries Play in a Book Launch

Anna David — Wed, 20 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Nancy Levin knows book launches from every angle. The best-selling author of five books was the Event Director at Hay House for 12 years where she oversaw events for mega bestselling authors Gabby Bernstein, Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay. And with her new book, Setting Boundaries Will Set You Free: The Ultimate Guide to Telling the Truth, Creating Connection and Finding Freedom, she used everything she knew. In this episode, we discussed the role boundaries play in book launches, why focusing on the value your reader is going to get is the way to make a book successful and also got into some marketing nerd speak about funnels, tripwires, courses and all the rest. DO YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY BUT NEED SOME HELP? GRAB OUR ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

Scott Carney on Switching From Traditional to Self Publishing

Anna David — Wed, 13 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney had a blow-out success with his traditionally published book What Doesn’t Kill Us—it was a New York Times bestseller that sold 150,000 copies. So why would he make the switch from traditional to self with his latest book, The Wedge? The long answer involves lawyers, shoddy editors, a good deal of hustle and just some old-fashioned common sense. The short(er) answer is in this episode. So who is Scott Carney when he's not truthtelling about the publishing industry? Well, his other books include The Red Market and The Enlightenment Trap. He was a contributing editor at Wired for five years and his writing also appears in Mother Jones, Men’s Journal, Playboy, Foreign Policy, Discover, Outside and Fast Company. His work has been covered on NPR and National Geographic TV. He's won a bunch of awards, gives TEDx talks, teaches and does a whole lot more. In this episode, we talked about the realities of traditional publishing, why he grabbed the rights to his book back from a major publisher, the ins and outs of audiobook recording and much more. DO YOU HAVE A STORY TO SHARE AND NEED SOME HELP SHARING IT? DOWNLOAD OUR ONE-PAGE MEMOIR STRUCTURE CHEAT SHEET AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

Gina DeVee on Finding Gratitude When Your Book Comes Out a Terrible Time

Anna David — Wed, 06 May 2020 07:00:00 +0000

To call Gina DeVee a queen is an understatement.

No, Gina is the QUEEN of Queens everywhere.

Her journey from struggling psychotherapist (who lived at home with her parents) to globetrotting entrepreneur has led her to found her multi-million dollar women’s empowerment company, Divine Living. She has dedicated her career to helping clients connect spiritually, start businesses, create wealth and live life to the fullest.

When her book, The Audacity to Be Queen, was released in early March, it meant canceling—er, postponing—a planned world book tour and learning new launch tools...namely doing TV appearances from her living room, taking over friends' Instagram stories feeds and essentially looking for the gifts that are a part of every unexpected (and expected) experience.

As she points out, book releases NEVER go as planned but you also never know when a book is going to hit (her client Jen Sincero's book You Are a Badass was out for years before it became a bestseller). All of this is to say that her advice is as useful for an author whose book comes out at a more convenient time as it is for those who are launching now. This one has plenty of specific advice, including why it's a good idea to include a companion course in your book.

WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK? GRAB MY FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR BY GOING TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Joel Stein on How a People Pleaser Can Promote a Book

Anna David — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 17:35:57 +0000

Joel Stein wrote a weekly column for Time magazine for 20 years, was a columnist for Entertainment Weekly and the Los Angeles Times and is the author of the books Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity and In Defense of Elitism: Why I’m Better Than You and You’re Better Than Someone Who Didn’t Buy This Book. He's also such a funny person that he manages to come across as incredibly likable both while penning a book defending elitism and while dis-inviting me to his book launch party (true story; listen to his defense in this episode and let me know if you think it means you think I should forgive him). In this episode, we talk about how to ask friends to recommend you to a show as a guest, why to never rely on a publicist and ways to make an audiobook much better, among many other topics. WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK? GRAB MY FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR HERE>>WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Jen Gotch on How to Pivot Your Book Promotion in a Pandemic

Anna David — Wed, 22 Apr 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Jen Gotch is one of those people who seems to stumble toward success. She's the first to admit that she figures everything out as she goes along—and it all seems to work out far better than it does for those with PowerPoints, MBAs and the rest. Case in point: band.do, the company she founded in 2008 with no business experience and which is now a beloved multimillion-dollar brand. Then there's her obsessive Instagram following and podcast that she built by being utterly herself—often sharing about her mental health struggles.

And the trend continued with her first book, The Upside of Being Down, which has been featured in People and The LA Times and recently hit The New York Times bestseller list.

While the release timing couldn't have been worse—we're talking days into shelter-in-place world shutdown—her attitude couldn't have been better. And although her book tour got canceled and plenty of plans were derailed, she was able to do a pivot that made her launch inarguably successful.

In this episode, we discuss how the business lessons she's accumulated along the way served her when it came to planning her book launch—and how she learned some new ones as life changed.

WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN BOOK? GRAB MY FREE DOWNLOAD HERE>>WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Create a 7 Million Dollar Franchise from One Book with Mike Koenigs

Anna David — Wed, 15 Apr 2020 07:00:00 +0000

And BOY has he done it. Bet you didn't know you could generate millions from a book. In this episode, he explains how. (And he also mentions that he has a video that can show you how; go to http://mikekoenigs.com/owo to see it.)

DO YOU WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? GRAB MY ONE-PAGE STRUCTURE GUIDE AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Crashing Past the Gatekeepers with Nicolas Cole

Anna David — Wed, 08 Apr 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Nicolas Cole is an author and the #1 personal development writer on the internet with more than 75,000,000 views on his work. Cole rose to internet stardom in 2015 when he became the #1 most-read writer on Quora, accumulating tens of millions of views on his viral articles, and his work being republished in Time, Forbes, Fortune, Business Insider, CNBC, The Chicago Tribune, and more. In 2016, Cole became one of Inc Magazine's Top 10 contributing writers, accumulating millions of views on his business & creativity column, and in 2017 he founded a ghostwriting and thought leadership agency called Digital Press, for Fortune 500 executives, Silicon Valley founders, venture capitalists, Grammy-winning musicians, Olympians, NYT best-selling authors, international public speakers, and more. Cole has written two books, Confessions of a Teenage Gamer, a memoir about his high school years as one of the highest-ranked World of Warcraft players in North America (while simultaneously undiagnosed with Celiac Disease), and Slow Down, Wake Up: 150 Short Meditations For A More Present Life. He is also someone who forever changed my business, with an offhand remark he made to me when we had coffee a year or so ago. I know of no one better at merging writing passion with entrepreneurial success and in this episode, we get into why caring about book sales is silly, what journalism professors get wrong and why having no launch strategy is the best strategy of all. WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN MEMOIR? DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE HERE>>>WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Why Book Sales Don't Matter with Matt George

Anna David — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Matt George is the kindest man alive.

Don't believe me? Well, consider this. The Peoria, Illinois-based writer, speaker and CEO of the Children’s Home Association of Illinois is the former Executive Director of the Hult Center for Healthy Living and the former President and CEO of Youth Farm, which later merged with Children’s Home in 2007, under his leadership.

In addition to his work at Children’s Home, Matt helps raise funds for local nonproﬁts, including Neighborhood House, The Hult Center for Healthy Living, Crimestoppers and more.

But I know a lot more than Matt's resume. That's because my company published his #1 bestselling memoir/business book NonProfit Game Plan and so I had a front-row seat on his journey from behind-the-scenes rainmaker to public face.

In this episode, we discussed how a mentor played a crucial role in this transition, the way his book has changed his entire career and why he doesn't track book sales, among many other topics.

DO YOU WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR? GRAB MY FREE 10-CHAPTER MEMOIR GUIDE AT WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

The Live Show With Paul Shirley

Anna David — Wed, 25 Mar 2020 07:00:00 +0000

After graduating from Iowa State University with a degree in mechanical engineering, Paul Shirley embarked on a nine-year professional basketball career that included stops on three NBA teams, five teams in Europe, and several minor league outfits, some of which even paid him on time.

While playing for the Phoenix Suns, Paul started a blog that led to a book deal with Random House. That book, Can I Keep My Jersey?, was released to wide acclaim in 2007. Paul has since written for Esquire, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, ESPN.com and for FlipCollective.com, a website he started.

Paul lives in Los Angeles, where he runs a co-writing space called Writers Blok. His second book, Stories I Tell I Dates, was released in 2017 and developed into a podcast of the same name in 2018.

But more relevantly than any of that, he was the first person I've ever interviewed LIVE—yes, this episode was recorded in front of a live audience in Los Angeles. Considering the fact that it's nearly impossible to get anyone in LA to go anywhere at rush hour, I was blown away that people showed up to listen to two authors talk about book launches on a Friday night.

If you're looking for an incredibly funny episode, this is it. YES, a show about book launches can not only gather a crowd on a Friday night in LA but also make people laugh.

If you listened to the episode, you know that I promised you a deal at Paul's "writing studio" Writers Blok. All you have to do to get 30% off membership for up to 12 months is go to the Writers Blok site, purchase a membership and use LAUNCHPAD as a coupon code.

WANT MY FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR? GO TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

Why Publishers Suck with David Nihill

Anna David — Wed, 18 Mar 2020 07:00:00 +0000

WANT TO WRITE YOUR OWN MEMOIR? GRAB MY CHEAT SHEET BY GOING TO https://www.launchpadpub.com/memoir-download.

Re Perez on Using Pre-Launch Bonuses to Boost Pre-Orders

Anna David — Wed, 11 Mar 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Re Perez is a seasoned Brand Strategist, International Speaker, Author and CEO of Branding For The People.

He's also someone I met last year and adored from the get go.

As the founder of a leading branding agency that builds and manages brands for funded startups, high-growth entrepreneurs, Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies, and expanding small to midsize businesses around the globe, Re's shared his insights at numerous conferences.

And with his book, Your Brand Should Be Gay (Even If You're Not), he's sharing them with you.

He also shares, in this interview, the strategy he used to increase pre-orders—namely offering a series of bonuses to anyone who ordered ahead of time. His strategy—offering consulting calls with him and his team to those who ordered multiple copies—resulted in the book launching to #1 immediately.

WANT TO WRITE A MEMOIR?? DOWNLOAD MY FREE GUIDE TO HOW TO DO IT HERE>>>https://www.launchpadpub.com/memoir-download

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone to Promote Your Book with Dan Peres

Anna David — Wed, 04 Mar 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Dan Peres was editor in chief of Details for fifteen years, starting in 2000, when the title relaunched under his leadership. During his tenure, the magazine won many awards, including two National Magazine Awards. Before taking the editorship of Details, Dan spent nine years at W magazine, overseeing bureaus in Paris, London, and Milan. While in college, he worked as a copy boy at the New York Times and later as a research assistant at Esquire. He is the author of Details Men’s Style Manual. He lives in New York and has three sons.

He's also someone I've known since he first started at Details. As a freelance writer for the magazine (who also happened to worship every word published in it). I grew accustomed to allowing my month's rent to be determined by Dan's final decisions (if a magazine decided to kill your story because the editor decided the topic was no longer appealing, that meant suddenly getting paid 10% of what you'd signed up for). It's therefore fascinating to witness him joining the other side—learning what it's like to be at the mercy of an editor's whims and having to hustle to get people to care about your book.

In this conversation, we cover the whole transition...and also get into maybe WHY some of the Details decision-making was so impossible to predict.

WANT TO KNOW HOW TO MAKE A MEMOIR INTO A MONEYMAKER? CLICK HERE TO GET MY FREE DOWNLOAD: WWW.MEMOIRMONEYMAKER.COM

Why to Avoid Traditional Publishing with Courtney Friel

Anna David — Wed, 26 Feb 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Courtney Friel is best known for her work as a news anchor at KTLA in Los Angeles, where she also hosts the video podcast “Keepin It Friel: Conversations on Recovery.” She previously worked as a national correspondent for Fox News Channel and hosted the “World Poker Tour." She has more than a decade sober and speaks on the topic all around the country. Courtney grew up in Philadelphia PA, but now lives in LA with her son and daughter.

She is also the author of Tonight at 10: Kicking Booze and Breaking News, which was released in January and which I am very proud to say Launch Pad published. The back story is, as follows: Courtney and I became friends back when we both lived in New York between 2007 and 2010. She was an anchor on Fox News and I went on a lot of the shows to talk about addiction and recovery.

