Howdy Modern Authors

Over the past three months, I've been sending out the Profitable Author series... turned out when I looked back on the full series I'd written 16,239 words... nearly a mini-book. I thought I'd wrap this all up in a summary post both for me and for future readers to be able to leverage this series in your journey as a Modern Author.

So here goes...

If you to want to know what you need to build a profitable author platform today, this is my key framework behind successful Modern Authorship:

📖 Your book is the hook.

🧠 Your persona is the system.

💸 Your business model is the result.

This is how modern authors build books that don’t just get published… they build platforms, create impact, and generate revenue.

This recap pulls the biggest lessons into one place. Think of it as your field guide for turning your book into the most valuable asset you own.

1. Stop Trying to Publish Fast. Launch Smart & Profitably.

The biggest mistake first-time authors make? Racing to the finish line.

A modern book isn’t a blog post or a vanity project. It’s the foundation of your credibility, visibility, and platform. That’s why I’ve written (and preached) this:

👉 The goal isn’t to publish fast: it’s to launch smartly and profitably.

This means slowing down to design your book for word of mouth, category creation, and long-term value. Readers don’t want “just another book.” They want something different. And different takes thought, positioning, and architecture.

​Read the post →​

2. Build a Launch Team, Not Just a Manuscript

Modern books require modern teams. I outlined 7 roles every author needs, from the Book Architect who helps design the strategy, to the Community Builder who primes your audience, to the Integrator who manages logistics.

Writing is challenging. But to be candid, that's not what most authors struggle with.

Designing your book to become a platform, and architecting a systematic way to attract readers, fans clients, and revenue to your platform is where the real strategies lies.

Great authors don’t try to do this alone.

They assemble a team that makes their book not just polished, but positioned to move markets. And it's not about having a big budget or a fancy brand behind you.

Profitable books are designed to be profitable and successful from the moment the first word is written.

​Read the post →​

3. Your Persona Is the Strategy

Every profitable book is tied to an author persona. Without it, your book is just words on paper.

The seven personas we studied were:

1. Coach → transforms people 1:1 or in groups.
2. Teacher → builds structured learning journeys.
3. Builder → turns ideas into scalable systems.
4. Speaker → wins rooms and secures stages.
5. Guide → engineers community and belonging.
6. Catalyst → sparks movements.
7. Storyteller → moves through narrative and resonance.

Each persona leads to different revenue streams, offers, and platforms. The trap? Trying to be all seven. The breakthrough? Picking one and doubling down.

​Read the post →​

4. Frameworks Beat Anecdotes (Coach Persona)

Most coaching books flop because they’re memoirs in disguise. A few good client stories won’t cut it.

The best Coach authors, Tony Robbins, Gabby Bernstein, Marshall Goldsmith, don’t just inspire. They systematize.

They name their frameworks, break them into steps, make them diagnostic, and build books people use.

And the book isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of offers like:

• 1:1 coaching
• Group masterminds
• Corporate programs
• Certification models

​Read the post →​

5. Teachers Don’t Just Share Information. They Build Curriculum. (Teacher Persona)

Most “teaching” books are just explainers. They inform, but don’t transform.

Great Teacher authors, Priya Parker, James Clear, Vishen Lakhiani, design books as learning journeys. They use scaffolding, exercises, diagrams, and frameworks to teach systematically.

And their business models go far beyond courses: licensing, workshops, corporate training, certification.

The best teachers are becoming their own universities... and their books sit at the center of that new educational model.

​Read the post →​

6. Builders Package Their IP into Products (Builder Persona)

A Builder doesn’t sell themselves. They sell their system.

If you want to become a knowledge entrepreneur, you can't just write a book... you must design a system you can sell.

Authors like Jen Marr, Noah Kagan, and Nicole Bianchi show how books can codify systems into:

• Playbooks
• Templates
• Kits
• SaaS products
• Subscription libraries

Their books aren’t advice, they’re blueprints that scale without them.

​Read the post →​

7. Speakers Write Books that Fill Stages, Not Shelves (Speaker Persona)

Here’s the quiet truth: for professional speakers, a bad book hurts more than no book at all.

The book isn’t about retail sales. It’s about securing keynotes 12–24 months out. Which is why Speaker books must be:

• Broadly applicable across industries.
• Campaign assets tied to 2–3 signature speeches.
• Evergreen enough to run for years.

Josh Linkner, Gregory Offner, and Steve Fredlund all built careers on books that supported keynotes, workshops, and repeatable campaigns.

In many ways, a great book might be even more important than being a charismatic speaker on the stage... but a little charisma certainly won't hurt!

​Read the post →​

8. Guides Engineer Belonging (Guide Persona)

Most authors confuse audience with community. A Guide author knows the difference.

Books like Hilary DeCesare’s ReLaunch or Haley Hoffman Smith’s Her Big Idea weren’t just about inspiration. They became shared language for communities, masterminds, and memberships.

Guides don’t create fans. They create members.

​Read the post →​

9. Catalysts Spark Movements (Catalyst Persona)

Catalyst authors don’t sell products. They create categories.

Valeria Aloe’s Uncolonized Latinas and Maddi Niebanck’s Fast Forward didn’t just tell stories. They rallied movements around identity and possibility.

And of course, think Simon Sinek (Start With Why) or Arianna Huffington (Thrive). Their books weren’t business cards. They were battle cries.

Catalysts require patience, their books are long-term plays. But the payoff? Movements that shift culture.

​Read the post →​

10. Storytellers Win Through Resonance (Storyteller Persona)

The hardest persona to monetize, and the most magical.

Storytellers like Aparna Verma (fantasy trilogy), Cole Brown (Greyboy), or even my own Pennymores series, remind us that books can transport, entertain, and inspire.

But storytellers can’t rely on coaching fees or keynotes. They need to think in terms of:

• Traditional advances & royalties
• Film/TV rights
• Merchandise & subscriptions
• Community-driven platforms (Patreon, Substack)

For storytellers, the book itself is the business model. Which means the craft has to shine.

​Read the post →​

Final Thought

The death of books and authorship has been wildly overstated in todays AI era. Is authorship different? You bet. Is it harder? I don't think so. But does it require a new and strategic approach? You bettcha.

I'm living proof having architected two books that collectively have sold 60,000 copies and lead to millions of dollars in earnings beyond retail book sales. It's not an accident and it wasn't luck.

Modern Authorship is about taking control and designing your own system aligned to what you're looking for. This Modern Author era is about authors like us having control of our success and commiserate rewards for it.

This is the future of authorship:

• Stop treating your book as a project.
• Start treating it as a platform.

The most profitable modern authors design their books with strategy, frameworks, and business models baked in from the start.

Because the book isn’t the end of the journey. It’s the beginning.

And when you get it right?

📖 Your book is the hook.

🧠 Your persona is the system.

💸 Your business model is the result.

👉 Want to dive deeper? The full series is live here: Modern Author Guide – Profitable Author Series​

And if you're thinking about your own book adventure, reply and let's chat. We've got a new community forming now for this fall and winter.

Happy authoring!

Eric

​