{"podcast":{"title":"Behind the Book Cover","slug":"behind-the-book-cover-737349","podcast_index_feed_id":737349,"rss_url":"https://feeds.transistor.fm/behind-the-cover","website_url":"https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/behind","image_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/Xo5QNr_YatKuzQSR2QbP1-huKA3e3RHnG9y2cQTjLoQ/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:1400/h:1400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9lYWIx/MGM4YTQxNjY2ODgx/YmY4YmY1YTM0NzBm/NWNhZi5wbmc.jpg","author":"Anna David","episode_count":248,"summary":"You've heard the book publishing podcasts that give you tips for selling a lot of books and the ones that only interview world-famous authors. Now it's time for a book publishing show that reveals what actually goes on behind the cover. Hosted by New York Times bestselling author Anna David, Behind the Book Cover features interviews with traditionally published authors, independently published entrepreneurs who have used their books too seven figures to their bottom line to build their businesses and more. Anna David has had books published by HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster and is the founder of Legacy Launch Pad, David is the founder of Legacy Launch Pad Publishing, a leading hybrid book publisher for entrepreneurs. In other words, she knows both sides—and isn't afraid to share it. Come find out what traditional publishers don't want you to know.","last_synced_at":null,"page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-book-cover-737349"},"episode":{"title":"Tom Zoellner on Letting Go of the Hustle to Find Meaning in Writing Rather than Publishing","slug":"tom-zoellner-on-letting-go-of-the-hustle-to-find-meaning-in-writing-rather-than-publishing","published_at":"2025-12-16T00:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-book-cover-737349/tom-zoellner-on-letting-go-of-the-hustle-to-find-meaning-in-writing-rather-than-publishing","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-book-cover-737349","url":"https://share.transistor.fm/s/76186fff","audio_url":"https://media.transistor.fm/76186fff/b9f221b2.mp3","summary":"If you're thinking about writing an authority building book, and I really hope you are, and you don't want to be counting pennies or checking your book sales all the time, you actually want a book that's going to change your life, I can tell you how. Just go to sevenfigurebooks.com. I'm not trying to capture your email or anything. You can just download this PDF that's going to tell you exactly how to turn an authority building book into revenue, speaking, authority, and no exaggeration, a whole new life. Tom Zoellner has no illusions about fame, sales or the myth of the “life-changing book.” A National Book Critics Circle Award winner and New York Times bestselling author, Zoellner has written nine acclaimed works of nonfiction including Island on Fire: The Revolt that Ended Slavery in the British Empire , which also became a finalist for the Bancroft Prize and the California Book Award. But despite the accolades, he’s learned to see writing not as a climb toward visibility but as a lifelong meditation on curiosity and craft. In this episode, he and I had a lively debate about such things as whether technology is the death knell of creativity or an amazing opportunity, if one should be writing to build authority or to simply to experience the satisfaction of delving deeply into a topic and even how to pronounce BISAC (not to mention his last name). We also talk about how I once said a sentence to him summarizing how I feel about book publishing that he quotes back to me all the time. Tom may be my polar opposite in terms of using a book to strategically advance but I do admire the way he writes, as he says, to add one small spark to the larger fire of human knowledge. Listen in to find where you may lie on the spectrum of creativity and commercialism (and where the tw…","meta_description":"If you're thinking about writing an authority building book, and I really hope you are, and you don't want to be counting pennies or checking your book sa…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2636,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/behind-the-book-cover-737349/episodes/tom-zoellner-on-letting-go-of-the-hustle-to-find-meaning-in-writing-rather-than-publishing/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/behind-the-book-cover-737349/tom-zoellner-on-letting-go-of-the-hustle-to-find-meaning-in-writing-rather-than-publishing.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}