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Authority: A Step-by-Step Guide to Self-Publishing
The idea that authors can’t make money is bull****.
And no, you don’t have to be famous or have a huge online following.
In less than a year I’ve made over $150,000 from self-published books. Plenty of my friends have made far more, all writing on topics so small and targeted a traditional publisher wouldn’t consider it. Many of them started—just like me—without an audience.
After hearing enough of these stories I can tell you they aren’t a fluke. With a good topic and the right marketing tactics you can make a living from teaching as well.
And no, you don’t have to be famous or have a huge online following.
In less than a year I’ve made over $150,000 from self-published books. Plenty of my friends have made far more, all writing on topics so small and targeted a traditional publisher wouldn’t consider it. Many of them started—just like me—without an audience.
After hearing enough of these stories I can tell you they aren’t a fluke. With a good topic and the right marketing tactics you can make a living from teaching as well.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2013
9 people are currently reading
398 people want to read
About the author
Nathan Barry
14 books18 followersNATHAN BARRY is a designer, developer, speaker, and the author of three highly profitable books. He is the founder of Legend, his software design and consulting company. He is an authentic innovator in the world of digital publishing and blogging. His primary goal is to help other authors make a living from their writing. Nathan lives in Boise, Idaho and loves to travel with his wife and son. Follow Nathan's personal and business adventures on Twitter (@nathanbarry).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
July 12, 2015
Authority is an overview of all the steps to take when self-publishing a non-fiction e-book.
At $249 for the complete edition (now $299) it is not cheap, so I started reading the book and the extra materials with high expectations.
I've been a long follower of Nathan Barry, I love his work and his transparency.
The book is in line with what you can read on his blog, oddly enough however, it actually contains less detail then his blog posts covering similar topics.
While the book does indeed contain a step-by-step guide to self-publishing, there's just not much detail. If you have ever published anything anywhere (for instance, on Amazon's KDP) or ever tried to sell anything anywhere on the Internet, there's fairly little to be learned from the book.
So who's this book for? I guess it's suited for absolute beginners, but I have a feeling they might be better of just trying it out and seeing how far they get.
The complete edition also contains a lot of extras:
* Video interviews: I'm not a fan of interviews in general and these did not change my opinion. While some are interesting, the amount of extra knowledge you'll get from them is minimal.
* Case studies: Nicely formatted and sometimes interesting. But in general, not that much additional things to learn.
* Audio book, landing pages and photoshop templates: I don't really have a use for any of those, so I can't judge them.
I think the best bit of the entire complete edition is the "90 day plan". It's actionable, it's clean and you can get going right away. I will refer to this when I'm ready to tackle a new book project.
So to conclude:
* It's an ok book, but it lacks detail. In my opinion, not worth the price if you have even the tiniest bit of experience with self-publishing and internet marketing.
* If you're a beginner, it could be a good fast-lane into self-publishing.
At $249 for the complete edition (now $299) it is not cheap, so I started reading the book and the extra materials with high expectations.
I've been a long follower of Nathan Barry, I love his work and his transparency.
The book is in line with what you can read on his blog, oddly enough however, it actually contains less detail then his blog posts covering similar topics.
While the book does indeed contain a step-by-step guide to self-publishing, there's just not much detail. If you have ever published anything anywhere (for instance, on Amazon's KDP) or ever tried to sell anything anywhere on the Internet, there's fairly little to be learned from the book.
So who's this book for? I guess it's suited for absolute beginners, but I have a feeling they might be better of just trying it out and seeing how far they get.
The complete edition also contains a lot of extras:
* Video interviews: I'm not a fan of interviews in general and these did not change my opinion. While some are interesting, the amount of extra knowledge you'll get from them is minimal.
* Case studies: Nicely formatted and sometimes interesting. But in general, not that much additional things to learn.
* Audio book, landing pages and photoshop templates: I don't really have a use for any of those, so I can't judge them.
I think the best bit of the entire complete edition is the "90 day plan". It's actionable, it's clean and you can get going right away. I will refer to this when I'm ready to tackle a new book project.
