Daniel Hurst is a bestselling author with over 75 published books, primarily in the psychological thriller genre. Known for his rapid writing pace and prolific output, Daniel successfully transitioned from a procurement officer to a full-time author within just a few years. His breakthrough book "Till Death Do Us Part" allowed him to quit his day job, and he later achieved UK number one bestseller status with "The Doctor's Wife" through his publisher Bookouture. As a hybrid author, Daniel balances both self-publishing and traditional publishing, consistently delivering psychological thrillers that keep readers hooked with unexpected twists and compelling characters.

In this episode:

• Journey from childhood writing dreams to becoming a full-time author
• Transitioning from office work as a procurement officer to writing
• Writing process: from "pantsing" to structured outlining
• Achieving rapid writing speeds of 5,000-10,000 words per day
• The breakthrough success of "Till Death Do Us Part" that replaced his salary
• Marketing strategies that worked: Facebook ads and consistent newsletters
• Balancing self-publishing with traditional publishing as a hybrid author
• Time management and discipline required to build a writing career
• Common mistakes new authors make and how to avoid them
• Building a consistent reader base through regular book releases

Resources mentioned:

• 20 Books to 50K Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/
• Craig Martell's writing community
• Facebook advertising platform
• KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) dashboard:
• Bookouture:https://bookouture.com/

Book Recommendations:

• Before and Laughter by Jimmy Carr

Connect with Daniel Hurst:

• Website: http://www.danielhurstbooks.com
• Free book download and newsletter signup available on website
• Latest book: "The Baby Swap" available on Amazon
• Weekly newsletter every Sunday with book updates and personal life

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/

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Damon Courtney is the creator of BookFunnel, a platform that helps authors deliver digital books to readers and build marketing funnels. A former self-published fantasy author who published a trilogy in 2011, Damon created BookFunnel to solve the problem of easily delivering free books to readers' devices. What started as a simple solution for getting ebooks onto Kindles has evolved into a comprehensive platform that now delivers approximately 150,000 books per day and offers tools for author collaboration, group promotions, and building reader relationships.

In this episode:

• What a book funnel is and how it differs from traditional marketing
• The reader journey from discovery to becoming a superfan
• How to create effective reader magnets and lead capture systems
• Using group promotions to collaborate with other authors
• Author swaps for cross-promotion opportunities
• Different strategies for fiction vs. nonfiction funnels
• The lifetime value of readers and how to calculate it
• Creating bonus content to capture readers at the end of books
• Why giving away multiple books can be more effective than one
• Building organic vs. inorganic traffic through book funnels

Resources mentioned:

• BookFunnel.com - https://bookfunnel.com/
• Scrivener - https://scrivener.app/
• Vellum - https://vellum.pub/
• Atticus - https://www.atticus.io/
• Group promotions
• Author swaps

Connect with Damon Courtney:

• Website: https://bookfunnel.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/

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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