At parties (she had some epic bbqs back in the day), she would corner me and ask me about what it was like to be sober. I didn't think much of it. In my experience, people who actually need recovery tend to avoid sober folks like we're cops or their moms back when they were in high school. All of which is to say I was very surprised when she told me, a few months after those inquiries started, that she needed to go to rehab.

Flash forward to a few months ago. During a tour at my housewarming party, I showed Courtney and a bunch of other people my recording studio. The next day she called and confessed that she had a book scheduled to come out but things had gone awry with her publisher. Long story short: my team and I jumped in, re-named the book, gave it a new cover, had Courtney record the audio version and voila, it hit the world.

The news cycle went crazy for some of the tidbits in the book (particularly the one about how Trump asked her to come to his office so they could "kiss") but it's the story of recovery that resonates.

In this episode, we get into all of that and more.

WANT TO MAKE YOUR MEMOIR INTO A MONEYMAKER? GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE LAUNCH PAD FREE GUIDE: WWW.MEMOIRMONEYMAKER.COM

Multiple New York Times Bestselling Author Gigi Levangie on The New Vs. the Old Ways of Launching

Anna David — Wed, 19 Feb 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Gigi Levangie is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including the recently released Been There, Married That. She's also the screenwriter of the hit film Stepmom, starring Julia Roberts and Susan Sarandon.

But that's not all! Her novel Starter Wife was made into a USA miniseries and series starring Debra Messing and her novel Maneater was made into a Lifetime miniseries starring Sarah Chalke. But she's not all work! In fact, she's one of the most fun and hilarious writers I know. She's also lived several lives—not only has she raised three batches of kids (long story) but she was formerly married to prolific producer Brian Grazer and now has a hot French husband. As an author who gets a lot of attention whenever she releases a book, Gigi isn't someone who employs all the newfangled marketing techniques involving newsletter lists, CTA's and funnels. But while she still does the old school promotional things, like going on TV when her books are released, she's open to embracing the new. Call this episode an intervention of sorts, where I all but force her to promise me she'll add a newsletter sign-up to her website.

WANT TO MAKE YOUR MEMOIR INTO A MONEYMAKER? GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE LAUNCH PAD FREE GUIDE: WWW.MEMOIRMONEYMAKER.COM.

How to Master Book Ads with Nicholas Erik

Anna David — Wed, 12 Feb 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Nicholas Erik is a science fiction and fantasy author who also writes in-depth marketing guides; this is, in fact, how I discovered him...when I stumbled across this epic guide to free book sites and then went down the amazingly informative rabbit hole that is his website.

While he’s launched over a dozen books in a variety of genres, he also specializes in Amazon, Facebook and BookBub ads. I liked this interview because it was straight-up technical…like you could almost say we were talking literature but doing MATH.

WANT TO MAKE YOUR MEMOIR INTO A MONEYMAKER? GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE: WWW.MEMOIRMONEYMAKER.COM.

How You Can Get Banks, Home Depot and Walmart to Help You Launch a Book

Anna David — Wed, 05 Feb 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Jane Ubell-Meyer is an award-winning entrepreneur and former television/film producer (TV credits include Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight, among many others).

She taught at New York's Fashion Institute of Technology for seven years and is a speaker and mentor to authors and entrepreneurs. These days, she sits atop Bedside Reading, a program that places books by the bedsides in luxury hotels and in the media. She's also the most out-of-the-box thinkers I've ever met when it comes to getting a book out there. I mean, would YOU have connected a successful launch to your BANK or Walmart? Me, neither. DO YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR MEMOIR INTO A MONEYMAKER? GO TO WWW.MEMOIRMONEYMAKER.COM FOR OUR FREE GUIDE.

When Your Launch Doesn't Go as Expected with New York Times Bestselling Author Lori Gottlieb

Anna David — Wed, 29 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Lori Gottlieb is a psychotherapist and New York Times bestselling author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, which is being adapted as a television series with Eva Longoria. In addition to her clinical practice, she writes The Atlantic’s weekly “Dear Therapist” advice column and contributes regularly to The New York Times and many other publications. She is also a TED speaker, a member of the Advisory Council for Bring Change to Mind and advisor to the Aspen Institute. A contributing writer for the Atlantic, she has written hundreds of articles related to psychology and culture, many of which have become viral sensations. She is a sought-after expert in media such as The Today Show, Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, CNN, and NPR’s “Fresh Air.” Learn more at LoriGottlieb.com or by following her @LoriGottlieb1 on Twitter. She's also someone I've known for over a decade (we first met at a dinner in LA and then the next time we saw each other, it was when we appeared The CBS Morning Show together years later...btw, I Googled for the clip, thinking in no way I would find it but oh my God here it is. I couldn't bring myself to actually watch it because watching something I said on TV when I was probably exhausted—that show taped EARLY—overly made up and nervous? No, thank you!!) Anyway, she's a prolific writer but she has OUTDONE herself with her latest book. It's the kind of book that inspires you to go back to therapy (at least that's what happened to me), have a deeper conversation with your boyfriend than you've ever had (me again) and burst into spontaneous tears in Trader Joe's if you happen to be listening to the audio version while shopping (er, yeah me of course it was me). I was thrilled that Lori agreed to talk to me, given that she may be the busiest writer on the planet right now (in addition to her full therapy practice, she gets roughly 100 queries a week now from people looking for a therapist; this in addition to her freelance writing career, TED talks, podcasts, TV shows and the sort of balancing act one must do if their book has been on The New York Times bestseller list for the past NINE months). In case it's not obvious, I love this episode. And I loved her book so much that I will almost tell you to read it before you even listen to this. But who am I kidding, I love downloads! Listen to this and then grab the book if you haven't already. WANT TO MAKE YOUR MEMOIR INTO A MONEYMAKER? GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE LAUNCH PAD FREE GUIDE: WWW.MEMOIRMONEYMAKER.COM.

NY Times Bestselling Author Annabelle Gurwitch's 3 Musts for a Book Launch

Anna David — Wed, 22 Jan 2020 20:00:00 +0000

Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress, activist, and the author of the New York Times bestseller and Thurber Prize finalist I See You Made an Effort. Her other books include: Wherever You Go, There They Are, and You Say Tomato, I Say Shut Up (coauthored with Jeff Kahn).

She was the co-host of Dinner & a Movie on TBS and has appeared on NPR, The Today Show, CBS Early Show, Real Time with Bill Maher, PBS, and numerous CNN and MSNBC programs. Her essays and satire have been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, AARP, Real Simple, Prevention, The Los Angeles Book Review, The Daily Beast, Time.com, Next Tribe, Lenny Letter, Hadassah and The Hollywood Reporter, among other media outlets.

She's also an extremely methodical (she might say obsessive-compulsive?) person—one who starts planning her launch as she comes up with the book concept. And she works it—making lists, checking them way more than twice, reaching out to people she knows and doesn't know and ultimately making it so that her books have no option but to be successful.

If you want practical steps on how to prepare both emotionally and literally for a release, this episode is packed with tips, tactics and other t-words!

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BOOK? GET OUR FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR BY GOING TO WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM.

How Julie Reisler Used a Structured Plan to Launch Her Second Book

Anna David — Wed, 15 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Julie Reisler, Life Designer®, TV Host, Author and Global Brand Ambassador, is all about helping you to tune into your intuition to be your You-est You. Julie is the author of the Get a PhD in YOU book series, a multi-time TEDx speaker, the host of The You-est You® podcast and a mindfulness teacher on the popular app, Insight Timer, with over 110,000 downloads.

Not enough for you? Julie also has a Master's degree in coaching, more than 12 certifications in mindset, leadership and wellbeing and is on the faculty at Georgetown University in their coaching program.

As someone who has launched books by hiring various consultants, Julie has a unique perspective. That's why I brought her onto the show to discuss the most effective techniques for a DIY-er who's specifically using their books to build up other aspects of their career.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BOOK? DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR HERE!

The Truth About Traditional Publishing with NYT Bestselling Author Jennifer K. Armstrong

Anna David — Wed, 08 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000

She's also an old pal from my NYC days; in fact, we used to host Readings & Rubdowns events where people would listen to writers read from their latest books while getting massaged.

In the ensuing years, Jennifer has become a huge author and in this episode, she breaks down, step-by-step, what makes for a successful launch.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BOOK? GET OUR FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR HERE: www.memoirdownload.com

Make Sure Your Book is Muzzy Approved with Dave Chesson

Anna David — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 08:00:00 +0000

Dave Chesson is the creator of Kindlepreneur.com, a website devoted to teaching advanced book marketing which even Amazon KDP acknowledges as one of the best by telling users to “Gain insight from Kindlepreneur on how you can optimize marketing for your books.” Having worked with such authors as Orson Scott Card, Ted Dekker and more, his tactics help both fiction and nonfiction authors of all levels get their books discovered by the right readers.

But that's the official bio stuff. The stuff that really matters, at least to me, is that he is the wisest person out there today when it comes to successful indie publishing. Basically, he does the work so that the rest of us can utilize his techniques and systems.

The main takeaways are this: if you want to successfully launch a book, start your launch work the day you start writing; to cut down on haters, show readers you're human; and the right keywords and categories on Amazon can make the difference between bestsellerdom and obscurity.

Enjoy this episode and by all means, employ the techniques! Also, if you like it, please consider reviewing (or just rating!) I'm putting so much into this pod revamp and would be so grateful for any and all support.

WANT TO WRITE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN BOOK? GET OUR FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR HERE: WWW.MEMOIRDOWNLOAD.COM

Transgender Comic Ian Harvie on Life Changes (Re-release!)

Anna David — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode of the podcast, Ian Harvie joined me on my couch to talk about his childhood in rural Maine, his journey to discovering his true gender identity, his recovery from alcoholism, and his new life in sobriety as a trans comic.

Author Sarah Hepola on Going from Blackouts to Bright Life (re-release!)

Anna David — Wed, 18 Dec 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Author Sarah Hepola isn’t just a writer but the author of the biggest book about addiction since A Million Little Pieces (as a fellow author of a book about addiction, this pains me to write but only a little because her book is so God damn good).

Hepola’s memoir, Blackout: Remembering the Things I Drank to Forget, has been written about in seemingly ever publication known to man, clearly striking a chord among the recovery community and beyond. The Texas-based Salon essay editor has also written for The New York Times Magazine, The New Republic, Glamour, The Guardian, Nerve and Slate, among others, and is as modest about her book’s success as possibly only a Texan can be.

In this episode, we talk about the relative coolness of sobriety, crying every day, whether or not Tinder dating profiles should mention sobriety and if a best-selling book can actually make you happy, among many other topics.

Jemima Kirke on Drinking After Years of Sobriety (Re-release!)

Anna David — Wed, 11 Dec 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Actress and artist Jemima Kirke came on the podcast. Yes, those are thrilling words to write. This is not only exciting because she’s luminous, talented and plays Jessa on freaking Girls but also because she has a history with substances that you don’t hear many people share about.

After a wild youth, which included multi-day benders and bouts of depression, Kirke showed up at her mom’s in early 20s, saying she was ready for rehab. She went from one treatment center to the next, finding enough fault with the program there for her to be kicked out (but not before meeting the man she eventually married, who happens to now own a sober living).

After years of staying sober and doing the 12-step thing, Kirke began to question whether the one-size-fits-all philosophy about addiction applied to her. And so she had a drink. Contrary to what she’d been told, nothing bad happened. That was a few years ago and in that time, she’s watched her career rise to superstardom and embraced motherhood (in addition to the two kids she has with her husband, she is also the step-mother to his kids from a previous marriage).

In this episode, we talk about self-hatred, rehabs just out to take your money and if meeting your future spouse in treatment is “trauma bonding,” among other topics.

DO YOU WANT TO SHARE YOUR STORY? DOWNLOAD OUR FREE GUIDE TO WRITING A MEMOIR HERE!

Moby on Launching Himself Into a New Life (re-release!)

Anna David — Wed, 04 Dec 2019 08:00:00 +0000

What is there to say about Moby that hasn’t already been said?

The legendary musician, who burst onto the scene with his fifth studio album, Play, is also a DJ, photographer and soon-to-be memoirist (we all know he’s a descendant of Herman Melville, right?) And it’s not just his own music he’s had a hand in; the active animal rights supporter has remixed, co-written and produced music for many of the other greats.