So to conclude:
* It's an ok book, but it lacks detail. In my opinion, not worth the price if you have even the tiniest bit of experience with self-publishing and internet marketing.
* If you're a beginner, it could be a good fast-lane into self-publishing.
March 25, 2017
I'm immediately skeptical of any book claiming to explain how you can make a bunch of money writing a book. It seems destructively and self-servingly circular, like the Worm Ouroboros perpetually eating its own tail. Nathan Barry's book is different.
First off, he doesn't just tell you how to write a book. He tells you how to prepare, market, and sell a self-published book on a topic you're intimately familiar with. This isn't "become a novelist and get rich!" or "write a book just like this one so greedy people will buy it!". Barry's approach is to take something you know a lot about (in his case, web design) and parlay it into a book with the attitude that you aren't principally writing about your topic but teaching others about it.
Second, Barry doesn't give you anything you don't need and nearly everything you do need to accomplish your goals. You won't find cute stories, bloated paragraphs, or frustrating digressions anywhere in these pages. Instead, you'll find instruction on establishing your authority in a given field (or, more likely, in a small corner of a given field) by writing a book about it.
At the center of Barry's strategy is email. He never sells his books on Amazon or iBooks because those venues don't allow him direct access to his customer base. Instead, he creates a landing page to which he can direct potential readership from his blog, Twitter (though he's not a big fan of social media, and doesn't use it much if at all for marketing purposes), other peoples's blogs, etc. People who find themselves on the landing page can then surrender their email in exchange for advanced content, launch day discounts, and more.
But you can't just harvest emails and then sit on them till you launch your book. Readers who haven't heard from you for the months between subscribing to your list and getting the launch announcement will likely unsubscribe rather than make the purchase. So you need to cultivate relationships with them by sending regular (though not daily) emails as lead-up for the eventual book launch.
Relationships are very important for Barry's approach in general. Not only must you court your customers, you need to build relationships with other bloggers, experts, podcasters, and whoever else might help you develop your own knowledge and skills while expanding your readership. He offers ways to do this that won't seem mercenary or obnoxious.
There's much more to Authority, largely because Barry's writing is so to-the-point. Every page includes multiple ideas for helping you toward your self-publishing goal. Of course the emphasis is technical nonfiction, so if you're looking to become the next Stephenie Meyer you'll want to look elsewhere. But if you're an entrepreneur, designer, or blogger with something helpful to contribute that you also suspect could generate revenue, this book is a must-read.
First off, he doesn't just tell you how to write a book. He tells you how to prepare, market, and sell a self-published book on a topic you're intimately familiar with. This isn't "become a novelist and get rich!" or "write a book just like this one so greedy people will buy it!". Barry's approach is to take something you know a lot about (in his case, web design) and parlay it into a book with the attitude that you aren't principally writing about your topic but teaching others about it.
Second, Barry doesn't give you anything you don't need and nearly everything you do need to accomplish your goals. You won't find cute stories, bloated paragraphs, or frustrating digressions anywhere in these pages. Instead, you'll find instruction on establishing your authority in a given field (or, more likely, in a small corner of a given field) by writing a book about it.
At the center of Barry's strategy is email. He never sells his books on Amazon or iBooks because those venues don't allow him direct access to his customer base. Instead, he creates a landing page to which he can direct potential readership from his blog, Twitter (though he's not a big fan of social media, and doesn't use it much if at all for marketing purposes), other peoples's blogs, etc. People who find themselves on the landing page can then surrender their email in exchange for advanced content, launch day discounts, and more.
But you can't just harvest emails and then sit on them till you launch your book. Readers who haven't heard from you for the months between subscribing to your list and getting the launch announcement will likely unsubscribe rather than make the purchase. So you need to cultivate relationships with them by sending regular (though not daily) emails as lead-up for the eventual book launch.
Relationships are very important for Barry's approach in general. Not only must you court your customers, you need to build relationships with other bloggers, experts, podcasters, and whoever else might help you develop your own knowledge and skills while expanding your readership. He offers ways to do this that won't seem mercenary or obnoxious.
