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 only interview world-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, independently published entrepreneurs who have used their books too seven figures to their bottom line to build their businesses and more. Anna David has had books published by HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster and is the founder of Legacy Launch Pad...
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Walter Clarke on Sudden Wealth, Financial Trauma and Teaching Kids What Money Actually Means
<p>Walter Clarke has spent more than 30 years advising wealthy families—and he’s seen firsthand how money can quietly destroy relationships, identity and mental health when people aren’t prepared for it. A former investment manager turned financial educator, Walter didn’t set out to write books to build a brand. He wrote them because he’d lived the consequences of not understanding risk.</p><p><br>In this episode, Walter and I talk about what happens when success arrives before education—and how one catastrophic business failure reshaped his philosophy on wealth, parenting and legacy.</p><p><br>We unpack hi...
John Frank Levey on How One Book Sparked the Best Plot Twist of His Career
<p>When we published Right for the Role, I figured John would sell a few books, make a couple of actors cry and call it a day. Instead, the four-time Emmy-winning casting legend turned it into a full-blown second act. His memoir didn’t just tell the story of his decades casting ER, The West Wing and Shameless—it completely rewired his creative life.</p><p><br>After decades shaping other people’s performances, John finally stepped into the spotlight. The book sparked a podcast, packed acting schools, earned a spot in the Studio City Barnes & Noble window and somehow made h...
Dan Nicholson on Making Seven Figures from One Book
<p>Dan Nicholson is just the founder and CEO of Nth Degree CPAs.</p><p>He’s also one of my favorite Legacy Launch Pad clients.</p><p>One of the reasons for this favoritism is that I had the privilege of watching him go from being just another CPA to becoming the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of Rigging the Game. As a result of the book, he now commands up to $20,000 a speaking gig and has generated over seven figures in revenue from the ripple effects of authorship.</p><p>How did he do it? We...
Bonnie Habyan on How Her Book Led to a TEDx Talk with 350K+ Views
<p>I had a front-row seat to Bonnie Habyan’s transformation. A seasoned CMO with over 20 years in financial services, Bonnie wrote The World According to Bess—a book about her mother's wisdom that we released on her mom's 91st birthday, just months before she passed.</p><p><br>In our conversation, Bonnie walks me through all that the book opened up for her: she landed a TEDx talk that now has 350,000+ views, launched her podcast This Is How SHE Did It and became a keynote speaker on resilience and personal brand power. </p><p><br>We dive into the unexp...
Darren Prince on The Book That Changed Everything—Including Me
<p>From the outside, it looked like Darren Prince had it all—a phenomenally successful sports and celebrity agent, his client roster overflowed with legendary names like Magic Johnson, Muhammad Ali and Charlie Sheen. But behind the scenes, he was battling an addiction that nearly cost him everything.</p><p><br>When he finally shared his story in his memoir Aiming High, it didn’t just change his life—it created a movement. This book also had a massive impact on me because it was the first book I ever published and is in fact what made me start Legacy Launch...
Matt George on the Book That Created a TV Show, Harvard Position and 61-City Tour
<p>Matt George isn't just a Harvard Business School executive leadership coach.</p><p>He's also one of my favorite Legacy Launch Pad clients. Yes, I say that a lot but I only have my favorites on this show.</p><p>I've had the privilege of watching Matt go from being a longtime nonprofit CEO to becoming a three-time #1 bestselling author who leveraged his book into a multimillion-dollar portfolio of speaking, consulting, media and coaching opportunities. As a result of his books, he now works at Harvard Business School, hosted his own prime-time TV show for four years and has...
Calvin Bagley on the Vegas Party, the Shingles Outbreak and the Book That Changed Everything
<p>Calvin Bagley spent his childhood dodging the school bus and adulthood building business empires. The founder of multiple eight-figure Medicare companies and a self-proclaimed “big fish in a very specific pond,” Calvin went from growing up in rural isolation with nine siblings and no formal schooling to becoming one of the most respected names in his industry.</p><p><br>His memoir Hiding from the School Bus doesn’t teach you how to scale a business—it shows you how to survive one hell of a childhood and still come out kind, successful and grateful.</p><p><br>In this epi...
Ethlie Ann Vare on Going From Gatekeepers to Algorithms
<p>Ethlie Ann Vare has lived through every incarnation of the media machine—from the era when editors and agents were true gatekeepers to today’s age of algorithms and the “wisdom of the crowd.” A journalist, TV writer and author, Vare built a career on talent, timing and serendipity. She went from covering rock shows in 1980s Los Angeles to penning biographies of Stevie Nicks and Ozzy Osbourne then spent 15 years writing for television shows like Renegade, Silk Stalkings, Andromeda and CSI.</p><p><br>In this episode, Vare reflects on how the publishing world she once knew—where publicists...
Jamie Rose on Finding True Fulfillment After Traditional Publishing's Broken Promises
<p>Jamie Rose is proof that reinvention can be a superpower. After decades as a working actress, she did what most in Hollywood never dare: she pivoted.</p><p>First came writing. She landed a Penguin deal for her memoir Shut Up and Dance, diving headfirst into the brutal world of publishing. Then came coaching, where she transformed her 37 years of training with psychiatrist Phil Stutz (of The Tools and Jonah Hill’s Netflix doc Stutz) into a career helping others unlock their potential.</p><p>Now she’s tackling her boldest project yet: Facing Madame X: An Initiation into Femi...
Mark Ebner on How to Survive the Death of Publishing (and Still Tell the Truth)
<p>Mark Ebner has lived every journalist’s dream. He’s a New York Times bestselling author, Hollywood insider and the guy behind some of the most notorious exposés in entertainment history. But behind the bylines and book deals is a story about an industry that chews up even its most fearless voices—and a writer who found a way to keep telling the truth anyway.</p><p>In this conversation, Mark and I talk about everything the publishing world doesn’t want you to know—from missing royalty checks and botched releases to what happens when AI starts scraping you...