But let's talk about how, in his 40s, he launched into a whole new life: after a bout with sobriety when he was a Christian, Moby developed this reputation as something of a puritan. But he was actually boozing it up, as well as taking plenty of recreational illegal substances, while he brought the party back to his place. It wasn’t until he got to his 40s and the hangovers started to get debilitating that he started to look at the possibility of sobriety. Now he’s years into the sober game and growing all the time. In this episode, he and I talk about deciding to get sober, relapsing, how unappealing the thought of having just a drink or two is and and the fact that people still come up to him on the street to thank him for the epic parties he used to have, among many other topics.

Georgia Hardstark on Life Before She Became a Famous Murder Obsessive (re-release!)

Anna David — Wed, 27 Nov 2019 16:20:53 +0000

Georgia Hardstark has blown up since she and Karen Kilgariff launched the mega popular My Favorite Murder podcast.

But what was she up to before that?

This episode—a re-release from several years ago—focuses on exactly that.

So who is Georgia Hardstark?

Find out everything and more in this ep.

Rich Roll on Recovery, Plant-Based Nutrition, Launching His Podcast and More

Anna David — Wed, 20 Nov 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Bestselling author, ultra-endurance athlete, plant-based nutrition advocate and sober father Rich Roll has been hailed as one of the world’s fittest men. He also graduated from Stanford and Cornell Law and built up a successful law practice, all while drowning in alcohol. Then, after years of sobriety, he realized he was anesthetizing himself with food the way he had with drinking and what started out as a cleanse turned into—well, one of the world’s fittest men. Here, we talk about familial expectations, being an alcoholic in New York and the spiritual aspects of recovery as well as the tragic death of Philip Seymour Hoffman, among many other things.

THIS IS A RE-RELEASE OF AN OLD EPISODE AS WE PREP FOR THE SHOW RE-VAMP (get excited)!

Marc Maron on Addiction, Recovery and Launching WTF

Anna David — Thu, 14 Nov 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Marc Maron appeared on the podcast in 2017, back when the focus of the show was on addiction and recovery. This re-release covers his life BEFORE Obama strolled over to his garage for an interview, before he was starring on Glow...essentially when he was already huge but not the hugest.

The legendary comedian and host of the immensely popular WTF podcast needs no introduction but I'm giving him one anyway: Marc Maron has spent a couple of decades honing his craft, has appeared on Conan more than 40 times and is essentially the person responsible for putting podcasting on the map.

Lewis Howes on Releasing Shame Around His Childhood Secret

Anna David — Wed, 06 Nov 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Professional athlete Lewis Howes and host of the podcast The School of Greatness is also what’s known as lifestyle entrepreneur. The short version of the story is this: sidelined by an injury while playing professional football, Howes had no money, nowhere to live and no interest in doing anything but the sport that he could no longer do. So he took to his computer and managed to become a social media maven in just a few years, earning millions in the process and then coaching and inspiring many others to do the same. As it turns out, he was also dealing with having been sexually abused as a child—an event he never shared with anyone until recently. Now he’s doing what he does: telling others about it so that they can be released from their own shame and then become, as he would say, great. In this episode, he and I talk about dreams, passion, finding inspiration and handling adversity, among many other topics. This is a re-release of one of my most popular episodes from years ago. Enjoy it now that Lewis has become one of the darlings of podcasting—and arguably the world!

Could a book help your business? Click here to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com.

Dr. Neeta Bhushan on Surviving Domestic Violence & Much More

Anna David — Wed, 30 Oct 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Dr. Neeta Bhushan is a former cosmetic dentist turned best-selling author, international speaker, social entrepreneur, advocate of emotional health, and leadership coach. She helps entrepreneurs own their story, create their message in the form of books to chart their next big chapter. She conducts Book To Bestseller workshops, and optimizes businesses to scale their message, their business, and their impact. Despite having met Neeta a few times, I had no idea what her back story was until this interview—in short, how she was orphaned t a young age, survived an abusive marriage of domestic violence, faced homelessness and essentially defines gritting out of the dark. (Her book is called Emotional Grit, natch.) Would a book help your business? Click here to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com.

Melyna Harrison on Building a 7-Figure Biz After Losing Everything

Anna David — Wed, 23 Oct 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Melyna Harrison is a 7 Figure Entrepreneur and a business coach. While that's amazing, the craziest part of her story is where she was able to build that from. See, she and her husband were doing just fine—his business was moving along, they had a couple kids—when, out of nowhere, they lost everything. She realized she could feel sorry for herself or she could do something. She chose the latter. That led to her becoming a network marketing leader, with 300,000 people under her. Yes, 300,000. How did she do that—while continuing to be a wife and mother (they now have four kids in all)? Hear all about that—and about why she chooses to tell people about her life's darker sides—in this episode. Would a book help your business? Click here to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com.

Nick Sonnenberg on How ADD Helped Lead Him to Success

Anna David — Wed, 16 Oct 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Nick Sonnenberg is a serial entrepreneur, business efficiency consultant, Inc. columnist and author of the book Idea to Execution. He is the founder and CEO of Leverage and Efficient Frontier Solutions, as well as co-founder of the Bullseye Mastermind Group. And he's worked with every big business name in the book, from Tony Robbins to Jay Abraham. He's also always seemed, to me, to be the ultimate example of someone who's 100% "together," whatever that's come to mean today. He's also always seemed, to use another word that can conjure up a variety of concepts, "fancy." So I was very surprised to hear that he's the first person in his family to go to college and that he struggled in school with ADD. In this conversation, he talked about how it was that very struggle that led to his success. Listen to hear us chat about mentors, books and more. Would a book help your business? Click here to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com.

Hal Elrod on Cheerfully Accepting the News He'd Never Walk Again

Anna David — Wed, 09 Oct 2019 07:00:00 +0000

After surviving multiple near-death experiences and impacting millions of lives through his books, Hal Elrod is on a mission to elevate the consciousness of humanity, one person at a time. As the bestselling author of one of the highest-rated books in the world, The Miracle Morning, and his newest book, The Miracle Equation, he is doing exactly that. He is also perhaps the kindest person I have ever met. I learned this when I met him at a college speaking event over a decade ago and it was reinforced during my process of working on The Miracle Morning for Addiction Recovery with him. In this episode, he shares multiple gems—including how doctors thought he must have been in denial when he cheerfully accepted the news that he'd never walk again, what the word "acceptance" really means and how a lesson he learned in sales training has changed his entire outlook on life...among many other things. Would a book help your business? Click here to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com.

Stephan Spencer on Going From Poverty & Foster Care to Success & Love

Anna David — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Stephan Spencer is an SEO expert and bestselling author of The Art of SEO, Social eCommerce, & Google Power Search. He founded the SEO agency Netconcepts (acquired in 2010) and is now part of a multi-billion dollar ad agency conglomerate. He's optimized websites for some of the world’s biggest brands, including Chanel, Volvo, Sony, and Zappos and hosts two popular podcast shows: Get Yourself Optimized & Marketing Speak. He's also overcome circumstances that would have destroyed most, including a childhood of constant moving and foster homes. But it was during this childhood, where he was left on his own to take care of himself, that he learned computers...which led him to where he is now: as one of the world's leading experts on Search Engine Optimization. In this episode, we discussed resilience, Tony Robbins, proposing in a hot air balloon...and much, much more. Would a book help your business? Click here to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com.

Shauna Faulisi on Turning Disordered Eating Into a Nutrition Business

Anna David — Wed, 25 Sep 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Shauna Faulisi is the CEO of Soul Wellness Method, a nutrition and wellness practice that's gained a loyal online following and high-profile clientele by teaching an accessible approach to holistic health. As a celebrity chef and nutritionist, she's been featured in places like Vogue, HuffPost, WGSN, The Zoe Report and PopSugar. As a former model who moved to New York after college, however, Shauna experienced loneliness, which she coped with by developing some not-so-healthy eating habits. Getting her own diet in order led to her helping a celebrity get in shape for a role and then building an entire business around nutrition and wellness. Would a book help your business? Click here to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com.

Emily Fletcher on the Anxiety That Led to Her Meditation Empire

Anna David — Wed, 18 Sep 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Emily Fletcher is the founder of Ziva Meditation and the creator of zivaONLINE, a powerful 15 day training in mindfulness, meditation and manifesting. She is considered the leading expert on meditation for performance and has spoken at Google, Harvard Business School, Apple and been named one of the top 100 women in wellness to watch. In this episode—taken from my Apple TV show—we talked about all those accomplishments, but also what led to them...namely being on Broadway, with all her dreams allegedly coming true, cowering under a table because she couldn't handle the anxiety. We also touched on why meditation is good for your sex life. Yep, we covered all the bases—so to speak—here.

Emily Lynn Paulson on Sharing Her Story of Addiction & Recovery

Anna David — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Emily Lynn Paulson is an author, network marketing leader, certified professional recovery coach, and a member of the long-term recovery community. Formally trained as a chemist and a teacher, she rose to success in the top tiers of a direct marketing skincare company, where she gained her voice and a platform for sobriety and healing. Emily's on Instagram at @highlightrealrecovery and lives in Seattle with her husband and their five children. Sober since January 2, 2017, her recovery path is focused on ruthless honesty, grace, and self-love. She is passionate about connecting women with resources for recovery from trauma, eating disorders, and substance abuse, and believes that sharing our truth with each other is the best resource of all. And you get to hear all about it in this special two-part episode! Why a two-parter, you ask? Because my company is the proud publisher of Emily's first book, Highlight Real: Finding Honesty & Recovery Beyond the Filtered Life. which was just released and has been called an "instant classic in the recovery genre." We did our first interview when we were just embarking on the project together and our second as we were coming up on the book release. If you've ever wanted to know the behind-the-scenes as a writer prepares to share her dark to find her light, it's all in this episode. Do you want to know if you should work with Launch Pad to share your story? Fill out a form at www.launchpadclientform.com to find out.

Rory Vaden on the Keys to Success—and The NY Times Bestseller List

Anna David — Wed, 04 Sep 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Rory Vaden is the New York Times bestselling author of Take the Stairs. His insights have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, CNN, Entrepreneur, Inc, on Fox News national television and in several other major media outlets. As a world-renowned speaker, His Tedx talk has been viewed nearly 3 million times, he is a 2x World Champion of Public Speaking Finalist, has been called one of the top 100 speakers in the world by Inc Magazine and was recently inducted into the professional speakers Hall of Fame. He is the Co-Founder of Brand Builders Group where he teaches people to build their influence, their reputation and their personal brand. But we didn't talk about that...well, we didn't talk ONLY about that, anyway. We also chatted about being born in a trailer park, moving multiple times throughout childhood and the keys to success. We also talked about his SPECIAL GIFT only for you guys: a free call to talk about building your brand. To schedule it, go to www.brandbuildersgroup.com/lighthustle/

Brian Kurtz on Surviving Cancer, a Stroke...and Business

Anna David — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Brian Kurtz has been a serial direct marketer for almost 40 years. Just how successful has he been at that, you ask? Well, in his first job, company revenues went from approximately $5 million (in 1981) to a high of over $150 million (in 2006). His first book, The Advertising Solution, was released in October of 2017 while his second book, Overdeliver: Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing, was released in April of 2019. Well, that last book release didn't exactly go as planned. How? Well, most people find book releases stressful but Brian's was more stressful than most: he had a stroke that week. The experience changed everything for him. Hear how in this episode. And get a copy of Overdeliver, as well as the crazy amazing bonuses he has overdelivered at overdeliverbook.com. DO YOU HAVE A BOOK IN YOU? GO TO WWW.FUTUREAUTHORQUIZ.COM TO FIND OUT.

Natasha Case on Building the Biggest Female-Owned Ice Cream Biz

Anna David — Wed, 21 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Natasha Case is the CEO and co-founder of Coolhaus, which is the is the leading women-owned ice cream business at grocery stores. If you're craving it right now, have no fear: it can be found in 7,500+ gourmet grocery stores. She has been named a Forbes 30 under 30 Food & Beverage, Zagat 30 Under 30, Linked in 10 under 35 for Food & Leisure, and was recently named UCLA LGBTQ+ 2019 Alum of the Year. She co-hosts the podcast, ‘Start to Sale’ through Eater/Vox Media. She is also my business idol; in fact, when I first started brainstorming the entrepreneurs I wanted to interview, she was at the top of my list. (YES I said that last week - if you listen in sequential order - and here's the crazy part: Suzy Batiz and Natasha Case are my TWO business idols and both of these interviews actually happened on THE SAME DAY.) Anyway...it was a true delight to discover that she's funny, cool...and very open about the challenges of opening a business with her life partner. Listen to find out how a business that started with an engine-less truck purchased off of Craig's List has evolved into a $500+ business...and the struggles that came along with it. Should you be sharing your story? Go to www.futureauthorquiz.com from your computer to find out.

