Behind the Book Cover

Anna David
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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.

  1. The Book Deal Was the Goal—Until the Industry Changed

    1 DAY AGO

    The Book Deal Was the Goal—Until the Industry Changed

    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.  An early internet writer turned entrepreneur, Daniel DiPiazza has been building audiences since the blogging days of MySpace and university-only Facebook. Long before “personal brand” was a buzzword, Daniel was clawing his way into Huffington Post, landing interviews with Shark Tank’s Lori Greiner and steadily growing a newsletter that would eventually reach 170,000+ subscribers. His traditionally published book, Rich 20 Something, wasn’t an accident—it was the culmination of years of audience building, strategic networking and relentless follow-up. In this episode, Daniel walks through the unlikely chain of events that led to his book deal, from cold-calling publicists to pursuing his literary agent for nearly two years while building his platform in real time. But what makes this conversation especially compelling is what came after the book. We get into the myth of traditional publishing, why ego—not economics—is often the biggest draw, and how Daniel ultimately reframed authorship as an authority engine rather than a revenue stream. Today, as founder of New Wave Press, he helps entrepreneurs use books not to sell copies—but to consolidate expertise, build frameworks and lower their customer acquisition costs. We also dive deep into the future of publishing: AI, digital distribution, the erosion of backlist revenue and why legacy publishers may be stuck in a model that no longer serves authors—or readers. Episode Highlights How Daniel’s early blogging career, Huffington Post contributions and strategic networking led to a traditional publishing contract for Rich 20 SomethingWhy he spent years growing his newsletter and social following before landing a deal—and how those numbers became leverageThe realities of creative control, marketing support and why most authors feel disappointed after the deal is signedWhy being “chosen” by a publisher feels validating—and why that emotional payoff often outweighs the financial oneWhy books shouldn’t be treated as profit centers but as assets that consolidate expertise, codify frameworks and increase conversionHow a book can lock you into a narrow identity if you don’t plan your next move—and what Daniel would do differentlyThe surprising reality that authority in one niche doesn’t automatically carry into anotherWhy more than half of Daniel’s company’s recent sales are audio and digital—and what that signals about reader behaviorHow large language models, shifting copyright rulings and lack of first-party customer data may force legacy publishers to rethink everythingDaniel’s prediction that publishing will split in two—one camp returning to human-crafted classics and another embracing fully AI-driven content ecosystemsWhy writing a book is like buying a stock—it appreciates over time if nurtured and aligned with your broader career vision

    53 min
  2. He Said the Book Would Never Lead to a Business. It Became His Entire Second Career.

    21 APR

    He Said the Book Would Never Lead to a Business. It Became His Entire Second Career.

    I told Chris Joseph years ago that his book would lead to a coaching career. He told me absolutely not. He meant it. It took about two years for him to tell me I was right. Chris was diagnosed with stage three pancreatic cancer in 2016, and seventy percent of people with that diagnosis are dead within a year. He quit chemo, fired his oncologist with no Plan B and is now about to turn 70. He wrote his memoir, Life is a Ride, because the story was in his head and he had to get it out, not because he had some grand business plan. But the book became his business card, his credibility, his foot in every door. People found it and kept asking the same thing: tell me what you did. He threw himself into new projects (at one point he was doing five podcasts). He did a book tour with a musician friend because he was smart enough to know not that many people show up for an author alone. And eventually, all those "tell me what you did" conversations became Terrain Navigators, the health coaching practice he now runs for people facing the diagnosis he survived. Chris didn't plan any of this. He just published a real book, took it seriously and let the ride take him where it was going. (It's not an accident the book is called Life is a Ride.) In this episode: Why Chris fired his oncologist with no Plan B (and why he'd do it again)How he used his book as a business card to introduce himself to Joe Polish at a galaThe moment he realized "tell me what you did" was a coaching business waiting to happenWhy he wrote a memoir instead of a how-to (and why the how-to he's writing now terrifies him)What a friend's pickleball book disaster taught him about trying to do it all yourselfWant to learn more about Legacy Launch Pad Publishing—my high-end hybrid book publishing company that helps entrepreneurs turn their expertise into authority-building books? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com Curious how entrepreneurs use books to generate seven-figure returns, speaking opportunities and high-value clients? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/7-figures Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply And if you just want to know more about me,  👉 www.annadavid.com Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