There's much more to Authority, largely because Barry's writing is so to-the-point. Every page includes multiple ideas for helping you toward your self-publishing goal. Of course the emphasis is technical nonfiction, so if you're looking to become the next Stephenie Meyer you'll want to look elsewhere. But if you're an entrepreneur, designer, or blogger with something helpful to contribute that you also suspect could generate revenue, this book is a must-read.
January 28, 2015
I might have given it more stars if not for having read Launch by Jeff Walker first. Launch goes into much greater detail and has a similar formula. My biggest disappointment was that I sat through a webinar jointly held with Nathan Barry and Scrivener Coach's Joseph Michael. The topic of using this for fiction came up multiple times and both indicated it was applicable to fiction. My advice is that this book has solid utility for nonfiction (not as strong as Launch), but not so much for fiction.
February 16, 2025
This is a great basic introduction to writing and independently publishing non-fiction. Had I known its focus was on non-fiction, I probably wouldn't have bought it, but it is a good general reference to have on hand. Not much in it was new information to me but, again, it was all good information.
This would be a great resource for authors just getting started in the self-publishing and/or non-fiction writing space.
This would be a great resource for authors just getting started in the self-publishing and/or non-fiction writing space.
February 9, 2018
Once you create a product how do you get people to buy it? the answer is through teaching. if you start teaching, people will listen.Then you never have to pay for advertising. Your audience comes to you.
What’s the most valuable thing you have to teach? That’s what the blog posts should include. These posts are designed to get people interested in you and your book.
What’s the most valuable thing you have to teach? That’s what the blog posts should include. These posts are designed to get people interested in you and your book.
November 14, 2018
It really feels like a book that encourages you to bend the truth of how you really feel to profit from others’ ignorance. At the same time, I struggle with impostor syndrome and the author *clearly* does not. Who am I to write a book? I’m qualified to write on a lot of topics, and hyper-qualified for a few. But it doesn’t always feel that way. So when the author gives *a lot* of really actionable tips to do this or that to improve your credibility or get quotes or reviews from people, it feels slimy. But capitalism is slimy. So I suppose it’s supposed to feel that way.
This is an incredibly helpful and empowering book that left me feeling a bit destitute. Now I see people selling and working these kinds of campaigns and books and hustles and courses and all that *all over the web.* But I guess that’s good for them.
It’s a really useful book but gods damn if it doesn’t make me feel like society’s real fucked up that I feel like that.
This is an incredibly helpful and empowering book that left me feeling a bit destitute. Now I see people selling and working these kinds of campaigns and books and hustles and courses and all that *all over the web.* But I guess that’s good for them.
It’s a really useful book but gods damn if it doesn’t make me feel like society’s real fucked up that I feel like that.
May 31, 2018
If you are in high-tech and want to write a book, go ahead and use this as a guide. But NOT appropriate for fiction self-publishing. Also, Barry's approach that you don't have to BE an expert, only to be PERCEIVED as one turned me off completely. Because basically, he's encouraging people to be snake oil salespeople and disregard actual knowledge or expertise.
March 26, 2015
Awesome and filled with tactical tips to crush self-publishing (ebook or video course or both :)
February 24, 2021
This book talks about how writing and self-publishing would not necessarily have to be a stressor to your wallets. With the right mindset and strategies and marketing as shown in this book, it does seem to increase the probability of earning through self-publishing.
I expected this would talk about how to write a book and preach about how it's fine to do so and all. But No. This is not that book. This book talks about everything other than writing.
Authority talks about taking something you are good at and making your knowledge earn money for you while you sleep. This book helps us understand writing, editing, marketing, contacting customers, launching, platforms to sell or host, compares different possibilities and gives a wholesome idea of how the process works and why (and more importantly, how) one should choose one option over another based on their needs.
**What I really liked about the book:** The title! SImple, and ingenuous, and hands down cheeky!
I really liked the fact that this book had no unnecessary stuff, no digressions. Everything was to the point and definitely a value for money. The book talks about Convertkit, which was Nathan's brainchild. What I loved was that he didn't preach it. He spoke about other email service providers just as much. His strategy of marketing resembles a lot like Seth Godin's mindset!