Suzy Batiz on Surviving Trauma to Build a $500 Million+ Company

Anna David — Wed, 14 Aug 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Suzy Batiz is the founder of Poo~Pourri and supernatural. She experienced some of life’s lowest lows — poverty, sexual and domestic abuse, depression, two bankruptcies and a suicide attempt — which led to what she calls the luxury of losing everything. After harnessing the power of intuition, her journey led her to building her businesses from the ground up without ever taking a dollar of outside investment. Suzy harnessed the power of true transformation and turned ALIVE IDEAS into a $500+ million empire. She's been featured by leading publications including Forbes, CNBC, Fast Company and Entrepreneur. She has been named one of Forbes’ Richest Self-Made Women in America (2019), EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year (2017), Conscious Company’s World Changing Women (2019), EarthX’s Community Leader of the Year (2019) and is WBENC (Women Owned) certified business owner. She's given presentations for Conscious Capitalism, Google, HustleCon, SXSW, Create & Cultivate & the In goop Health summit. AND she was my dream guest...my White Whale, if you will. And I got her! She does not disappoint. Listen if you want to hear the clearest explanation I've ever gotten on how early life challenges play into success and so much more. Should you be telling your story? Go to www.futureauthorquiz.com from your computer to find out.

Joe Clark on Finding Friendship, Market Crashes & More

Anna David — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 17:20:32 +0000

Joseph A. Clark, CFP, is a Certified Financial Planner and has been in the financial services industry for more than 30 years. He is the Managing Partner of The Financial Enhancement Group, LLC, an asset management and financial planning firm based in central Indiana. The firm currently manages more than $450 million serving families in 31 states. Joe is also a former Adjunct Assistant Professor at Purdue University, having taught the Capstone course for the Financial Counseling and Planning program for 7 years. He is a Charter Member of Ed Slott’s Master Elite IRA Advisor Group and has appeared on various national and local media outlets. Joe writes a weekly column for The Herald Bulletin and is the host of a weekly radio show called “Consider This” that airs on WIBC Saturday’s 6-7am, as well as other stations throughout the country.

But we didn't talk about any of those accomplishments during our chat. Oh, no. We talked about WHY he accomplished so much, in particular the way his childhood struggles and the vagaries of life contributed to his success. Do you remember looking for a friend during recess? Do you want to know how that relates to managing money? Listen to find out more.

Katie DePaola on How Death & Disease Helped Her Build Her Business

Anna David — Wed, 31 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Katie DePaola is an entrepreneur, author and the founder of Inner Glow Circle. Exactly one hundred days after opening her business, Katie’s brother died from an accidental overdose. Also a Lyme Disease survivor, she built her business from her bathtub, taking the company from self-funded startup to million-dollar business. Katie has turned her greatest challenges into her greatest opportunities and says her business is what saved her life. Through certification programs, memberships and online courses, Katie has taught thousands of women how to “glow through what they go through.” In this episode, we dove deep into things I've silently pondered forever...like if people who wonder why we're all on this planet are smarter or just more depressed than others, whether or not shifting your mindset is a decision or moment of grace and of course the role struggle plays in success. We also decided to become friends. Don't miss this one! Well, don't miss any of them. But especially don't miss this one. Should you be sharing your story? Take the quiz to find out: www.futureauthorquiz.com or https://quiz.tryinteract.com/#/5d168d0f1d45c90014e00b0b

Paul Ollinger on Finding Success After Retiring at 42

Anna David — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Paul Ollinger is a nationally-touring stand-up comedian, author, Ivy League MBA, former Facebook sales leader and host of the podcast Crazy Money. What this means, between the lines: he was one of the first 250 Facebook employees, which means that...well, he was able to retire at the age of 42. But does that make him successful? That's what we discussed here—getting into the fact that he discovered he loved stand-up comedy while in business school (ie, the last place on earth you go to discover you want to go into one of the least financially rewarding careers imaginable), how he still worries about the gas bill even after his Facebook windfall and the ways he tries to raise his kids to appreciate and understand money. This type of conversation is exactly what I'd hoped to be able to have when I decided on the new version of the podcast. Warning: if you listen to it, you may come away with different definitions for "struggle" and "success" than you ever had before. Have you ever wondered if you should write a book? Go to www.futureauthorquiz.com to get the answer.

Tony Grebmeier on Struggling to Success

Anna David — Wed, 17 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Tony Grebmeier describes himself as a husband and father first and then an entrepreneur, podcast host, journal creator, and host of the BEFULFILLED community. It's this value system that may be what's most responsible for his success. While he's best-known for building a multi-million dollar business, it's his mission in life to create a community where entrepreneurs know they can achieve anything they want despite their past. Sober since 2008, Tony had gotten to the point where he was alienated from his family and suicidal when he was able to rediscover meaning in his life. His main message when it comes to finding personal and professional success is to find a community. But his second one is to try to understand where you come from so you can make sense of who you are. There's a reason I'm partnering with Tony on his BeFulfilled journals: the guy gets it. I'm therefore thrilled to present him as the first guest on this new incarnation of the podcast. Have you struggled on your way to success and would the journey make a good book? Take this quiz to find out!

Lauren and Anna on What The Words "Struggle" & "Success" Really Mean

Anna David — Wed, 10 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

As the podcast moves into this new incarnation, it felt important to really break down what the words "struggle" and "success" really mean. Here's why: I've discussed the podcast's new focus with people and I keep finding that they assume I'll be talking to people about their business challenges. While that will definitely be part of the conversation, the main thing I want to get at here is WHY so many successful people have had life throw so many struggles their way... particularly in childhood. I want to get at what made these people use their struggles to fuel their journey, rather than allowing it to bring them down. And so I brought Lauren Wallett back to the pod to chat this idea out. In this episode, we talk about Oprah, escaping your family and how money can and can't make you happy, among many other topics.

Anna David on Why Light Hustler is Changing to Struggle to Success

Anna David — Wed, 03 Jul 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Name change time! Yes, the podcast formerly known as AfterPartyPod, Recover Girl and Light Hustler is now transitioning into Struggle to Success, where I'm going to be interviewing some of the world's highest achieving people about how they've been able to make their greatest struggles into their greatest success. While I'll still be talking to some people about their issues with addiction and journey into recovery, I'll also be chatting with folks about other struggles and journeys. I'm so excited about this transition and thrilled about some of the people I've lined up as guests. Look out for the first Struggle to Success episode next week and please know how grateful I am to you for sticking with the show through its many incarnations.

Coach Mike Bayer on Going From Addiction to Dr. Phil & in the Process, Selling 100K Copies of His Book

Anna David — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Mike Bayer, also known as Coach Mike, is Founder and CEO of CAST Centers and author of the Best Self: Be You, Only Better. His career began over 12 years ago as a mental health and addiction counselor. After a residency at The Hazelden Foundation, Mike spent five years in the field and became one of the leading interventionists in the country. He did crisis consulting for several of the country’s top treatment programs, including the Hazelden Foundation. Fifteen years ago, he founded CAST Centers, a treatment center that provides a network of professional support – including doctors, psychologists, counselors, and instructors – to help clients heal and improve their mental health, emotional health, and their overall well-being. He's a regular contributor to Dr. Phil, television’s #1-rated daytime talk show. He's also on the Dr. Phil Advisory Board, which consists of 18 of the most accomplished and respected health care professionals in the country. In this episode, we discussed how you go from struggling with addiction to coaching high-end clients and then becoming a weekly Dr. Phil guest and selling over 100,000 copies of your first book.

Lifestyle Business Coach Lauren Wallett Sharing the Shameful

Anna David — Wed, 29 May 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Lauren Wallett is a woman of many occupations: business coach, personal coach, writer and my co-host on SHE-E-O, among other things. We spend an insane amount of time together and this episode is real fly-on-wall stuff: basically what we talk about when there aren't mics around (btw the mics got screwed up and so the interview was done on my Iphone...sorry if it sounds wonky). Only listen if you want to hear us confess those things we normally don't—getting into being attracted to dysfunctional men, STD's, skin picking and much more. Oh, yeah.

Tech Titan Kevin Chiu on Quitting Drinking & Raising Millions

Anna David — Wed, 22 May 2019 19:33:10 +0000

Kevin Chiu is the co-founder of Catalyst, an NYC-based startup that has raised $5.5M from top venture capitalists like True Ventures & Work-Bench to build a customer data platform that helps tech companies reduce user churn and increase product adoption. Prior to starting Catalyst, he led sales teams at fast-growing companies like Greenhouse Software and DigitalOcean. Kevin also recently received the Forbes 30under30 award for Enterprise Technology entrepreneurs. He is also two years sober, after a series of incidents that showed him he may have a drinking problem (including a time he got mugged while in a blackout). If you want to know the secret to getting sober and then raising millions of dollars, this one is a must-listen.

SMART Recovery President William Greer on Alternatives to AA

Anna David — Wed, 15 May 2019 07:00:00 +0000

In 2014, Willam (Bill) Freer launched the first Family & Friends SMART Recovery meeting in Washington, DC. He was elected to the SMART Recovery Board in 2017 and was named chair of its first Communications Committee. That same year, he became a founding Board member of SMART Recovery International. He helped write the SMART Recovery Five-Year Strategic Plan: Freedom from Addiction. Now serving as President of SMART Recovery, Bill was a guest on our recent Light Hustle retreat where we were able to sit down and chat about the history of SMART, why this program appeals to certain types and how they have a special rule about how you can't trash AA, among other topics.

Todd Zalkins on Being the Worst Case Doctors Have Ever Seen

Anna David — Wed, 08 May 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Todd Zalkins is an addiction specialist, private counselor, interventionist, and public speaker. The author of the memoir, Dying for Triplicate, Zalkins was the subject of the award-winning documentary The Long Way Back: The Story of Todd “Z-Man” Zalkins, which documented his own descent into addiction as well as his relationship with the band members of Sublime. Todd is the Founder and CEO of Four Keys, Inc., an integrative enterprise that encompasses four major aspects of recovery: interventions, treatment recommendation, private counseling, and public speaking & education. We got to know each other at the recent Light Hustle Publishing retreat, where we talked about sharing our stories, ate s'mores (Todd's first!) and sat down to record a chat about addiction, publishing and what it was like growing up in the belly of the beast.

Meditation Special with Anna David

Anna David — Wed, 01 May 2019 14:59:45 +0000

We break from our regular programming of stories and interviews for a guided meditation designed to help you get in your body, breathe and then access the part of you necessary to share your story. If you think you may have a story inside of you but haven't been sure how to access it, give this meditation a try. We'll be back next week with another interview. But in the meantime, why not give this a try?

The Sober Glow's Mia on Gray Area Drinking

Anna David — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Mia is a teetotaling NYC broad currently living in LA. She gave up drinking in September of 2015 when she finally stopped ignoring the fact that she would never live the life she so craved if she didn't remove the booze. After nearly 4 years of living this unmasked lifestyle, she has organically created a community online of like-hearted women. Mia is currently facilitating alcohol-free adventure retreats, hosting book club circles and will soon be launching her signature Get High Naturally Breathwork and Coaching programs for the Gray Area Drinker. In this episode, we talked about finding a community in recovery, how sobriety may give you a "second" marriage and getting out of your comfort zone, among many other topics.

Ruby Warrington on Being Sober Curious

Anna David — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Ruby Warrington is a British writer and thought leader currently living in Brooklyn, NY. Formerly Features Editor on the UK Sunday Times Style magazine, in 2012 she launched The Numinous, a cosmic lifestyle platform that updates all things "new age" for life in the Now Age. Ruby also works as a consultant, while other projects include "sober curious" event series Club SÖDA NYC and spiritual coaching program Moon Club. Author of Material Girl, Mystical World, Ruby's second book, Sober Curious, was published on December 31 2018. Offering an eye-opening new way to think about our relationship with alcohol, Sober Curious reveals the enormous benefits that come from unlearning the mindless habit of drinking and embracing the life-enhancing choice of sobriety: greater joy, clarity, confidence, and connection. In this episode, we talked about what it means to be sober curious, the importance of sharing our stories and why one should never sign a new business deal when Mercury is in Retrograde, among many other topics.

