Behind the Book Cover

Tony Lyons, the CEO of Skyhorse Publishing, is not one to shy away from controversy.   He's known, in fact, for picking up books from other publishers when the authors are "cancelled."   I'll be honest...I was scared to record this conversation because the times we live in—where anything you say if you don't subscribe to a certain way of thinking can be an opportunity for others to take you down. But the fact is, I believe that everyone should have a right to say what they believe, even if it's not what I believe, and that a mob mentality approach to scandals doesn't help anyone.   And so we got into all of it—how Skyhorse picked up Woody Allen's memoir after Hachette cancelled it, the ways some of his books have lost "likes" when they've been squashed, the money Vanity Fair must have spent punishing him for the Allen book and more. We also talked about which media opportunities can really move the needle in terms of book sales, why newsletter lists matter, how editorially influenced the New York Times bestseller list is and just how few sales you can have to make it on the list...among many other topics.   Brace yourself for this one.   ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

Show Notes

Tony Lyons, the CEO of Skyhorse Publishing, is not one to shy away from controversy.
 
He's known, in fact, for picking up books from other publishers when the authors are "cancelled."
 
I'll be honest...I was scared to record this conversation because the times we live in—where anything you say if you don't subscribe to a certain way of thinking can be an opportunity for others to take you down. But the fact is, I believe that everyone should have a right to say what they believe, even if it's not what I believe, and that a mob mentality approach to scandals doesn't help anyone.
 
And so we got into all of it—how Skyhorse picked up Woody Allen's memoir after Hachette cancelled it, the ways some of his books have lost "likes" when they've been squashed, the money Vanity Fair must have spent punishing him for the Allen book and more. We also talked about which media opportunities can really move the needle in terms of book sales, why newsletter lists matter, how editorially influenced the New York Times bestseller list is and just how few sales you can have to make it on the list...among many other topics.
 
Brace yourself for this one.
 
ARE YOU A NON-FICTION AUTHOR? IF SO, YOU NEED AN ELEVATOR PITCH. GET YOUR BOOK ELEVATOR PITCH TEMPLATE AT WWW.BOOKELEVATORPITCH.COM

What is Behind the Book Cover?

You've heard the book publishing podcasts that give you tips for selling a lot of books and the ones that feature interviews with famous authors. Now it's time for a book publishing show that reveals what actually goes on behind the cover.

Hosted by New York Times bestselling author Anna David, Behind the Book Cover features interviews with traditionally published authors, entrepreneurs who have used books to build their businesses and more.

Come find out what traditional publishers don't want you to know.