Oh my! All the tools he talks about! OMG! Gold! I know how to kickstart my project too now!
**What I didn't like about the book:** I didn't dislike anything in this book. But, (there's always a but, but I don't like to generalise though) the tools are mostly catered to the western world. Being an Indian, and a student who just graduated, these tools are definitely costly!
I expected this would talk about how to write a book and preach about how it's fine to do so and all. But No. This is not that book. This book talks about everything other than writing.
Authority talks about taking something you are good at and making your knowledge earn money for you while you sleep. This book helps us understand writing, editing, marketing, contacting customers, launching, platforms to sell or host, compares different possibilities and gives a wholesome idea of how the process works and why (and more importantly, how) one should choose one option over another based on their needs.
**What I really liked about the book:** The title! SImple, and ingenuous, and hands down cheeky!
I really liked the fact that this book had no unnecessary stuff, no digressions. Everything was to the point and definitely a value for money. The book talks about Convertkit, which was Nathan's brainchild. What I loved was that he didn't preach it. He spoke about other email service providers just as much. His strategy of marketing resembles a lot like Seth Godin's mindset!
Oh my! All the tools he talks about! OMG! Gold! I know how to kickstart my project too now!
**What I didn't like about the book:** I didn't dislike anything in this book. But, (there's always a but, but I don't like to generalise though) the tools are mostly catered to the western world. Being an Indian, and a student who just graduated, these tools are definitely costly!
July 2, 2019
Great little book. A good reminder of all the things I know but I'm not quite doing yet. A big takeaway that I keep hearing over and over again is to:
1. Be consistent - write x words every day. Keep a list of topics to write about (especially if you're writing a book) and write about it
2. Build a list - creating content is part of the equation. Getting emails is the other part. The best way to get people in the door is to offer something something of value. This could be a chapter in a book. For me I've been finding that not freely publishing the code to my electronics projects but making it available upon signup has grown my list significantly. Your situation may be different to so think creatively about this!
I will be reading this again!
1. Be consistent - write x words every day. Keep a list of topics to write about (especially if you're writing a book) and write about it
2. Build a list - creating content is part of the equation. Getting emails is the other part. The best way to get people in the door is to offer something something of value. This could be a chapter in a book. For me I've been finding that not freely publishing the code to my electronics projects but making it available upon signup has grown my list significantly. Your situation may be different to so think creatively about this!
I will be reading this again!
May 4, 2020
A bit dated now, but a useful starting point if considering to write a business-related book. Shows a much more lucrative way of publishing than the usual way of publishing on iBooks or Amazon platforms. And goes into building an audience. The bottom line? Build an audience before you publish you book. How? By sharing what you're going to write about in blog posts.
May 4, 2021
If you are thinking of or writing a non-fiction book, I highly recommend this book as it contains a lot of little nuggets of information that might prove critical for your success. For me, it gave me some ideas and changed the way I'm going to launch my book Building and Managing Distributed Teams https://pablofernandez.tech/bmdt
August 21, 2021
A succinct, to-the-point and filled with practical examples version of the kind of advice you'd receive from Seth Godin, Gary Vee and probably many other online creators and entrepreneurs. The author wants every reader to become teachers, and use email marketing to make sales, so that his app (ConvertKit) can have more users.
January 14, 2022
All great advice but I had put off reading it for so long that I absorbed most of it from details shared for free by dozens of people online. Ultimately I felt deflated after reading because it didn't blow my mind like I let myself believe it would. Fortunately it's pretty short so it'll be ready to reference again the next time I'm starting to think about writing a book.
October 13, 2017
This is a well done book. The ideas in it are good, I've heard a lot of it before in other books. It also has more step-by-step instructions for technical things rather than simply principles (I should have guessed from the title). Overall, I thought it was worth the read.
August 27, 2018
Nice summary but I feel like I've seen more detail in Books like Walker's Launch. And this book feels like a continuous sales pitch for his products and affiliates while ignoring other viable options. Also at 4 years old some of the content feels outdated.
December 8, 2019
Very informative book with step-by-step approach. If you've been in the online marketing space for a while, chances are you already know most of the things in the book, but it's nice to have it all in one place.