Omar Pinto on SHAIR-ing Sobriety

Anna David — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Omar Pinto is a Life Transformation Coach, Addiction Recovery Specialist and Lifestyle Entrepreneur who hosts the popular SHAIR podcast. He took his last drink and hit of cocaine in May 25, 2003. This was the beginning of his journey into personal development. Over the next 15 years he would completely transform his life - Mind, Body and Spirit. It took him four years to successfully complete the 12-Step recovery process in Narcotics Anonymous. He launched SHAIR in February 2014 and it now boasts over 1 million downloads. Omar has also cultivated a thriving Facebook Community with over 5,000 members and runs a successful personal development Life Coaching business. Today, Omar is living his dreams by helping people transform their lives and become the best version of themselves, working remotely from his home office with clients from all over the world, continuing to learn and grow as a coach all while living in Costa Rica with his beautiful wife and daughter.

Arlina Allen on Sobriety in Silicon Valley

Anna David — Wed, 03 Apr 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Arlina Allen is many things. A Silicon Valley executive, she is also a writer, the host of The ODAAT Chat podcast and the founder of Sober Life School. Sober since 1994, she's been married for 21 years and is the mother of two teenage boys. In her own words... "When I was 25 I hit rock bottom. I had managed to alienate my family and all my friends. Although I was ambitious, my drinking and using was getting the way of my sales career. My heart was broken after ending a relationship and I had no evidence that I would ever feel different. I stood at the abyss and I had to make a decision. Through a series of fortunate events, I managed to find a community of people who had overcome their addictions and were willing to help me do the same. These people changed the entire trajectory of my life. I started out feeling lost, full of self loathing, demoralized and hopeless. But after a short time, my life began to transform. I felt a new zest for life. I began to see life beyond addiction. It was as if the veil in front of my eyes had lifted and I could see a path to the life I had always dreamed of. All I ever needed was the right information, the right support and the willingness to do the necessary work. For that, I will be forever grateful. After this type of “near death” experience, it is human nature to want to shout the message of recovery to the entire world." In this episode, we talk about long-term sobriety, dating cops and why it's so important to share your story with the world.

Anna David on Dating a Newcomer Who May Have Still Been High

Anna David — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Anna David is a NY Times bestselling author, journalist, occasional TV talking head, coach, creator of this podcast, CEO of Light Hustle Publishing and the person typing these words. This story involves the time she opted to respond to a missive from a stranger that read "I'm hot and you're hot; plus, I'm sober and you're sober." But was he sober? Well, that's something she found out more about when he moved from LA to New York to be with her. Just how did this love story end? You're going to have to listen to find out.

Bucky Sinister on Dating a Mysterious Woman with a Mohawk

Anna David — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Bucky Sinister s a stand-up comedian and author of nine books, including Black Hole: A Novel and Get Up: A 12-Step Guide to Recovery for Misfits, Freaks and Weirdos. He's told many stories at numerous shows—including one where he brought a now-deceased friend (in an urn) up on stage with him—but it's safe to say this is the most graphic tale he's told at a Light Hustler show. Just how does a story about dating a mysterious woman with a mohawk get graphic? Let's just say it has to do with a tattoo of hers he discovered in an intimate moment. Want to know what in God's name that means? You're going to have to listen.

Lauren Wallett on Flying to America from South Africa for a Date

Anna David — Wed, 13 Mar 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Lauren Wallet is an award-nominated actress and director who starred on the South African reality show My Top Billing Dream, has been interviewed on national television since she was nine years old, and ran Star Quality Performing Art School and Fame Academy in South Africa. The story she told starts off innocently enough—a nice night out in South Africa with a few new friends but quickly devolved into flying across the world for a romantic adventure with a guy she met in a blackout.

Matt Lieb on Bottoming Out with a Turkey Baster

Anna David — Wed, 06 Mar 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Matt Lieb is a comedian, writer, and actor from Los Angeles. As a stand up comedian in San Francisco, he was named one of the “2016 Best Comedians in the Bay Area” by SFist and has performed at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival 2017, SF Skecthfest 2013-2017, and the 10,000 Laughs Festival in Minneapolis. Matt’s comedy has been featured on the VICELAND, Hulu, SeeSo, and Gabriel Iglesias’ “Stand Up Revolution Radio” on SiriusXM. Currently, Matt is a correspondent on Emmy Nominated short form series The Star Wars Show, a writer/performer on Newsbroke on AJ+, and staff writer for Audible’s original series Bedtime Stories for Cynics with Nick Offerman, where he has written for David Spade, Tommy Chong, Nick Thune, and more. In this story, he talked about an attempt to get clean from heroin which ended with a realization that he could get high one last time, in his childhood bedroom, if he was willing to use a turkey baster to inject drugs into a place that sun doesn't shine. Yep, that place.

Matt Gallagher on Doing Acid with a Bull

Anna David — Wed, 27 Feb 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Matt Gallagher is an actor and comedian who has performed all around New York and Los Angeles. His work can also be seen on CBS, ESPN, The History Channel, and MTV. He created and starred in the popular live storytelling series THE STORY CELLAR with Jessica Wood, and you can see his first one hour special, A Stumble in the Woods, on Amazon now. In this story, Matt delves into a night he decided to try acid. And then decided to do more acid. And then decided to get into a cage with a bull. Yep. It's all true. Listen and you'll find out. If you want to find out what happened, you have to listen. SHOULD YOU BE SHARING YOUR STORY? CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT!

Anna David on Babysitting (with) a Movie Star

Anna David — Wed, 20 Feb 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Anna David isn't just the person writing these words. She's also the NY Times bestselling author of seven books, TV talking head, journalist and blah blah. In this episode (taken from the Light Hustler live storytelling show), she/I tells/tell a story about an early sobriety "date" with a movie star, who taught her/me that the glamorous life may not be all it's cracked up to be.

Kane Holloway on Why to Not Drunkenly Steal Your Dad's Car

Anna David — Wed, 13 Feb 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Kane Holloway is a Seattle native who resides in sunny L.A. Kane is a nationally touring comedian, podcast host and he has performed on "Laughs on Fox." He has appeared on VH1's "Walk of Shame Shuttle," "FNX Comedy Experience" and started the Podaholics comedy network. You can hear his comedy album "See What I Did There?" On iTunes. In this episode, he talks about a night he and his friend stole his dad's car but also delves into a potential answer to the age-old question: what happened when you see your friend wearing his pants as a shirt?

Debi Hall on Handling the Waves of Sobriety

Anna David — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 08:00:00 +0000

A native of West Texas, Debi Hall has appeared on film and performed in Dallas as well as in Story Salon, BackStory, I Love A Good Story in Los Angeles. She’s written story collections for performance, a collection of screenplays and several novels. In this episode, she tells a story about the surprising way she found to handle a low point in her sobriety.

Eddie Pepitone on Sobriety During End Times

Anna David — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 15:19:20 +0000

Eddie Pepitone has appeared on numerous hit TV shows, including It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Sarah Silverman, Jimmy Kimmel, Last Comic Standing, Chappelle’s Show and Law and Order. He’s performed at some of the biggest venues in the comedy scene including The Improv, Caroline’s on Broadway, Largo at the Coronet, and both the LA and NY Upright Citizens Brigade Theaters. He hosts the popular comedy podcast Pep Talks and is the subject of The Bitter Buddha.

In this episode, he touches on adult coloring books and a number of other non-sequiturs but ultimately zeroes in on his favorite topic: the fact that we're living in the end of times.

If you want to hear him speculating on the sort of shares people might have in meetings when they've had to fight for their lives to arrive there (and you do), you have to hear this one.

Melanie Vesey on Performing for Drunk Trump Supporters

Anna David — Wed, 30 Jan 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Melanie Vessey co-starred with Jim Carrey in Man on the Moon and performs all over at major comedy clubs and festivals. Her comedy special/album #WildAnimal will be available in November. She is also a fierce talent who has been sober over two decades—a fact she shares about in ways that may make you pee your pants.

To hear her story about long-term recovery, which includes performing for naked Trump supporters, download this episode ASAP.

Anna David on Relapsing on 4.5 Hits of Ecstasy

Anna David — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Anna David is, well, someone who writes about herself in the 3rd person out of the misconception that you will believe someone else is writing this. She writes books and articles, talks on TV and stages and tells stories about things like relapsing on 4.5 hits of ecstasy, which you can hear here...

Author Kristin Casey on Surviving Addiction and Rock Stars

Anna David — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 02:27:13 +0000

Kristin Casey is a recovered alcoholic and addict who’s survived clinical depression, numerous addictions, the panhandle of Texas and 17 years of Catholicism.

Her first book, Rock Monster, documents a tumultuous six-year relationship with rock legend and Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, their drug-fueled train-wreck breakup and her ensuing suicidal spiral. Unlike every other affair-with-a-rock-star book I’ve ever read, however, it is as literary and poignant as it is salacious and gripping.

In addition to writing for The Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, The Nervous Breakdown, From The Asylum, $pread, and elsewhere, Kristin works in the field of sex therapy as an intimacy coach and IPSA trained Surrogate Partner Intern.

In this episode, we talked about letting go of resentments before writing a book, what exactly an intimacy coach is, why the writers who succeed are the ones who keep going in the face of rejection and who, really, was the monster in her story, among many other topics.

Annie Grace on Gaining Freedom From Alcohol

Anna David — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 08:00:00 +0000

Annie Grace is the bestselling author of the hit book, This Naked Mind: Control Alcohol, Find Freedom, Discover Happiness & Change Your Life as well as the just-released The Alcohol Experiment: A 30-Day, Alcohol-Free Challenge to Interrupt Your Habits and Help You Take Control. Her unique approach has helped thousands of people change their relationship with alcohol by looking at their subconscious beliefs about drinking that are at odds with their conscious desire to live alcohol free.

In this episode, we discussed how her book became successful, what sobriety really means and what it all has to do with a famed back doctor, among many other topics.

Amy Dresner on When She Thought She Was a Lesbian

Anna David — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Amy Dresner is a former professional stand-up comic, having appeared at The Comedy Store, The Laugh Factory, and The Improv. Since 2012, she has been a contributing editor of the online addiction and recovery magazine TheFix.com. She’s also written for the Good Men Project, The Frisky, Refinery 29, and has been a regular contributor to Addiction.com and PsychologyToday.com, where she has her own addiction blog entitled “Coming Clean.” Her first book, My Fair Junkie, was released in 2017 and is now available in paperback.

In this episode (from the Light Hustler live storytelling show in LA), Amy tells a very funny story about how she met a woman at an AA meeting who made her think she was gay. Spoiler alert: she’s not. How did she realize that? You’re going to have to listen to find out.

Anna David on Her Fictional Alter Ego’s Misadventures [Excerpt from PARTY GIRL]

Anna David — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Once upon a time, I wrote a book called Party Girl. I was very proud of it and had high hopes it would be made into an audio book and movie. Alas, those dreams were dashed. But just like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes, the dreams are now alive!

It’s actually not nearly that dramatic. But there is renewed movie interest in the book (optioned by Martin Scorsese’s producer!) and I decided to make my own dream happen by getting the audio rights to the book back from HarperCollins and recording and releasing it on Audible myself.

And now! I’m giving the first bit of it exclusively to you guys in this episode. I do hope you like it. And then I hope you’ll go pick up a copy of the audio book. If you’re not an Audible subscriber, it’s free!

Jessica Sele on Why Men Should Never Tell Women to Smile

Anna David — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features the very funny Jessica Sele from one of my live storytelling shows.

In her own words, Jessica Sele is a “deeply weird human being and stand-up comedian.” She’s performed at the Bridgetown Comedy Festival and SF Sketchfest and was described by Bitch Magazine as a “hilarious and talented queer woman.”

The story she tells has to do with a fire, a crack addict just trying to be helpful and a very special cat. How do these things tie together, you ask? Well, you’ll have to listen to find out.

