In this episode, Starve the Doubts host Kimanzi Constable, along with co-host Jody Maberry from ParkLeaders.com, interview Shawn Coyne. Jared Easley got a much-needed vacation.

Shawn Coyne is an author and editor. The books he has worked on have grossed over 150 million dollars in North America. His longest collaboration has been with writer Steven Pressfield. He’s edited a number of Steve’s books including The War of Art, Gates of Fire, Turning Pro,Tides of War, and The Authentic Swing. He's also Steve’s literary agent, manager, and his business partner in Black Irish Books. You can find him at storygrid.com.

In this episode, you will learn about:

· What it’s like working with Seth Godin
· Why authors without a large platform should self-publish
· A mistake too many authors make
· Whether or not an author needs an agent for a traditionally published book
· What Shawn sees as an editor with a lot of books
· Why podcasters should repurpose their podcast episodes into a book
· The book to help writers edit their own books
· A unique idea to market your book
· What it like to own a publishing company
· Some mistakes Shawn and Steven have made
· What authors can do to consistently sell books

Items mentioned:

· Story Grid
· Story by Robert McKee
· The One Who Hit the Hardest
· Permission Marketing
· Tribes

Podcasters repurposing their podcasts as books:

· Specific episodes can be a book series
· Your guests initial reactions are what would make an authentic book
· Writers struggle with getting to that moment of honesty while writing

What Shawn does on interview:

· Whenever Shawn does an interview, he has it transcribed on his own and shares it on his blog

Getting a book contract:

· Publishers are large businesses that look to make profits
· The five major publishers and who owns them
· They are looking for the big hits, not to sign many authors

Amazon:

· What it’s done for authors
· It’s the best way to get your book out in front of an audience

Kimanzi:

· Why he self-published
· What lead to the book deal
· What it’s been like getting a book deal

Marketing your book:

· Got to market to the right target audience
· Your marketing efforts have to be focus
· Who cares about what you care about?
· Create content and give it to away for free

Who interest Shawn?

· The Performance Enhancement Center- Help veterans get over their inner wars


Connect with Shawn Twitter @BlackIrishBooks or on his Facebook page Black Irish Books.


Shawn’s final thoughts for the listeners:

“You have to love what you do, work hard, and don’t expect anything in return.”

“Everyday when you work hard, and you don’t see results, you have to remember who you do this for: other people. What’s important is to remember that we all are on this planet for something.”