    35 min
  3. The Grief Memoir That Became a TV Pitch, a Sex Podcast and the Book Everyone Gives When Someone Dies

    14 APR

    The Grief Memoir That Became a TV Pitch, a Sex Podcast and the Book Everyone Gives When Someone Dies

    Kelsey Chittick wrote a book about her husband dying at a trampoline park while she was on a spiritual retreat in Jamaica, and somehow it's one of the funniest books I've ever read. But what I really wanted to talk to her about is what happened after. Because the book, Second Half, became the thing people hand to someone when the worst has happened. It led to Zibby Owens inviting Kelsey to co-host a podcast about sex that lasted five years. It led to a grief group in her basement that ran every two weeks for three and a half years and is now being pitched as a scripted TV show. It turned her into a speaker, a life coach and someone whose phone rings every time somebody in the South Bay loses the person they love most. Kelsey didn't write this book to build a career. She wrote it so her kids would know the truth about their dad. They still haven't read it (too embarrassing, apparently). But the book did what books do when they're real: it opened every door she didn't know existed. In this episode: How a death-and-mourning memoir became the go-to gift when someone dies (and led to a five-year sex podcast)Why the grief group in her basement is being pitched as a scripted TV showThe moment Kelsey knew she was done being "the dead-husband woman" — and what comes nextThe cover design that looked like a vagina (her mother-in-law loved it)What it means to write something so true to your voice that you can hand someone the book instead of reliving the storyWant to learn more about Legacy Launch Pad Publishing—my high-end hybrid book publishing company that helps entrepreneurs turn their expertise into authority-building books? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com Curious how entrepreneurs use books to generate seven-figure returns, speaking opportunities and high-value clients? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/7-figures Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply And if you just want to know more about me,  👉 www.annadavid.com Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

    38 min
  4. He Sold 87 Copies—and Made $2.5M

    7 APR

    He Sold 87 Copies—and Made $2.5M

    Alex Mandossian sold 87 copies of his book and made $2.5 million from it, which is either the best argument for publishing a book or the best argument against caring about sales numbers (or both). I've known Alex for years, and what makes him fun to talk to is that he'll just say the thing most authors won't admit: the book was never the product. It was the thing that got him in the room. He gave signed copies away on stages across six continents and every single one of his high-ticket consulting clients mentioned the book before they hired him. Not because it was a bestseller (600 copies sold, total, across two books) but because having it made him the guy who literally wrote the book on his thing. Alex calls a book a "credentializer," which is not a word, but it should be. He also has a collection of one-liners he calls Alexisms that are annoyingly quotable. We get into all of it — how he turned one book into years of content, why he thinks most authors completely misunderstand what a book is actually for and what happens when you stop chasing sales and start using your book as the best business card that's ever existed. In this episode: How 87 copies sold turned into $2.5 million in revenue (and why the math makes more sense than you think)Why every single high-ticket client referenced the book before saying yesWhat happens when you give signed copies away on stages instead of trying to sell themThe Alexisms — and why deceptively simple one-liners are a branding strategyWhy most authors are obsessed with the wrong metricWant to learn more about Legacy Launch Pad Publishing—my high-end hybrid book publishing company that helps entrepreneurs turn their expertise into authority-building books? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com Curious how entrepreneurs use books to generate seven-figure returns, speaking opportunities and high-value clients? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/7-figures Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply And if you just want to know more about me,  👉 www.annadavid.com Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

    26 min
  5. Why Your Book Is Never “Done”—And How It Can Keep Making Money for Years

    31 MAR

    Why Your Book Is Never “Done”—And How It Can Keep Making Money for Years

    Brian Kurtz spent decades helping build Boardroom into a billion-dollar business through direct response marketing, which means he knows more about what actually makes people buy things than almost anyone I've ever talked to. So when he finally wrote his book Overdeliver, he didn't do what most authors do (cross his fingers, pray for a bestseller list, then move on). He treated the book like a business asset that would keep working for years, and that's exactly what it's done. What I wanted to get into with Brian is his idea of the "perpetual launch"—that a book is never done launching, which sounds exhausting until you hear how he actually does it. He used bonuses, podcasts and decades of relationship capital to turn one book into a long-term client engine, and he'll tell you straight up that capturing a reader's email matters more than any Amazon ranking ever will. He also wrote for nearly a decade before publishing, which gave him something most authors skip straight past: an actual voice. And then there's the part of this conversation that puts everything else in perspective. The day before his book launch, Brian had a near-fatal stroke. We talk about what that did to how he thinks about legacy and why, after something like that, the long game stops being a strategy and starts being the only thing that makes sense. In this episode: What the "perpetual launch" means in practice (and why most authors quit too early)Why Brian says capturing an email is worth more than an Amazon rankingHow decades of relationship capital turned one book into a multi-million-dollar assetThe near-fatal stroke that happened the day before his launch — and how it changed everythingWhy writing for years before publishing is the real shortcutWant to learn more about Legacy Launch Pad Publishing—my high-end hybrid book publishing company that helps entrepreneurs turn their expertise into authority-building books? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com Curious how entrepreneurs use books to generate seven-figure returns, speaking opportunities and high-value clients? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/7-figures Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply And if you just want to know more about me,  👉 www.annadavid.com Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

    47 min
  6. What 50 Years in the Business Taught Him—And Why He Finally Wrote the Book About It

    24 MAR

    What 50 Years in the Business Taught Him—And Why He Finally Wrote the Book About It

    Richard Lawson has spent 50+ years in Hollywood acting, teaching and mentoring people like George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer, so writing a book could have been a victory lap—a way to package the lessons and put a bow on everything. That's not what happened. Writing The Artist's Roadmap: Navigating Your Career in SHOW Business didn't just organize what Richard already knew. It woke something up. It led to a Substack, a memoir in progress, a series of children's books and an entirely new creative chapter that he wasn't expecting at this stage of his life. What I wanted to get into with Richard is how that happened—how the process of writing the book became the thing that renewed him, not just the product of a long career. He tells me about a moment during a college musical in 1969 that set everything in motion (and why he still feels guided by that same force today). He talks about surviving an actual plane crash and what that did to his relationship with intuition. And he explains the dialogue between his two inner voices—his spiritual guide "Richard" and his creative alter ego "Tricky Dick"—which is not the kind of thing you expect from a guy who's spent five decades in the business, and that's exactly why it's interesting. In this episode: The 1969 revelation during a college musical that he says still drives him todayHow surviving a plane crash reshaped how he trusts his own instincts"Richard" vs. "Tricky Dick"—the two inner voices and what they taught him about creativityHis three-part formula for show business success: politics, personality and craftWhy the book led to a Substack, a memoir, children's books and an entire second creative wave he didn't planWhat he means by "dream whisperer" (and how he helps people find their way back to their purpose)Want to learn more about Legacy Launch Pad Publishing—my high-end hybrid book publishing company that helps entrepreneurs turn their expertise into authority-building books? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com Curious how entrepreneurs use books to generate seven-figure returns, speaking opportunities and high-value clients? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/7-figures Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply And if you just want to know more about me,  👉 www.annadavid.com Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