Comedian Matt Gallagher on A Series of Bad, Drug-Related Decisions

Anna David — Thu, 06 Dec 2018 19:27:53 +0000

While this episode is from his first time appearing in my storytelling show, it certainly won't be his last. In it, he tells a seriously disturbing and yet unabashedly hilarious tale about getting deep into hard drugs. Warning: it is a bit graphic so if you're new to sobriety, this may not be for you. If you're not in danger of getting triggered, however, be prepared to laugh your ass off.

Author Dana Bowman on Trying to be the Perfect Sober Mom

Anna David — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Dana Bowman speaks and writes about recovery, momhood and beating the perfection myth. An English teacher for over 20 years, she decided to take up a writing at momsieblog.com while mothering two babies. A chance submission to Glennon Doyle watched her blog go viral and she promptly landed a book deal. Her first book, Bottled, was selected as a Kansas Notable book in 2016. Her second book, How to Be Perfect Like Me, was released in August 2018 and landed her on The Today Show.

In this episode, we discuss imposter syndrome, directional dyslexia and being a recovering perfectionist, among many other topics.

Author Kristin Casey on Surviving Addiction and Rock Stars

Anna David — Sun, 18 Nov 2018 20:40:13 +0000

Kristin Casey is a recovered alcoholic and addict who's survived clinical depression, numerous addictions, the panhandle of Texas and 17 years of Catholicism.

Her first book, Rock Monster, documents a tumultuous six-year relationship with rock legend and Eagles guitarist Joe Walsh, their drug-fueled train-wreck breakup and her ensuing suicidal spiral. Unlike every other affair-with-a-rock-star book I've ever read, however, it is as literary and poignant as it is salacious and gripping.

In addition to writing for The Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, The Nervous Breakdown, From The Asylum, $pread, and elsewhere, Kristin works in the field of sex therapy as an intimacy coach and IPSA trained Surrogate Partner Intern.

Writer and Podcaster Tawny Lara on Documenting Sobriety From Day One

Anna David — Wed, 14 Nov 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Tawny Lara is an entrepreneur, writer and public speaker. She’s the founder of SobrieTea Party™ and Readings on Recovery™ and an award-winning filmmaker of her recovery documentary, Fixed Up. She's also the co-host (along with previous podcast guest and all-around bad ass Lisa Smith) of the hot new podcast Recovery Rocks podcast.

But she's also someone who started documenting her sobriety journey from the beginning. With so many people out there wanting to tell their story but scared to jump into the fray, Tawny serves as the perfect example of someone just getting out there, making her mark and, well...rocking it.

In this episode, we talked about growing up as a rocker, what to tell people who are thinking of sharing their stories and our random meeting at a Macklemore concert, among many other topics.

Tennis Pro Murphy Jensen on Changing Treatment Success Rates

Anna David — Wed, 07 Nov 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Murphy Jensen is an entrepreneur, former professional tennis player and French Open Champion. He’s also the Founder & EVP of Business Development for WEconnect Recovery, an addiction relapse prevention and real-time outcomes data platform that just raised 6 million (yep). He was ALSO one of my first friends in early recovery, back when we would hang out at our friend Allison’s place and really just wander around trying to make sense of our new lives.

In this episode (which was taken from this Facebook Live interview), Murphy and I talk about what it was like to go to meetings in pajamas, realizing you were meant to do more than teach rich people how to play tennis and whether or not those psychic readings we got in 2000 turned out to be true, among many other topics.

Recovery Advocate Tim Ryan on Turning Negatives Into Positives

Anna David — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

As one of the world’s leading recovery advocates, Tim Ryan tirelessly tours the country speaking to addicts and their families. The star of A&E’s Dope Man and bestselling author of From Dope to Hope: A Man in Recovery, Ryan found recovery in prison and is committed to sharing a message of hope after losing his son to an overdose soon after finding sobriety himself.

The creator of the 501c3 A Man in Recovery, Tim is a regular subject on national media, a Global Goodwill Ambassador and was an invited guest to the State of the Union address.

He has been a featured thought leader on numerous television shows and publications, including Fox & Friends, Varney & Company, Martha MacCallum, USA Today, Newsweek, The Chicago Tribune, The Doctorsand The Steve Harvey Show, among many others.

A regular on WGN radio, Tim has also appeared repeatedly on CNN and HLN, spoken on TEDx stages and was named one of the top 100 visionary leaders in the world by Real Leaders magazine in January, 2018.

But in this episode, we didn’t talk about his resume. We talked about turning from the Dope Man into the Hope Man and the importance of sharing your story, among many other topics.

Anna David on Calling the Cops on Yourself

Anna David — Wed, 24 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Anna David is, well, the person writing this. In addition to writing in the third person, she's the New York Times bestselling author of six books, a contributor to The New York Times, Time, Playboy and more, a writing coach and the creator of this site/podcast/storytelling show.

In this episode, she/I tell a story about living in West Hollywood in the 90s, giving your front door key to every coke addict in the vicinity and calling the cops on yourself when you become convinced that your neighbor is trying to kill you.

To find out if you should be sharing your story, go to www.lighthustler.com/quiz.

Super Agent Darren Prince on Bottoming Out at the Top

Anna David — Wed, 17 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Darren Prince is a sports and celebrity agent who has represented Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson, Pele, Joe Montana, Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Dennis Rodman and Hulk Hogan, among many others.

He's also sober for a decade after a brutal struggle with opiate addiction.

Finally (and most importantly—to me), he's a friend.

We've spent the past year working on his memoir, Aiming High: How a Prominent Sports and Celebrity Agent Hit Bottom at the Top, and I'm thrilled to say that it's the first release from the Light Hustler Publishing imprint. Already an international bestseller in four countries, the book has been making waves all over.

In this episode, we discuss what role trauma plays in addiction, why to wait until you have some sobriety under your belt before going public and how Magic Johnson saved Darren's life, among many other things.

Bucky Sinister on Going to Poetry Readings Wasted

Anna David — Wed, 10 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Bucky Sinister is a stand-up comedian and author of nine books, including Black Hole: A Novel and Get Up: A 12-Step Guide to Recovery for Misfits, Freaks and Weirdos.

In this episode (which is from the Light Hustler live storytelling show in LA), he veers from his planned story to regale the audience about what it was like to go to poetry readings completely wasted.

To find out if you should be sharing your story, go to www.lighthustler.com/quiz.

Kane Holloway on The Hilarity of Slapping Someone While Drunk

Anna David — Wed, 03 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Kane Holloway is a Seattle native who resides in sunny L.A. Kane is a nationally touring comedian, podcast host and he has performed on Laughs on Fox. He has appeared on VH1's Walk of Shame Shuttle, FNX Comedy Experience and started the Podaholics comedy network. You can hear his comedy album "See What I Did There?" On iTunes.

In this episode (from the Light Hustler monthly live storytelling show), he talks about how funny it was when he drunkenly slapped someone he didn't know (spoiler alert: it wasn't funny at all).

To find out if you should be sharing your story, go to www.lighthustler.com/quiz.

Eddie Pepitone on How Love Went Out a Long Time Ago

Anna David — Wed, 26 Sep 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Eddie Pepitone is the subject of The Bitter Buddha, the critically acclaimed documentary about his life, and is also occasionally a part of his stand-up act. As a comedian and actor, he’s been on WTF and Conan repeatedly, as well as on The Last Comic Standing, The Sarah Silverman Program, Happy Endings, Flight of the Concords, 2 Broke Girls, It’s Always Sunny and so many more.

In this episode—which is from the Light Hustler live storytelling show in Los Angeles—he (hilariously) talks about why having commitments in AA is silly, how love went out a long time ago and so much more.

To find out if you should be sharing your story, go to www.lighthustler.com/quiz.

Amy Dresner on Getting Into and Out of the Psych Ward

Anna David — Wed, 19 Sep 2018 07:00:00 +0000

In this episode (from the Light Hustler live storytelling show in LA), Amy talks about one of her visits to the psych ward—explaining what group therapy was like, what other residents had as goals for the day and the fellow patient who was smarter than the doctors, among other things.

To find out if you should be sharing your story, go to www.lighthustler.com/quiz.

Kristi Coulter on When a Blog Post Turns into a Book Deal

Anna David — Wed, 12 Sep 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Kristi Coulter holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Michigan. She is a former Ragdale Foundation resident and the recipient of a grant from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The Awl, Glamour, Vox, The Mississippi Review, Longreads, and elsewhere. Her debut essay collection, Nothing Good Can Come from This, was published by MCD Books/FSG Originals in August 2018. She lives in Seattle, where she is working on her next book.

We talked about Nothing Good Can Come From This, being a high-functioning alcoholic and what happens when a story you write goes viral, among many other things.

To find out if you should be sharing your story, go to www.lighthustler.com/quiz.

Dr. Jamie Marich on EMDR Trauma Therapy

Anna David — Wed, 05 Sep 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Dr. Jamie Marich is an EMDR bad-ass. Sure, that's a kind of crazy way to identify someone but it's what our medical consultant (and previous podcast guest) Dr. Josh Lichtman (not to mention everyone else) says about her.

Her are her stats: she travels internationally teaching on EMDR therapy, trauma, addiction, expressive arts, yoga and mindfulness while maintaining a private practice in her home base of Warren, OH. She is the founder and director of The Institute for Creative Mindfulness, developer of the Dancing Mindfulness practice and co-developer of the Yoga Unchained approach to trauma-informed yoga. She is also the author of five books on trauma recovery, most recently EMDR Therapy and Mindfulness for Trauma Focused Care (with previous podcast guest Dr. Stephen Dansiger).

She's also over 16 years sober.

If you’re asking yourself at this point, “What in God’s name is she talking about and what is this EMDR thing,” EMDR stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and while it doesn’t tend to involve much eye movement anymore, it is a form of trauma therapy that helps people to reprocess their past.

If you ever go to my Facebook page, you may have seen me sharing lately about how I've started doing EMDR. It's been changing my life so I was thrilled to be able to interview one of the world's leading experts on the topic. This episode is a can't miss, folks. Who knew talking about trauma could be so fun?

Anna David on Being an Intolerant Ex-Smoker

Anna David — Wed, 29 Aug 2018 07:00:00 +0000

The story I tell here is about the journey I took from two-pack-a-day smoker to the most self-righteous ex-smoker the world has ever seen. If you want to feel better about your own self-righteousness, I highly recommend giving this a listen.

Gayle Saks on Writing About Recovery as a Counselor

Anna David — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Gayle Saks-Rodriguez has been a writer since filling her fourth grade diary with such perfectly crafted sentences as: “Ricky is getting confirmed tomorrow. Since I’m Jewish, I’m not really sure what it does. I should congradulate [sic] him though.”

She has graduated to being published in places like The Fix, The Huffington Post, Thought Catalog and Salon and has appeared on HuffPost Live. Now she's working on her memoir, You Ain't No Soccer Mom, about her work with female inmates and at an all male sober living. She was also a contributor to Light Hustler's first anthology, Darkness Before Light: 12 Writers on Addiction, Sobriety and Recovery.

In this interview (which originally took place over Facebook Live), we talk about being the only contributor to the anthology who's not in recovery, shelving one book proposal to work on another and her experiences in my coaching program for writers, among many other topics. We also—spoiler alert—had a lot of fun. Listen here.

Dr. Lauren Casey on Falling in Love With a Lifer in Recovery

Anna David — Wed, 15 Aug 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Dr. Lauren Casey has a fascinating story. The international recovery coach, award-winning author and public speaker specializing in sex industry work, women’s health, substance abuse and trauma hasn’t just learned her area of expertise by studying.

Now sober, Casey is a former high-end escort who found sobriety and then, to her utter surprise, found herself falling in love with a prisoner she began writing in prison. They’re still together decades later and now Casey has a book coming out about her entire story. I’m proud to say that she wrote the proposal for Breaking the Chains: Drugs, Millionaires and the Prisoner Who Set Me Free in my All the Write Movescoaching program and that the book will be released by Zephyr Bookshelf in 2019.

This episode is from one of my Facebook Live interviews and it’s a juicy one.

Brian Finkelstein on Cocaine and Hookers

Anna David — Wed, 08 Aug 2018 20:43:59 +0000

Brian Finkelstein is a writer who has been nominated for two Emmys. He is also a regular performer at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and is a host/storyteller for The Moth. You can read his story “Perfect Moments” in the Moth’s first book, 50 True Stories.

