“If you are listening, and you have written a book proposal, and you took it to an agent, and the agent took it out…and couldn’t sell it - screw them! Go publish it!” — Jimmy Soni
Friend-of-the-show (and new O’Shaughnessy Ventures team member) Liberty RPF joins Jim and fellow friend-of-the-show Jimmy Soni to discuss the current state of the publishing industry and the new opportunities emerging for current and aspiring authors. Important Links: - Jimmy’s Website https://jimmysoni.com - Jimmy’s Twitter https://twitter.com/jimmyasoni - Liberty’s Newsletter https://www.libertyrpf.com - Liberty’s Twitter https://twitter.com/libertyrpf - 10 Reasons Why I’m Publishing My Next Book on Substack https://tedgioia.substack.com/p/10-reasons-why-im-publishing-my-next - Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck in Time https://www.altitude.film/not-found 00:00 Start 01:19 Main Podcast 03:13 How has the publishing industry changed? 10:09 Reinventing the audiobook 14:41 The living book 19:53 Towards new book pricing models 26:07 Why the traditional publishing industry is becoming unsustainable 30:06 The tragedy of unwritten books 31:26 A rejection from a traditional publisher is meaningless 37:36 What do traditional publishers do well? 42:15 The importance being invested in the success of a product 49:58 Leveraging AI & other tools in the writing process 01:01:21 Why the publishing industry is successful 01:03:46 Increasing the power of individual creators 01:10:29 Change, prestige & disruption 01:20:36 Playing the right kind of status games 01:28:08 Aligning quality with meritocracy Books Mentioned: - The Founders; by Jimmy Soni - A Mind at Play; by Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman - Rome's Last Citizen: The Life and Legacy of Cato, Mortal Enemy of Caesar; by Jimmy Soni & Rob Goodman - What Works on Wall Street; by Jim O'Shaughnessy - Invest Like The Best; by Jim O'Shaughnessy - Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds; by David Goggins - The Psychology of Money; by Morgan Housel - The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich; by Tim Feriss - Harry Potter; by J. K. Rowling - Reality Hunger; by David Shields - $100M Offers: How To Make Offers So Good People Feel Stupid Saying No; by Alex Hormozi - The Status Game: On Social Position and How We Use It; by Will Storr