    56 min
  7. He Raised His Prices 60x After Writing a Book

    17 MAR

    He Raised His Prices 60x After Writing a Book

    Justin Breen used to charge $500 for his PR services. After writing his first book, he started charging $30,000. That's not a typo, and it's not because the book sold a million copies—it's because the book made him the person clients wanted to hire at that price. Justin's path to authorship started when his journalism salary got cut in half and he cold-contacted 5,000 people to find his first five clients. He documented that whole ride in Epic Life, and it led to The Epic F.I.T. Network, speaking engagements and media opportunities that didn't exist before the book. But what I really wanted to talk about is what happened with his second book, Epic Journey, because it got weird in the best way.  Justin describes the writing process as channeling divine inspiration while literally staring at the sun on his daily runs, which I know sounds like something you'd scroll past—but the manuscript had such an impact on early readers that one of them got a tattoo inspired by it. The book led to what he calls a "complete ego death," an amicable divorce, a total life overhaul and a new AI music company called Corvia.AI. He's currently not sure where he's going to live next, which is either terrifying or the most honest thing an entrepreneur has ever admitted on a podcast. We also get into why he thinks not everyone should write their own book (which is a bold thing to say on this particular podcast) and his potential collaboration with Melissa Bernstein of Melissa & Doug Toys. In this episode: How writing a book took him from $500 to $30,000 per clientThe 5,000 cold contacts that launched his entire businessWhy Epic Journey led to an ego death, a divorce and a company he didn't planThe early reader who got a tattoo inspired by the manuscriptWhy he says not everyone should write their own book (and what to do instead)The potential Melissa Bernstein (Melissa & Doug) collaborationWant to learn more about Legacy Launch Pad Publishing—my high-end hybrid book publishing company that helps entrepreneurs turn their expertise into authority-building books? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com Curious how entrepreneurs use books to generate seven-figure returns, speaking opportunities and high-value clients? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/7-figures Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply And if you just want to know more about me,  👉 www.annadavid.com Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

    33 min
  8. The Book Launch That Became a Movement (Billboards, Celebrities and Sold-Out Events)

    10 MAR

    The Book Launch That Became a Movement (Billboards, Celebrities and Sold-Out Events)

    Christos Garkinos went from being a lonely gay Greek kid in Detroit to running marketing for Virgin Megastores, launching fashion lines on HSN and becoming Bravo's "Robin Hood of Fashion"—and then lost nearly all of it to addiction, financial collapse and grief. So he wrote a memoir called Covet the Comeback and launched it like a rock tour. What I wanted to talk to Christos about is the launch, because it's one of the most ambitious rollouts I've seen from any author, and he did it entirely on his own terms. Celebrity-filled dinners, sold-out events across the country and a billboard in LA that ran for five months—positioned directly above an ATM he used during his darkest days. That's not a marketing stunt. That's a man staring down his own story from a billboard. But the launch isn't actually the most interesting part of this conversation. Christos gets into what it felt like when people he hadn't spoken to in years started reaching out after reading the book—people who had written him off, people who barely knew him, people who suddenly understood something about him they never had before. He talks about sobriety, ego and surrender with a kind of honesty that you don't usually hear from someone whose instinct is to produce a show. And he gets into how the book didn't just change his public image. It changed his business, his relationships and the way he thinks about what he's actually building. In this episode: The five-month LA billboard placed directly above an ATM from his worst daysWhy he refused a traditional book launch and built a rollout that looked more like a concert tourWhat it felt like when people who'd written him off started reaching out after reading the bookHow sobriety reshaped his instincts, leadership and creativityThe moment his community turned his story into their ownWant to learn more about Legacy Launch Pad Publishing—my high-end hybrid book publishing company that helps entrepreneurs turn their expertise into authority-building books? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com Curious how entrepreneurs use books to generate seven-figure returns, speaking opportunities and high-value clients? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/7-figures Interested in working with a selective hybrid publisher that focuses on strategy, authority and long-term business growth—not just publishing a book? 👉 https://www.legacylaunchpadpub.com/apply And if you just want to know more about me,  👉 www.annadavid.com Remember, if there's anyone in your life whose wisdom you deeply admire, or who you know could be considered an authority in their field if they were better known, share this show with them.

    39 min
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About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Anna David
  • Years Active
    2013 - 2026
  • Episodes
    243
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Legacy Launch Pad
  • Show Website
    Behind the Book Cover

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