He has performed eight solo shows in a variety of venues, from the HBO/US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen to the Summer Nights Festival in Perth, Australia and New Zealand. Brian’s told stories on public radio shows including Good Food, The Business, UnFictional, Marketplace and many more.

At the Light Hustler storytelling show, he told a story about wild nights at a Brooklyn speakeasy called Kokie's where you could buy cocaine, a roommate named Babyface, dating a Muslim girl and quitting hookers, among many other topics.

Ken Garr on Competing in the Special Olympics

Anna David — Wed, 01 Aug 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Ken Garr is a graduate of Second City who has performed at The Laugh Factory, MGM Grand and Hollywood Improv, among many other places, and has been seen on Hulu, Playboy and Funny Or Die. His comedy album, So I’m Sitting in Jail, is now available on the DASH Radio app.

In this episode from my live storytelling show, he talks about competing in the Special Olympics, feeling all your feelings in sobriety and burying an idea three levels into someone’s head, among many other topics.

Ally Weinhold On Taking Acid to Get Sober

Anna David — Wed, 18 Jul 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features the one and only Ally Weinhold.

Ally is a Los Angeles-based comedian, writer, and alcoholic. She hosts a monthly stand up show at Bar Lubitsch, called Awkward & Aggressive and recently co-produced a pilot called Murder Roommates with her sketch team, BadAssKnitties, and WhoHaha.

This story is about the time she realized she needed to get sober and so she did the most logical thing she could think of to bring on the spiritual experience that she thought getting sober would require: she took a bunch of acid.

Want to know what happened next? You best listen.

Having Miraculous Mornings with Joe Polish

Anna David — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 07:00:00 +0000

In a rather short period of time, Joe Polish has become one of my favorite people around.

The genius marketer (who presides over The Genius Network) and I met in early 2017 and connected over the fact that we were both trying to change the message around addiction. (Related: we also connected over the fact that we were both once active drug addicts.)

And so we partnered with Hal Elrod and Honoree Corder on creating a book in the Miracle Morning series that focused on addiction recovery. You can get it here!

If you're not familiar with The Miracle Morning, it started as a book written by Hal Elrod. Published in 2012, it quickly became one of the highest rated books on Amazon, with over 2500 five-star reviews.

The premise: changing your life starts with following certain habits and tactics every morning. I'll be honest: when this opportunity first came up, I thought, "Look, I already meditate and pray in the morning. What could this book tell me that I don't already know?" Well, here's what I learned: the day after reading it, I changed my morning routine, incorporating movement, affirmations and much more into it. There's something magical in Hal's message—perhaps because he's one of the kindest people ever, perhaps because he's experienced events that would have destroyed most of us...and come out with the most hopeful attitude I've ever experienced.

Here's the concept of our particular book in the series. As many of us know, addiction can be fatal, and while it may sound glib to say something simple like attending to your morning can magically influence the course of your recovery, implementing this Miracle Morning practice can help you transform any area of your life...all before 8 am. The Miracle Morning for Addiction Recovery outlines cutting-edge research, all designed to support your recovery.

Here's some of what we cover in the book: Why mornings are critically important to an addict’s success, how your alarm can be a gift, challenge, and opportunity, the Five-Minute Five-Step Snooze-Proof Wake-Up Strategy, how the Six-Minute Miracle Morning can be the remedy for an overly packed schedule and much more. (Bonus: we've included morning routines from some of our favorite folks in recovery, including Recovery 2.0's Tommy Rosen, Wes Geer from Korn, actress Mackenzie Phillips and more.)

In this episode, Joe and I interview each other about our respective morning routines and how we strive to live miraculous lives.

Uncovering Shocking Family Secrets with Tina Alexis Allen

Anna David — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 07:00:00 +0000

You could call Tina Alexis Allen an actor. After all, she recently starred in the hit WGN series Outsiders.

You could call her a playwright. After all, she wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed solo show Secrets of a Holy Father and the 12-character one-woman show Irresistible.

You could also call her a writer. After all, she's the author of the un put down-able new release Hiding Out: A Memoir of Drugs, Deception and Double Lives.

But really the most interesting thing about Allen is her life story: the last of 13 children from a religious Catholic family, Allen ended up becoming her father's greatest confidant. This started with them each acknowledging that they were gay, moved on to wild notes out doing poppers at all the gayest clubs of DC and ended with...well, you've got to read the book to find out.

Anna David on Her Three Dealers

Anna David — Wed, 27 Jun 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features a very special guest: me. Since I’m releasing episodes that contain stories from my live storytelling show and I perform in this show, sometimes these episodes are going to feature—well, me. (By the by, the show, which takes place every other month in LA, has been an LA Weekly pick of the week and is being developed into a video series.)

The story I tell here is about the three cocaine dealers I had during my using days, the different signature moves they had and how I ended up in rehab with one of them.

Going From Attorney to Author With David Griggs

Anna David — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 07:00:00 +0000

David Griggs has a JD, an MBA and extensive experience representing and advising clients in matters involving employment, contract, regulatory, licensing, eminent domain, business, injury and other areas of law.

But that's not what's interesting about him.

What's interesting about him is that he's a sober addict who decided to let some of his most shameful stories out—first through articles, then through a book proposal and now through a book—Taming the Wild Things in My Head, a memoir which will be released by Zephyr Bookshelf later in 2018.

In this interview—which happened over Facebook Live—he explains his descent into addiction, how he pieced his life back together and why he decided to share that journey with the world.

Ally Weinhold on What Happens When You Bring a Homeless Man Home for Dinner

Anna David — Thu, 14 Jun 2018 15:03:19 +0000

Today’s episode features the one and only Ally Weinhold.

Ally is a Los Angeles-based comedian, writer, and alcoholic. She hosts a monthly stand up show at Bar Lubitsch called Awkward & Aggressive and recently co-produced a pilot called Murder Roommates with her sketch team, BadAssKnitties.

Her story asks a seemingly simple question: what happens if you bring a homeless man home for dinner?

If you’re Ally, you make that into a hilarious, ridiculous story.

Enjoy.

Laura House on Her Panic Marriage

Anna David — Wed, 06 Jun 2018 07:00:00 +0000

If there’s anyone who can make a ridiculous drinking story hilarious, it’s Laura House. A headlining comedian who has performed on HBO, Comedy Central, NBC, she is originally from Texas and moved to LA after starring in MTV’s cult-favorite Austin Stories. She’s written on the Emmy-winning shows Mom and Samantha Who, BAFTA-winning Secret Lives of Boys, as well as Nicole Byer’s Loosely, Exactly, Nicole, The George Lopez Show, Mad Love, Blue Collar TV and more.

This story is about what can happen when you marry a guy you shouldn't (spoiler alert: it doesn't go so well).

She told it at my live storytelling show, which happens on the last Friday of every month at Open Space Cafe (457 N. Fairfax Ave) in LA.

From Raves and Car Stealing to Recovery and Advocacy with Ivana Grahovac

Anna David — Wed, 30 May 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Ivana Grahovac is a wonder to behold. And she's even more wondrous once you know her story.

The Director of Advancement for Facing Addiction and former Executive Director for Transforming Youth Recovery wasn't always the poised spokesperson today. In fact, she's the girl who spent so long raving in Croatia that she decided to drop out of school and move to Milan to model. While living the so-called glamorous life (which she swears wasn't glam), her heroin addiction took hold.

Numerous stints in treatment followed, as did jail time after she stole a car.

And then, against all odds, Grahovac had a spiritual experience that not only got her sober but also made her not experience opiate withdrawals.

Hear about the entire journey by downloading this episode.

How the Unlucky Get Sober with Kane Holloway

Anna David — Fri, 25 May 2018 16:18:09 +0000

Kane Holloway is a Seattle native who resides in sunny L.A. Kane is a nationally touring comedian, podcast host and he has performed on "Laughs on Fox."

In this story, told at the live monthly Light Hustler storytelling show, he talks about a number of experiences—being bald at the wrong time, physical pain and what happens when the person rooting for you seems to be giving up on you. The overall theme: even the unlucky can find recovery. And, if that supposedly unlucky person is named Kane Holloway, he can make it into comedy gold.

How Getting Sober Sucks and Doesn't Suck with Jules Posner

Anna David — Wed, 16 May 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Jules Posner cut his teeth in his hometown of San Francisco, where he honed his act by yelling over rowdy bar crowds, coffee grinders, and shouty vagrants that have become commonplace in the San Francisco comedy scene. Now based in Los Angeles, he is one of those comics whose writing and delivery make standup seem like it’s just a funny person talking off the top of their head. Reality isn’t far behind the illusion; his riffing paces his written material in quality.

This story, which had people screaming with laughter (and asking when he'd be back to perform again), covers the solo drinking games Jules liked to play, how having a bird shit on your head can be lucky and different reasons sobriety sucks and doesn't.

When Your Ex-Boyfriend Takes Out a Restraining Order on You with Ally Weinhold

Anna David — Wed, 09 May 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features the one and only Ally Weinhold.

Her story asks a seemingly simple question: what happens if you hack your ex-boyfriend's email and then send the woman he's dating a break up email? And what if you follow that with a series of decisions that culminate in his feeling like you're a danger to his life?

If you're Ally, you make that into a hilarious, ridiculous story.

Enjoy.

Going From Zero to Hero with the Comedian ANT

Anna David — Wed, 02 May 2018 07:00:00 +0000

The comedian ANT has been everywhere: a regular on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Tyra Banks Show, he is the only comedian to appear on all five seasons of NBC’s hit series Last Comic Standing. He was the host of VH1’s Celebrity Fit Club and starred in the LOGO series, U.S. of ANT. His hit stand-up DVD, ANT: America’s Ready and comedy CD “Follow my ass!” have sold tens of thousands of copies. On his hit podcast Second Chances, he interviews people about their, you got it, second chances in life.

But he's much more than his resume. ANT, who's in recovery after a great deal of tragedy in his life, has an ability to turn even the darkest stories imaginable (say, this one, about his cat, partner and dad all dying) into touching hilarity.

Anna David on Eating Space Cakes and Losing Her Mind

Anna David — Wed, 25 Apr 2018 07:00:00 +0000

The story I tell here is about why someone like me should have never smoked pot—let alone gone to Amsterdam to eat a succession of space cakes. For more about who I am when I’m not eating space cakes and losing a day of my life, click here. For more about the workshops I lead where I teach people to take their most disturbing or interesting experiences and make them into stories, click here. For more information about my online writing classes and coaching programs, click here.

For a list of events, so you can stay up to date on future storytelling shows, click here. If you want to see live broadcasts of the show, go ahead and Like my Facebook page, since that's where we broadcast them!

20 Years of Sobriety with John Taylor of Duran Duran

Anna David — Wed, 18 Apr 2018 16:46:11 +0000

To say I was excited to interview John Taylor would be the understatement of the century. As an allegedly together adult, I resisted the urge to tell him that my adolescent bedroom was papered with his image (covered in lipstick kisses, despite the fact that I didn’t and still don’t wear lipstick). In short, my inner 14-year-old was having a conniption fit while my outer adult had a glorious, insightful conversation with a brilliant, thoughtful man with over two decades of sobriety.

Those who only think of Taylor solely as Duran Duran’s pretty boy will be delighted to hear what an analytical and kind guy he is—a man who speaks openly about what it was like to have worldwide fame while he was still living at home with his parents and talks about a recovery meeting as a place where he’s thrilled to be able to meet people from all walks of life.

In this episode, we talked about his must-read autobiography In The Pleasure Groove, what it’s like to go from blaming everyone to taking responsibility for yourself, how no one really acts their age and the joys of watching soccer, among many other topics.

Greg Behrendt on the Night a Burrito Saved His Life

Anna David — Wed, 11 Apr 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Today’s episode features an absolute doll of a human being: Greg Behrendt.

In it, Greg tells a story from the Light Hustler live storytelling show which takes place the last Friday of every other month in LA.

His story veers from a night where he was wasted and cold and ended up with a burrito stuck to his hands but also touches on driving a car into the ocean and why we should bring our solutions and not our problems home.

When he’s not making Light Hustler audiences nearly pee their pants with laughter, Greg is performing (both as a comedian and musician) or writing (oh yeah; he’s the guy who co-wrote the seminal book He’s Just Not That Into You, among other bestselling books).

To see the calendar for future storytelling events, click here. To catch the live broadcasts of the shows, go ahead and give a like on Facebook, since we play every show on there.

