Writer on the Side

An in-depth interview with author and entrepreneur Phil Van Treuren, who shares how he built a six-figure self-publishing business selling stoic philosophy books—without relying on Amazon KDP.  

This is a repeat episode that addresses giving away your book for free (shifting it from paid to free) when it makes sense to do so. 

How do you start with Facebook Ads to get more readers? In this episode, I sit down with Francesco Ambrosian to discuss the effectiveness of Meta Ads, how to create compelling ads, targeting strategies, and the importance of a professional landing page. Francesco also shares his insights on different ad approaches for fiction and non-fiction books, budgeting, and the significance of organic versus paid marketing.

Layoffs are coming. Here's why everyone needs to be prepared by starting a side gig today (a quick backstory)

How do you sell over a million copies of a book? In this episode, I sit down with Eric Jorgenson, author of The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, to uncover the strategies, mindset, and marketing tactics behind his publishing success. From leveraging digital platforms to building an audience-first approach, Eric shares actionable insights for aspiring authors and entrepreneurs. Don't miss this deep dive into the business of books!

On Feb 11, I'm launching the fourth cohort of my course called "The 4-Week Write Your Book on the Side" System. More details on www.writerontheside.com/course

In this episode, Jonathan Goodman shares the behind-the-scenes journey of his latest book, The Obvious Choice. We discuss his transition from self-publishing to traditional publishing, innovative marketing strategies, and insights on building a successful business and author career. A must-listen for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, writing, and book marketing.

A great conversation about how Michael followed a 4-week step-by-step process to write and publish a book and become a #1 Amazon bestseller in multiple categories.

This is a discussion between Chris Stanley and I when he interviewed me a few weeks ago about a couple of my books "Don't Reply All" and "ChatGPT for Nonfiction Authors" and how I got Amazon reviews for both those books.  He also discusses the Mini Book Publishing model and the awards he kindly shared. Check out more details at: https://www.minibook.news/ 

If you're interested in writing & publishing a book in 2025, sign up to my course starting Nov 19, 2024 by visiting this link: https://www.writerontheside.com/course 

Chris Stanley is an entrepreneur, author, and founder of the Mini Book Publishing Model. He has written and published 27 books, with 17 of them becoming Amazon #1 Best Sellers. On this episode, I talk with Chris about how he thinks about book publishing in general and some of the strategies he uses to market his books.  

Here's a free tool called NotebookLM by Google that will help you market your book by turning it into a podcast\Here's a free tool called NotebookLM by Google that will help you market your book by turning it into a podcast

Here are 5 reasons why you should consider writing a newsletter today.

A live webinar replay of a talk I gave about how to write and publish a nonfiction Kindle book on the side. I also mention enrollment to my 4-Week "Write Your Book on the Side" System course that starts September 10, 2024. You can learn more here: www.writerontheside.com/course 

Here's how you can write a book quickly with me using AI. Live course starts September 10. Check out the following link for more: www.writerontheside.com/course 

Here's one tip that will help you get your book written today: just get started! 

Nat Eliason is the author of Crypto Confidential: Winning and Losing Millions in the New Frontier of Finance. On this episode, I talk with Nat about how he published his first traditionally published book, and the process he followed while working with his editor and publisher (Portfolio).

Pieter Slegers, founder of the Compounding Quality Newsletter and the co-author of The Art of Quality Investing: How to invest in the best companies in the world. On this episode, I talk with Pieter about how he published his first book on Amazon and hit the Amazon bestseller list.  

Adam Tank is a sustainability-driven entrepreneur and public speaker. He's also the author of Luck By Design: The Science And Serendipity Of A Well-Lived Life. On this episode, I talk with Adam about how he published his first book on Amazon and hit the Amazon bestseller list.

I'm launching my first ever cohort-based course about writing a book on the side (starting June 25). On this episode, I talk about the course and how you can learn more about it. 

Mike Taylor co-founded a 50 person marketing agency, created courses on LinkedIn, Vexpower, and Udemy taken by over 350,000 people, and published a book with O'Reilly on prompt engineering. On this episode, we talk about how he published his course on Udemy and ended with a book.

A personal update no longer being a writer on the side (for a short period)

How to package all your books, courses and other digital products in a unique package that can make you some money. 

Chris Fenning is the author of five non-fiction books on the topics of business communication and training. On this episode, we talk about how he writes and markets his books.   

Kelly Wilde Miller is an emerging writer who wrote her first book in just 5 days. On this episode, we talk about how she wrote and marketed her book.  

Dave is the guy behind Kindlepreneur.com. On this episode, we talk about Amazon KDP tips & strategies that authors can use for their books.  

I stumbled on a new strategy that some authors might be using to publish multiple books on Amazon using AI.  

Amazon KDP released a new audiobook service called Virtual Voice that uses computer-generated narration. Here are some thoughts about trying the service out.  

Mahmoud Rasmi is the author of Philosophy for Business Leaders. On this episode, we talk about how he wrote and marketed his book.  

Jesse J. Anderson is the author of Extra Focus, a book about guiding people on adult ADHD. On this episode, we talk about how he sold 10,000 copies in the first 3 months. 

Jane Leu is the author of Unicorns Unite, a book about how nonprofits and foundations can build epic partnerships. On this episode, we talk about how she co-authored the book.   

Nupur Saxena is the author of The IMPACT Roadmap, a book about how to scale profit with purpose. On this episode, we talk about how she uses her book for impact.   

Maria Gallo is the author of The Alumni Way, a book about how to build value from your university investment. On this episode, we talk about how she uses her book as a business card.   

I recently published a 1-page book called “This Book is One Page Long” as an experiment. Here are some lessons learned.

Rick Lewis has made over $150,000 in book sales from relying on a single marketing channel: speaking. No Amazon. No other platforms or distribution channels. Just back-of-the-room sales after speaking engagements.  

After 20 books (100K readers) and 12 courses (320K students), I learned a few lessons about how to create on the side. Here are 5 key ideas you can apply today.  

I recently published “Inverse Leadership” in 48 hours (using ChatGPT). This started out as a joke. Here's the story.  

Alex Hormozi recently launched his $100M Leads book and gave a lot of value away for free. Some thoughts on that.  

Offering your book for free can be a great strategy for authors. Here are some benefits for doing so.

I'm writing a new book about traveling to a new city with kids. Here's the approach I take to research it.  

Should you force yourself to write books or create courses when you don't feel like it? A short episode discussing the point.  

Here are some of the top questions and answers I usually get about creating on the side (publishing books & courses).  

Here are some of the top questions and answers I usually get about creating on the side (publishing books & courses).

Here's the end-to-end process that Luca follows to publish multiple nonfiction books while working as a management consultant  

A great conversation I had with Juergen Goeggerle about how he wrote his first book

I just surpassed 92,000 readers on Amazon and 300,000 students on Udemy. Here are the 5 strategies I use to help me create on the side.  

“ChatGPT for Better Business Communication” was repurposed from a short course and launched in 10 hours. Here are some ideas about how you can leverage this strategy for your own products.  

Logan Kilpatrick from OpenAI talks about ChatGPT and how it's already disrupting the world of writing.  

A great conversation I had with Mahmoud Rasmi on his Marketplace Discussions podcast about building a portfolio of side hustles (including books and courses) while working a full-time job.   

A repeat episode of how writing a book on the side will help you establish yourself as an expert, make some money, learn new skills, and get exposure to exciting opportunities.   

A quick about how and when to update your book on Amazon KDP to take advantage of marketing trends.