If you're thinking about writing an authority building book, and I really hope you are, and you don't want to be counting pennies or checking your book sales all the time, you actually want a book that's going to change your life, I can tell you how. Just go to sevenfigurebooks.com. I'm not trying to capture your email or anything. You can just download this PDF that's going to tell you exactly how to turn an authority building book into revenue, speaking, authority, and no exaggeration, a whole new life.
I've had guests who sold thousands of books with no marketing budget and guests who spent a fortune and watched it vanish. Amy Chan has lived both versions, with two different books, a few years apart.
She's the author of Breakup Bootcamp: The Science of Rewiring Your Heart, a book that landed her in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and on Good Morning America. The Observer once called her "the scientific Carrie Bradshaw." Her follow-up, Unsingle: How to Date Smarter and Create Love That Lasts, should have been the easy part. She'd already done this once. She had the credibility, the press list and the audience.
Instead, she hired a consulting agency for $10,000 that got her zero speaking gigs and a spreadsheet of "outreach" that turned out to be mass cold emails. She paid a TikTok agency another $10,000 to run an influencer campaign tied to TikTok Shop. It launched three weeks late and sold three books. She spent $24,000 on a publicist and calls it the only line item she doesn't regret. And somewhere in the middle of all of it,
she wrote a Substack article about the whole thing. It resulted in more book sales than everything else she'd done that year in the first 48 hours, beating even her appearance on
Tamron Hall.
We get into all of it: what actually moved copies, what she'd never pay for again and why she still hasn't spoken to her publisher since the book came out.
In this episode:
- The exact breakdown of where $44,000 in book marketing money went, and which parts she'd light on fire again without hesitation
- Why a Substack post she almost didn't publish became one of her best sales days ever, beating a national television appearance
- The agency that quoted her $65,000 to get her on the USA Today bestseller list, and why she now doubts the list matters at all
- Why she hasn't spoken to her publisher since her book launched, and what that says about the relationship between authors and the houses that sign them
- What it's like to have a book option sold three times, with a pilot script written and then scrapped, and why she pulled her own Substack post about it
Want to know more about my company? Legacy Launch Pad Publishing is a boutique hybrid publisher for entrepreneurs and established founders. We help clients create books that build authority, attract opportunities and grow businesses. More info 👉
https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com
Want to know if a book could help your business? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/book-score-card
Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉
https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply
And if you just want to know more about me, 👉
www.annadavid.com
Remember, if there's anyone in your life who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them!
What is Behind the Book Cover?
A book can do more than sell copies. It can build your authority, strengthen your personal brand and create entirely new opportunities for your business.
Hosted by New York Times bestselling author Anna David, Behind the Book Cover explores how successful entrepreneurs, authors and thought leaders use books, media and marketing to become better known, reach more people and grow their businesses.
Through candid conversations with traditionally published authors and independently published entrepreneurs—including business owners whose books have added seven figures to their bottom lines—Anna reveals what really happens behind the cover. The show goes beyond book publishing to explore marketing for entrepreneurs, CEO personal branding, thought leadership strategy and how turning your expertise into a book can help make you an authority in your industry.
Anna’s books have been published by HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster, and she is the founder of Legacy Launch Pad Publishing, a leading hybrid publisher for entrepreneurs. In other words, she knows both sides of the publishing industry—and isn’t afraid to share what traditional publishers don’t want you to know.
Behind the Book Cover is brought to you by Authority Network.
Find out whether a book could help grow your business:
https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/book-score-card