Feeding the Good Wolf with Brad Vos

Anna David — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Brad Vos is a mental health and addictions recovery advocate who, in his words, "promotes the opportunity, and not the sacrifice, that recovery provides." Canada-based, he's someone who's tried numerous roads to sobriety, including 12-step and SMART Recovery, but finds he has a "bad wolf" who can talk him out of staying on the right path.

But he's determined to let the good wolf take charge, something that's evident in his new project—the website Sobertunity, which also includes accounts on Instagram and Facebook.

Brad and I first got to know each other when he joined the accountability group I run with Sober Evolution's Austin Cooper and from day one, he's been active in the group—sharing updates, schedules, plans...and his struggles. He's therefore the ideal person to show the rest of the world the sort of stuff we do in there. He also happens to be very funny and as someone who's semi obsessed with people sharing their "light," I cherish any opportunity to let hilarity reign.

In this episode, we discuss escaping a soulless sales job, staying on the path and how animals can help with our recovery, among many other topics.

NOTE: This episode is from a Facebook Live interview that we did, which means that the audio isn’t as sharp as it is on regular episodes. Please bear with that! And please tune into my regular Facebook Live interviews. Make sure you Like my page so stay up on the info!

Ask the Shrink: Can You Tell When Patients Are Lying to You?

Anna David — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Most every addict who's been in therapy has lied to their therapist or psychiatrist.

The question is...do shrinks know when you're lying? We asked LA board certified psychiatrist Dr. Josh Lichtman for his take.

How to Balance Work and Life with Recovery Elevator’s Paul Churchill

Anna David — Tue, 27 Mar 2018 07:00:00 +0000

It’s hard to picture Paul Churchill as an active alcoholic. He’s nevertheless got the back story to prove it—including years of destructive drinking, a DUI and a suicide attempt.

Yet no one could accuse him of resting on his laurels once he found sobriety in September of 2016. No, sir. He launched the podcast Recovery Elevator soon after getting into recovery and then, 20 episodes in, decided to start an accountability group. Now Recovery Elevator is something of an empire—with retreats, groups and more.

Still, all didn’t become shiny and perfect overnight. Instead, Paul wrestled with plunging too quickly into projects destined to drown him. He’s now stepped back slightly but still has the sort of fire that has inspired his followers and fans. In this episode, we discuss the impact pets can have on recovery, how acceptance truly is the answer and launching businesses because we were looking for things that didn’t exist, among many other topics.

OTE: This episode is from a Facebook Live interview that we did, which means that the audio isn’t as sharp as it is on regular episodes. Please bear with that! And please tune into my regular Facebook Live interviews. Make sure you Like my page so stay up on the info!

Ask the Shrink: What Do You Do When a Patient is Treatment Resistant?

Anna David — Wed, 21 Mar 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Some people suffer from depression and other mental issues that doesn't respond to medication. What are they—and their doctors—supposed to do?

Double board certified psychiatrist Dr. Josh Lichtman lays out some options.

Natasha Vargas-Cooper on Trying to Seduce a Bipolar Man With a Jesus Complex

Anna David — Tue, 20 Mar 2018 07:00:00 +0000

We all have stories. Some of us have funny ones. Others have tragic ones. If you're Natasha Vargas-Cooper, you have both.

If you listen to the podcast regularly, you know about Natasha but for anyone new around here...she is a wondrous sprite who graduated Summa Cum Laude from UCLA with a double major in history and public policy and has been published in such places as The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and GQ, among many others. Her book, Mad Men Unbuttoned, was praised as “a well-versed primer” by The New Yorker and “likely to become a trivia-lover’s bible” by The New York Times. Oh and in her spare time, she created the popular LA storytelling show Public School.

In this story, she discusses taking Ambien and then driving to 7-11 for cigarettes, the emails she shouldn't have sent and why being addicted to people is so much worse than being addicted to substances, among other (funny) (and tragic) things.

This episode is from my live storytelling show, which happens on the last Friday of every month at Open Space Cafe (457 N. Fairfax Ave) in LA.

Ask the Shrink: How Do We Break Down the Stigma Around Mental Illness?

Anna David — Wed, 14 Mar 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Addicts are increasingly more comfortable coming forward and sharing about their problems. But the same doesn't seem to be true for those suffering from mental illness. What can we do about that?

Dr. Josh Lichtman, a Los Angeles-based board-certified psychiatrist, breaks down his thoughts.

Losing A Brother to a Heroin Overdose with Stephanie Wittels Wachs

Anna David — Tue, 13 Mar 2018 07:00:00 +0000

Stephanie Wittels Wachs has endured something a sister should never have to experience.

In February of 2015, she lost her brother Harris to a heroin overdose.

Her brother wasn’t some low-bottom, down-and-out guy. Quite the opposite. He was actually nothing short of a legend in the comedy business, having been hired as a writer on The Sarah Silverman Show a year after graduating from college. From there, his career was on fire—he wrote on numerous MTV Movie Awards and was a writer and actor on Parks and Rec. When he died, he was on the verge of moving to New York to write on and star in Master of None with his friend Aziz Ansari. (In his spare time, he invented the word #humblebrag and wrote a book about it.)

In order to process her grief, Stephanie turned to the page…specifically to Medium.com, where she wrote a piece called “The End of Empathy,” about a stranger’s reaction to their family’s grief. The post struck a cord and next thing Stephanie knew, she was writing a book. Well, that book, Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love and Loss, is out now. And it is brilliant and juicy and wonderful and horrible and basically tells such a gripping tale of what it’s like to be the sister of a genius who just happens to be a drug addict that you will feel confident you actually knew Harris Wittels when you’ve put the book down.

In this episode, we talked about the surreality of talking about a book that only exists because your brother is gone, if there’s anything she would have done differently and the strange and even hopeful places her mourning has taken her, among many other topics.

Ask the Shrink: What is Narcissism and NPD?

Anna David — Wed, 07 Mar 2018 08:00:00 +0000

We live in a world where everyone is diagnosing our president as narcissistic. So what, exactly, are we saying and are we allowed to diagnose someone we don't know based solely on their symptoms?

Dr. Josh Lichtman provides some answers.

Ryan Hampton on What Can Happen When People in Recovery Come Together

Anna David — Tue, 06 Mar 2018 08:00:00 +0000

You surely know about Ryan Hampton by now. Not only has he become one of the world's leading recovery advocates, fighting to take down nefarious treatment centers and shady players but he's also the author of the upcoming book American Fix: Inside the American Opioid Addiction Crisis—And How to End It.

He's also one of my closer friends.

We work on a lot of things together but the one we're most excited about right now is our upcoming Light Switch: Turning on Your Inner Hustle retreat. It's happening the last weekend in April and will be a medley of workshops, treatments, bonding, laughter, panels and plenty of LA woo woo stuff. In this episode, we talk about the retreat (and our EARLY BIRD SPECIAL pricing which ends, alas, on March 8th) but also about the gifts that can come from bonding with our fellows in recovery (among many other topics).

Ask the Shrink: How Do You Separate Depression and Anxiety?

Anna David — Wed, 28 Feb 2018 08:00:00 +0000

In this episode, I talk to addiction psychiatrist Dr. Josh Lichtman about how depression and anxiety manifest—and overlap.

Developing Healthier Relationships with Laura McKowen

Anna David — Tue, 27 Feb 2018 08:00:00 +0000

I've long admired Laura McKowen.

The sober mama is a prolific writer (you can see her many posts over at LauraMcKowen.com), podcaster (for years she co-hosted HOME, now she's co-hosting Spiritualish) and all-around honest person living in recovery.

What do I mean by honest? Well, follow her on Instagram and you'll see more than just Ghandi quotes and hot photos. The woman spills it out there—and people love her for it.

While we met at the Unite to Face Addiction rally in the fall of 2015, this is the first time we were able to chat one-on-one. And what a chat it was! Tune in to hear us get into losing our virginity, the stories we tell ourselves and developing healthy relationships with other women, among many other topics.

It's better with the lights on. So go out there and hustle your light, Light Hustler...

Ask the Shrink: Do You Send Every Addicted Patient to AA?

Anna David — Thu, 22 Feb 2018 08:00:00 +0000

AA is a controversial topic within recovery circles. Some are all for it, some violently opposed.

So where does a prominent addiction psychiatrist stand? Does he tell all his patients who are addicts to go there?

The answer may surprise you.

Bucky Sinister on How Addicts Are Scared of All The Wrong Things

Anna David — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Bucky Sinister is a poet, self-help author and comedian, he has published four books of poetry and two self-help books, including Get Up: A 12-Step Guide to Recovery for Misfists, Freaks, and Weirdos. His journalism, film reviews, and short stories have appeared on The Rumpus, The Bold Italic, and a number of other online and print publications. His novel, Black Hole, is flat out the funniest novel I've ever read about addiction.

He's been something of a regular in my world—a repeated podcast guest and performer at my live show. This episode is from one of those live shows and in this story, he talks about being terrified of small talk but not remotely scared to score drugs from strangers or get in fights.

This episode is from my live storytelling show, which happens on the last Friday of every month at Open Space Cafe (457 N. Fairfax Ave) in LA. Sign up for the newsletter to make sure you’re notified when shows are coming up and/or stay up to date on the schedule here. For more about the workshops I lead where I teach people to take their most disturbing or interesting experiences and make them into stories, click here. For more information about my online writing classes and coaching programs, click here.

Making Sense of Sexuality in Recovery with Jen Matesa

Anna David — Tue, 13 Feb 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Jen Matesa is a recovery powerhouse.

Unafraid and unapologetic, she speaks out about two "s"'s that scare some others—namely, Suboxone and sex.

She's written extensively about both—Suboxone in blog posts like this one and the sex in two of her four books...especially her most recent one, Sex in Recovery: A Meeting between the Covers (her previous book for Hazelden, The Recovering Body: Physical and Spiritual Fitness for Living Clean and Sober, also got into meditation, exercise, nutrition and more).

She has spoken and written widely, teaches writing at the University of Pittsburgh, is a psychotherapist in training and is currently working on her second master’s degree.

Sober since 2010, she was one of the first sober bloggers and she's been dedicated in that time to giving the public reliable information about addiction and recovery without advertising or paywalls. Her commitment to removing social stigma from addiction and recovery earned her a fellowship at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Plus, she talks sex...here we got into best vibrators, losing your sex drive when you're taking opiates and what constitutes good sex. Get some great sex (info) and more in this episode—just in time for Hallmark's favorite holiday.

Laura House on Going From Bible Loving Texan to Drunk Foreign Exchange Student

Anna David — Tue, 06 Feb 2018 08:00:00 +0000

This story is about how she went from being a girl who knocked on doors trying to talk to strangers about Jesus to vomiting Pina Coladas all over a bus to peeing her name in the hallway outside of a teacher’s hotel room. Did she end up suffering consequences for being a host family’s worst nightmare? Well, no—and yes. It all makes sense if you listen.

This episode is from my live storytelling show, which happens on the last Friday of every month at Open Space Cafe (457 N. Fairfax Ave) in LA.

Getting off Fentanyl But Continuing to Do Drugs with Drew Grant

Anna David — Tue, 30 Jan 2018 08:00:00 +0000

I first met Drew Grant through friends, when we both lived in New York. She was a young, dynamic, cool, talented writer who'd worked at Salon and The New York Observer, among many other publications.

While I'd always found her somewhat fascinating, that feeling was only enhanced when, during a causal conversation, she mentioned that she had a brief addiction to Fentanyl. I was working at The Fix website at the time and so I did what I did whenever anyone mentioned drugs...promptly assigned her a story. While she wrote that piece under a pen name, a few years later—in the wake of the Philip Seymour Hoffman overdose—she came out under her own name.

Drew and I recently got in touch again, when she spoke to the students in my coaching program. She told me that her story with drugs had only gotten more Byzantine since we'd last spoken and so I did what I do whenever someone tells me that...promptly invited her to come on the podcast.

I knew it would be such a different story than the one my guests usually tell. This one didn't involve a bottom, a resurgence, church basements (well, there are some church basements in her story but not many) and eventual sobriety.

Instead it started with childhood chronic masturbation and ADD meds, Xanax tapering and much, much more. In this episode, we discuss what it was like to be on so many medications that you thought loved ones were out to get you, being intervened on by heroin addicts and how to handle doctor shopping across three states, among many other topics.