G'morning, Modern Authors,

For the past few weeks, I've been thinking more and more about what it means to be an author today. Books still matter. The data shows book sales are up year over year, book clubs are growing, and traffic at bookstores has increased as consumers look for more ways to reconnect with physical shopping and retail.

But what does that mean for us as modern authors?

It means things are different... while the data on the book industry is promising, individual authors have seen their markets evolve. Traditional publishing has become less of an option for non-famous authors (advances are nearly nonexistent) and self-publishing data has revealed that organic traffic to your book is rough, to say the least.

But data on authorship, especially among nonfiction writers, shows books are still one of highest return on investment (ROI) marketing activities. The Thought Leadership Leverage's Author ROI study found the typical ROI from a nonfiction book of 7-9x. But what surprises many authors is that ROI largely comes outside of retail book sales... only representing about 5-15% for most of the authors in our community.

The rules of the game have changed (a lot) in the fifteen years since I published my first book, and they're continuing to evolve rapidly for all of us. Before I published my last two books, Super Mentors and The Pennymores, I spent three years talking to 150+ of the most successful authors of the last decade, such as Simon Sinek, Arianna Huffington, Dan Pink, Jim Kwik, Gabby Bernstein, Adam Grant, and Tiffany Haddish.

They all won because they evolved... None of them followed the old rules.

What Does It Mean to Be a Modern Author Today?

In short, don't believe the myths, the old rules, and the traditional ways of thinking. What was refreshing about talking to some of the best, most successful authors is that they didn't lament the changes to books and publishing... they were excited about the opportunities:

-- They don't just sit down alone to type 70,000 words and then just hit “publish.”
-- They don't just treat the book like a standalone product.
-- And they sure didn’t wait until they were “ready.”

They did something different.

Something modern.

Something I think every author must build into their journey today. I've got two books coming out in 2025 and 2026, and the way I'm thinking about them is widely different than what I did back in 2009 and even back in 2022.

Here are 7 Modern Author Myths... and what the best authors do instead. As you think about your journey as an author or how to tackle your next book project, here are the seven myths I hear and what I'd focus on instead:

📚 MYTH 1: Start with a book idea.
What works now: Start by defining your category.

Most authors sit down with a loose idea:

“I have a life story people say should be a book.”
“I want to write a book about leadership.”
“I want to help people with burnout.”
“I want to teach a 5-step framework for sales.”

The problem? Ideas don’t create demand. Categories do.

Simon didn’t just write about leadership. He built the “Start With Why” category.
Gabby didn’t just talk about personal development. She created “Spiritual Self-Help.”
I didn’t write Super Mentors to explain mentorship; I built a new model of “Modern Mentorship.”

Every great author I spoke to treated their book like a beachhead into a category they wanted to own.

This is how you go from “one of many” to “the one to watch.”

What we now do: Every author in our community starts with a Category Design Canvas. We don’t ask “what’s your topic?” We ask: “What do you want to be known for in 5 years?” Great authors find a gap... what's unconventional and surprising that people will talk about it after hearing you speak or reading your book.

✍️ MYTH 2: Teach people how-to do something.
What works now: Lead with emotional resonance.

Most people I meet today begin by saying "I want my book to be practical, something people can use." And I tell them, "I want your book to be emotional, something people can feel and believe."

Old model: Teach what you know.
New model: Make people feel something.

The best books don’t just inform. They transform.

You don’t need 15 chapters of instruction. You need a handful of stories that give people goosebumps.

That’s what creates underlines, highlights, and dog-eared pages. That’s what gets shared.

Look at Brené Brown. Mel Robbins. Or my favorite Super Mentor stories, Rahul’s freshman year cold email to Josh Wolfe, or Stephanie Wisner’s journey from biotech grad student to Forbes 30 Under 30.

People don’t remember what you taught.
They remember how your story made them believe something different about themselves.

What we now do: We help authors mine for “emotional anchors”... the 3–5 stories that will drive the book forward and spark identity-level buy-in. You build your up from those stories and anecdotes.

🤝 MYTH 3: Write your book alone.
What works now: Collaborate like the pros do.

Books are hard, no doubt about it. But it's still shocking that 98% of people who start a book never finish it. After helping 2,500 authors finish theirs... I figured it out:

Every author I talked to had help. Lots of it.

Editors. Story coaches. Researchers. Publishing teams.
Even “solo” authors are never really solo.

So why do we still expect first-time authors to lock themselves in a room and grind it out?

Because they believe it's about having motivation. And they believe that's how Simon, Gabby, Mel, Brene, and Adam did it. (Hint: They didn't.)

I've shifted away from the “gym membership” model of authorship. Tell yourself you're getting in shape, go for three weeks, and then life hits and you stop going.

Today, it’s all about personal training.

You need a system. You need structure. You need support.
And you need someone to call you out when you’re stuck.

How do you think Hollywood actors get in shape for a movie? They don't go to Anytime Fitness; they have a personal trainer. If your book matters and you believe in its potential ROI (which the data says is massive: the Author ROI study found the average author turned their book into a $186,630 return), then get a personal trainer to whip your butt into shape.

What we now do: I shifted from a focus on group classes to weekly one-on-one sessions. And the results were staggering... now 90% of our authors finish a publishable manuscript on time. That's insane to me (when 98% of people who use the gym membership model will never finish). You still write your book, but you never do it alone.

🗣️ MYTH 4: Keep your book a secret.
What works now: Share early and build in public.

The worst advice I got early on?
“Don’t talk about your book until it’s published. Someone may steal your idea.”