February 2, 2020
Excellent book on self-publishing eBooks, it answered a lot of the questions I had and helped me make some decisions about which platform to use, whether to sell it on my own domain or create a new domain, etc.
July 26, 2019
Down to earth guide on going from zero to self publishing. Addresses the business side as well as the nuts and bolts of how to do it.
August 5, 2019
Excellent book with lots of tips :)
March 12, 2017
You'll learn strategies and tactics for publishing your own work online and making money from it.
November 9, 2014
This is an interesting book about how to write your first teaching or technical book, and self publish it.
There is some good advice, about a wide range of topics related to how to write, format, promote, and sell it.
I think this is a good guide on how to on making some money with self publishing. I think it motivated me and gave me some new idea's.
He seems to be very open and transparent about the money he makes. I think this is good for seeing where in the process he makes what. Keeping in mind that if following this guide a person would have similar trends, but not necessarily the same numbers. Seeing his numbers, and hearing the bits about his lifestyle, for me, I felt greed.
There is some good advice, about a wide range of topics related to how to write, format, promote, and sell it.
I think this is a good guide on how to on making some money with self publishing. I think it motivated me and gave me some new idea's.
He seems to be very open and transparent about the money he makes. I think this is good for seeing where in the process he makes what. Keeping in mind that if following this guide a person would have similar trends, but not necessarily the same numbers. Seeing his numbers, and hearing the bits about his lifestyle, for me, I felt greed.
March 21, 2015
Authority is a masterwork and must-read for anyone looking to self-publish their books. Barry's writing style is very down to earth and conversational, offering sage advice on the process of writing to launching a book. I feel empowered by the tips Barry offered in this 175 page book and look forward to implementing them in my entrepreneurial pursuits as an author. Be aware that Barry mostly focuses on non-fiction as a means to create a sustainable income from self-publishing and I have doubts fiction authors will be able to implement all of his strategies without some major tweaks. But this is still an amazing book that can provide a road map for anyone looking to become a full-time writer. Highly recommended.
December 20, 2016
I got a free copy of the book with a 30-day trial of the authors email service ConvertKit.
I really enjoyed the simplicity of the book. It doesn't make anything seem easy, but it does make it seem very possible to self-publish a book and earn a good amount of income at its launch and overtime.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in creating a digital book to coincide with a blog or bigger offering.
I really enjoyed the simplicity of the book. It doesn't make anything seem easy, but it does make it seem very possible to self-publish a book and earn a good amount of income at its launch and overtime.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in creating a digital book to coincide with a blog or bigger offering.
August 14, 2013
Contains valuable insight for writing, formatting, marketing, and selling a self-published book. While this warrants 5 stars, I'm deducting one because it could be further edited. The book even begins with half of a page about Marco Polo that he immediately tells you to dismiss as irrelevant, making you ask "What did I pay for?" The style is conversational, but not vigorous. Get to the point.
September 8, 2020
4* first reading
3* second reading (updated version)
Knocked a star because it's a bit dated, even the "updated" bits. Most of the updated bits seem to just be about ConvertKit (which is great) but there's a ton of older material that could be updated as well.
I'd say it's still a good starting point for a lot of self-publishing / etc though.
3* second reading (updated version)
Knocked a star because it's a bit dated, even the "updated" bits. Most of the updated bits seem to just be about ConvertKit (which is great) but there's a ton of older material that could be updated as well.
I'd say it's still a good starting point for a lot of self-publishing / etc though.
April 7, 2014
This book is great for those looking to write a book and make some money, be successful and do it all yourself. I really enjoyed reading this, it's quick and easy to understand. While the writing portion is small, there's tons about how to market, sell, and keep customers for your products.
August 10, 2014
Great book about becoming a self published author, and how to maximize your audience, and income. Recommended for anyone wanting to branch into educational products marketplace, or just interested how a book author can live very well from their writing in this day and age.
November 18, 2017
Really useful strategies for people looking to write and independently publish a book. It took a couple chapters to draw me in, but then it hit full stride.
January 8, 2016
This book was $150? wow. Glad I picked it up from a friend.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews