Nat Eliason is a writer, entrepreneur, and founder of multiple successful online businesses who is now pivoting to science fiction writing. After securing a $275,000 advance for his traditionally published non-fiction book "Crypto Confidential" with Penguin Random House, Nat has chosen to self-publish his debut science fiction novel "Husk." His entrepreneurial approach to book publishing includes a strong focus on professional production quality, direct sales through his own website, and leveraging his existing audience while building new channels specifically for his fiction work.

In this episode:

• Nat's transition from traditional publishing to self-publishing
• Creating a high-quality self-published book that doesn't look self-published
• The importance of investing in professional cover design and formatting
• Using Ingram Spark vs. Amazon KDP for print-on-demand
• Leveraging an existing audience for a genre pivot
• Building a marketing strategy focused on BookTube and Bookstagram
• The value of preselling books through your own website
• Nat's process for plotting and writing his novel in just four weeks
• How Nat's background in philosophy informed his sci-fi worldbuilding
• The challenge of keeping track of complex worldbuilding details
• Strategies for launching without a fiction-specific audience

Resources mentioned:

• Ingram Spark - For high-quality print-on-demand paperbacks and hardcovers
• Shopify - For selling signed book copies directly to readers
• Story Origin - Newsletter swap platform (mentioned by Teddy)
• Book Funnel - Reader magnet platform (mentioned by Teddy)
• Google Notebook LM - AI tool for organizing book details (mentioned by Teddy)

Book Recommendations:

• "Husk" - Nat's sci-fi debut novel about digital immortality
• "Neuromancer" by William Gibson - Classic cyberpunk that inspired Nat
• "Dune" by Frank Herbert - Example of long-lasting fiction impact

Connect with Nat Eliason:

• Website: nateliason.com
• Substack: blog.nateliason.com
• Book website: huskbook.com

Connect with Teddy Smith:

• @teddyagsmith
• Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
• Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
• Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
• Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
• Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
• Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/publishing-performance/

Support the show