“I’ll never forget the first patient whom I ever saw die.” Sheesh, what an opening line, right? Peter has an outstanding resume: he’s a medical surgeon, a Stanford grad, and a longevity expert with 25+ years of industry experience — not to mention, a published author who has sold over two million copies of his book, Outlive. In a nutshell, Peter is a prime example of what can happen when you share your expertise through writing. And he’s going to help you get started. In this episode, you’ll learn how Peter wrote his first book — frameworks, strategies, how he packages industry expertise in a way that’s digestible for the masses — and how you can, too. If you’ve been burning to turn your expertise into a bestseller, this episode is for you. SPEAKER LINKS: Website: https://peterattiamd.com/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@PeterAttiaMD Twitter: https://x.com/PeterAttiaMD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peterattiamd Newsletter: https://peterattiamd.com/newsletter Book: https://a.co/d/57euBtR WRITE OF PASSAGE: Want to learn more about the next class for Write of Passage? Join the final cohort and become a better writer in just five weeks. https://writeofpassage.com/ TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 Introduction 00:01:50 How Peter Attia started his book with a dream 00:04:55 How Peter Attia structured his book around a story 00:07:00 Writing technical vs emotional 00:09:40 Peter Attia's 3-part framework (Strategy, Objectives, Tactics) 00:11:20 How to develop a framework 00:12:50 How to develop your voice and select a medium 00:16:55 Why Peter decided to lower profit with his book cover (Easter egg!) 00:17:30 How to successfully work with a co-author 00:20:30 Collaborating on Google Docs vs in person 00:21:00 Why Peter didn't want a self-help book for the New York Times list 00:22:15 How to provide practical, concrete tactics 00:26:00 Setting your most important goal 00:28:00 How to write painful personal stories 00:31:15 Peter's career (Medical school, McKinsey, Doctor, Writer) 00:34:00 How podcasts changed Peter in 2016 00:35:20 Why the publisher trashed Peter's book 00:39:00 How Michael Ovitz resurrected Peter's book 00:45:00 Peter's daily schedule to write this book 00:46:10 What idea Peter polished the most and his focus on nutrition 00:50:10 How to handle perfectionism, fear, and criticism 00:52:15 Why Peter admires writers and speakers like Sam Harris 00:55:45 Non-linear process of writing a book 00:58:30 How to structure the framing of a book 01:00:00 Editing in the final stages 01:03:30 What matters in writing a provocative conclusion 01:04:50 How to categorize your book 01:06:10 The hardest chapter to write 01:09:00 Explaining core ideas over dinner, not an elevator pitch 01:11:00 The importance of fact checking 01:14:15 How Peter found the courage to share his personal stories 01:15:58 Writing Example (Rocketmen) PODCAST LINKS: Website: https://writeofpassage.com/how-i-write Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-i-write/id1700171470 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSboniFAeGA8v9NpoPv ABOUT THE HOST: I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible. How I Write is a podcast by Write of Passage // Production by Adam Soccolich