Here’s what I learned instead:
The second you announce your book, the compounding begins.

Visibility. Credibility. Conversations.

The ROI of a book isn’t tied to launch day. It’s tied to leverage.

One of my authors recently told me she'd landed a talk in front of 250 executives. She asked what to do?

"Offer everyone a free chapter of your book."
"But it's not done yet... I only have like three chapters written, and they are filled with typos."

She took my advice, and 98 people took her offer from the stage. 28 of them turned into prospects for her consulting and training business, and one turned into a quarter-million-dollar project.

It's not secrecy that matters; it's openness and speed.

Every keynote I’ve given, every workshop I’ve led, every consulting deal I’ve closed… started because someone heard I was writing a book, even when the manuscript wasn’t done.

Stop believing the game starts when you publish the book... it starts the moment you publicly announce your intentions and involve others in your authorship journey.

What we now do: We encourage authors to put "Author of [Working Title] (Coming 2025)" on their bio the moment they join our community. We give authors tools to share early chapters, test their frameworks, and grow an early reader community months before launch.

💰 MYTH 5: A book is your product.
What works now: A book is packaging for your other outcomes.

Simon sells speaking and consulting.
Mel sells coaching and licensing.
Gabby sells experiences and events.

The book is the hook, not the product.

When we built Super Mentors, we packaged it with a newsletter, corporate talks, online tools, and even a licensing program for companies.

Don't think linearly: Write a book, and once it's popular, people will want me to speak.
Think horizontally: Package my book with paid speaking, masterclasses, workshops, and coaching.

Most books don’t sell a million copies (Super Mentors sold about 30,000 copies so far). But the right book can drive a million dollars in opportunity, if it’s built to unlock outcomes from day one.

What we now do: Every book inside our community is integrated with your next move, from brand positioning to client offers to course creation.

🧠 MYTH 6: To go big, go viral.
What works now: Build a fan community of 200+ people.

Here’s a wild stat:

In our last 3 years, we’ve helped 400+ authors become national and international award winners or finalists.

Not because they went viral.
Because they built fan armies.

We teach authors to build a 200-person inner circle, early readers, podcast hosts, newsletter subscribers, superfans.

You don’t need 100,000 followers.
You need 200 people who care enough to share.

Now, what's important to know is that those 200 people don't come from a post you do on LinkedIn or hearing you on a podcast.
They come from real, authentic, human interactions, like a personal DM or text, an old-school phone call, and not asking them to buy the book but helping as an early reader or interviewee.

It's refreshing... and different than what the social media gurus and marketing wonks tell us.

Maybe that's why it works?

What we now do: We use our “Book Evangelist Campaign” to help authors identify and activate their first 100–300 believers, before the book is even printed.

🏗️ MYTH 7: Just write a brilliant book.
What works now: Build a designed experience.

You’re not just writing a book.

You’re architecting a reader journey.
You’re building an asset that can be sliced into talks, videos, frameworks, and insights.
You’re designing a book that doesn’t just get read—it gets talked about.

One of the greatest compliments I heard from a recent modern author who'd published her book:
"You taught me more about building my business than any course, coach, book, or MBA... and I also got a book out of it."

There are a lot of gurus out there telling us that it's about funnels and appointment setters and lead magnets (oh my). Building a knowledge business today is about building evidence of your awesomeness and sharing that authentically.

Does it have to be through a book? Nope.
But I do think writing a well-crafted book is one of the most time- and resource-effective ways to authentically demonstrate your awesomeness.

The best books are like products: they have chapters that convert, a container that compels, and a core idea people want to share.

What we now do: Every author inside our program designs their book like a startup—with an ecommerce platform to sell it, newsletters and DMs to activate your fans, MVP testing, hook-first titles, story-based messaging, and word-of-mouth baked in.

A Final Thought

Every year of so I force myself to step back and reflect on where I've been and where I'm heading. Candidly, about three years ago I had a crisis of conscious wondering if books and authorship were really the best and highest use of my time and energy:

Do books still matter and are people even reading?
Was technology going to replace the craft of writing?
Is my BHAG goal of helping 10,000 modern authors realistic?

I thought about my daughters who are 10, 8 and 6, who have been active participants in writing Pennymores, including the upcoming books in the series.

My oldest told me recently she plans to write a book -- a real book, as she called it -- in high school. She asked if she could be one of my authors, if it was 'good.'

Besides beginning to tear up as a proud dad, I realized having a community of modern authors was more important than ever.

Yes the world of authorship is different, but different isn't bad.

More of us can write books... the gatekeepers who prevented people from publishing are gone.
More of us can build businesses... the opportunity to use a book to differentiate as a coach, executive, speaker, consultant, trainer, or entrepreneur is massive.
All of us can leave a legacy... books are meaningful, physical gifts we make that will outlast us.

So yes, Quinn... you can definitely be one of my authors (even if your book isn't good... yet)!

The world will most definitely look different in 5-8 years and honestly that's okay... we'll be ready.

The authors who are winning in 2025 (and 2032)? They’re doing things differently (or will be).

They’re building books strategically.
They’re launching themselves, not just their manuscripts.
And they’re getting a 10x return—not just in book sales, but in business, visibility, and impact.

That’s what I’ve designed the Modern Author community to do... and hopefully keep doing until Quinn is ready to join too!

— Eric
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P.S. Next week's newsletter will break down the myths of modern publishing (and why “getting a book deal” may be the worst move you could make today). Coming next week 👀