The Publishing Performance Show Nick Thacker – Quit Your Day Job: How to Become a Full-Time Author in 12 Months
Nick Thacker is a bestselling author of over 45 books across multiple genres, including the 16-book Harvey Bennett thriller series. What makes Nick's story unique is that he never wanted to be a writer—he hated writing in school and only started his first book as a Christmas gift for his father. After working in marketing and web design, Nick applied business principles to his author career and was able to quit his full-time job in 2017. Today, he runs Book Career in a Year, where he teaches authors how to build sustainable writing careers through strategic marketing, email list building, and treating their creative work as a business.
In this episode:
- Why Nick hated writing but became a prolific author anyway
- The "muddy middle" problem and how craft books saved his first manuscript
- How The Enigma Strain made only $80 in its first year but became a bestseller
- Why writing more books is the single best marketing strategy
- The crucial difference between fighting obscurity and making money
- Three marketing buckets every author needs: email, social media, and advertising
- How to build an email list as a fiction writer by giving away entire books
- Why you should make your social media attractive, not promotional
- Why "writing for yourself" is often an excuse to avoid marketing
- Productivity systems that work: the 12 Week Year and EOS (Traction)
- How to find your own writing process instead of copying famous authors
- Step-by-step guide to building a book career in one year
- When to start investing in Facebook and Amazon ads
- The importance of sending readers back to Amazon for algorithmic benefits
Resources mentioned:
- Book Career in a Year program: https://www.bookcareerinayear.com/
- Scrivener: https://scrivener.app/
- Email marketing platforms
- Amazon KDP: https://kdp.amazon.com/
- Facebook advertising platform: https://www.facebook.com/business/ads
- The 12 Week Year book: https://www.amazon.com/12-Week-Year-Others-Months/dp/1118509234
- Entrepreneur Operating System (EOS): https://www.eosworldwide.com/
Book recommendations:
- Techniques of the Selling Writer by Dwight Swain: https://www.amazon.com/Techniques-Selling-Writer-Dwight-Swain/dp/0806111917
- Amazonia by James Rollins: https://www.amazon.com/Amazonia-James-Rollins/dp/0061965839
Connect with Nick:
- Website: https://www.nickthacker.com/
- Book Career in a Year Coaching Program: https://www.bookcareerinayear.com/
- Online courses and training: https://www.bookcareerinayear.com/coaching/
- Books by Nick: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B008A2W6XE
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- @teddyagsmith
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