Hello Modern Authors!

A few years ago, a book quietly sold over 30,000 copies... without a traditional launch, without media buzz, and without a big-four traditional publisher.

That book was Super Mentors, and while the sales were nice… they were never the point.

Here’s the stat that matters most:

💰 88% of the revenue didn’t come from book sales.

It came from the business the book created.

• Paid keynotes.
• Corporate programs.
• University partnerships.
• Digital products.
• Licensing.
• A second book.
• And a whole new business model.

And all of that started before the book was even finished... because I didn’t just write a book.

I built a persona-driven platform behind it.

That’s what most first-time authors miss.

They think the hard part is finishing the manuscript.

But the real magic happens when you ask yourself:

🧭 Every modern author (especially the profitable ones) makes one strategic decision before their book hits the shelves:

They decide what kind of author they are.

They pick a persona. Turns out the persona choice drives most of the outcomes for a modern author... more speaking, more clients, more board seats, more coaching.

And that choice shapes:

• The structure of the book
• The message readers remember
• The offers that generate revenue
• The opportunities that follow

In short:

📖 Your book is the hook.

🧠 Your persona is the system.

💸 Your business model is the result.

The good news is there are only really seven Modern Author personas. Once you select yours, nearly everything in your book development and launch strategy will flow.

Let’s break it down:

Most Authors Don’t Pick Their Person (And It Shows)

If your goal is to publish something meaningful, build a platform, and grow your income, then here’s the truth most writing advice skips:

You need to design your book to support your persona:

• This book will make me a better coach and drive more coaching clients (Coach).
• This book will complement my on-stage speeches and get me booked for more of them (Speaker).
• This book should define my unique value as a consultant and drive referrals (Builder).
• This book should complement my teaching and get me more students and learners (Teacher)

Otherwise, you’re just hoping a good book will figure it out for you.

Unfortunately, that’s what most first-time authors do. They say:

• “I’ll write it first, then figure out how to monetize it.”
• “I want to leave it open... maybe speaking, maybe a course, maybe a business?”
• “I just want to help people. Not sure what that looks like yet.”

And the result?

A muddy message. A fuzzy offer. A book with no ecosystem to support it.

🧠 But when you build with a clear author persona in mind, something shifts.

Your book isn’t just a message... it’s a mechanism. Your content isn’t just ideas...it’s infrastructure.

The 7 Author Personas (And What They Do Differently)

After working with 2,500+ authors, I’ve seen seven clear personas show up again and again.

Each one has a distinct style of value creation... and each one leads to different business models. But what is important is modern authors today define themselves by their persona... and leverage the book to differentiate and monetize.

This isn’t about boxing yourself in. It’s about focusing your energy in the right direction.

Here they are:

1) The Builder

📦 Turns ideas into scalable systems. Think: courses, operating systems, templates, media brands.

• You’re building: a low-ticket or mid-ticket product that people can use to solve a problem.
• Best fit if: you love packaging what works and watching others run with it.
• Example: Justin Welsh (Content OS), Codie Sanchez (Contrarian Thinking), Nicole Bianchi (Small Brave Moves)

2) The Coach

🔑 Turns ideas into transformation. Think: 1:1 coaching, masterminds, group programs.

• You’re building: trust through connection and high-touch support.
• Best fit if: you love helping people shift their mindset and results.
• Example: Rich Litvin (The Prosperous Coach), Lisa Bilyeu (Radical Confidence), Navid Nazemian (Mastering Executive Transitions)

3) The Speaker

🎤 Turns ideas into moments. Think: keynotes, workshops, event stages.

• You’re building: reach and resonance by owning rooms and delivering messages that stick.
• Best fit if: you light up in front of an audience.
• Example: Mel Robbins (The 5 Second Rule), Kindra Hall (Stories That Stick), Gregory Offner (Tip Jar Culture)

4) The Teacher

📚 Turns ideas into curriculum. Think: training programs, certification models, corporate learning.

• You’re building: learning journeys that companies or schools can scale.
• Best fit if: you love breaking complex things down and watching people grow.
• Example: Priya Parker (The Art of Gathering), Nir Eyal (Indistractable), Randy Braun (The New Playbook)

5) The Guide

🏕️ Turns ideas into community. Think: cohorts, membership groups, peer-based growth models.

• You’re building: belonging, shared identity, and transformation through group dynamics.
• Best fit if: you love curation, connection, and hosting high-trust spaces.
• Example: Seth Godin (altMBA), Tiago Forte (Building a Second Brain), Hilary DeCesare (The Relaunch)

6) The Catalyst

🚩 Turns ideas into movements. Think: nonprofit initiatives, cultural campaigns, public action.

• You’re building: belief-driven momentum and infrastructure for change.
• Best fit if: you want to shift the world more than you want to sell a product.
• Example: Simon Sinek (Start With Why), Arianna Huffington (Thrive), Valeria Aloe (Uncolonized Latinas)

7) The Storyteller

📖 Turns ideas into art. Think: memoir, creative nonfiction, narrative-driven influence.

• You’re building: emotion and depth... stories that echo and endure.
• Best fit if: you write to express, explore, and invite reflection.
• Example: Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic), Morgan Housel (The Psychology of Money), John Savage (Lost At Sea)

For me, I got to work closely with Nicole, Navid, Gregory, Randi, Hilary, Valeria and John as they each wrote their books, but more importantly aligned the book to their personas. Their books have all done remarkably well: bestsellers, award-winners, and the like. But more importantly, they also drove impact to their businesses and bottom-lines.

Remember that stat at the beginning: 88% of my revenue from Super Mentors came outside of retail book sales. That's the same here... the book sales were certainly nice, but profitable authors aligns their book to their persona (and the associated business models).

(And if you're curious about those business models, you're in luck as the next seven weeks I'll dive in with more specificity on the most common business models we saw from each persona.)

Why This Decision Matters (More Than You Think)

Let me take you behind the scenes.

When I launched my first book, I defaulted into what I thought I was supposed to do:

• build a coaching offer
• try to speak more
• do some consulting.

But none of it stuck.

Why?

Because I’m not a Coach. And I’m not a Speaker.

I’m a Builder and a Teacher. I create systems. I teach others how to use them.

Once I owned that, everything clicked. I stopped trying to be everywhere. I focused. I built my Be A Super Mentor system and Modern Author OS as a product, not a pitch. And the results compounded fast.

The funny thing about Super Mentors... I didn't nail it right away. It took me a few months to figure that out... so even if your book is already out, you're not too late.

It’s not just about authenticity. It’s about alignment.

Your author persona is the strategy behind your story. And the closer you tie your book to your persona, the more it functions as a leverage tool for you... driving more of what you actually want and need to build your platform.

How to Pick the Right Persona

Here’s the question I ask authors in the Modern Author Accelerator:

“What kind of conversations do you want your book to create for you?”

• If you want clients, you’re likely a Coach.
• If you want scale, you’re likely a Builder.
• If you want to be on stages, go Speaker.
• If you want to license or teach your work, you’re a Teacher.
• If you want to host communities, you’re a Guide.
• If you want to spark change, you’re a Catalyst.
• If you want to move people deeply, you’re a Storyteller.

Still unsure? Try these two thought experiments:

1. Persona Fit Matrix (free tool dropping soon in Modern Author OS). We’ve mapped which personas match best with different outcomes, lifestyles, and skillsets.
2. The One Offer Test. If you had to build one offer behind your book... just one... what would it be? A course? A keynote? A workshop series? A coaching cohort?

Your instinct there is your roadmap.

The Profitable Modern Author Is a Focused Author

You don’t need to be all seven.

In fact, trying to be all of them is the fastest way to confuse your audience—and burn yourself out.

Instead, choose the one that fits your:

• Energy
• Audience
• Revenue goals
• Long-term plans

Then go all in.

📖 Your book is the hook.

🔁 Your persona is the system.

💸 Your business model is the payoff.

And the best part?

You can build it all before the book is even done. Or if your book is already done, it's not too late to align the book to your broader persona (that's what I've been doing this year with Super Mentors).

I hope you're enjoying this series... it's been fun for me to write as it's the core of my new book Modern Author OS. You're getting a look under the hood and hopefully see how much fun it's been for me to reimagine modern authorship with our community.

Happy writing everyone!

Eric

⸻

🟦 This post is adapted from Chapter Five of my upcoming book, Modern Author OS, dropping this fall.

🟧 Want the rest of the Profitable Author Series as it drops (the next 7 weeks we'll go deeper into these seven personas)? Subscribe here → modernauthorguide.com

🟩 Or DM me if you’re planning a book in 2025 or 2026 and want help building the business behind it.

Write with clarity. Launch with leverage. That’s what modern authors do.