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 Something
• Why he spent years growing his newsletter and social following before landing a deal—and how those numbers became leverage
• The realities of creative control, marketing support and why most authors feel disappointed after the deal is signed
• Why being “chosen” by a publisher feels validating—and why that emotional payoff often outweighs the financial one
• Why books shouldn’t be treated as profit centers but as assets that consolidate expertise, codify frameworks and increase conversion
• How a book can lock you into a narrow identity if you don’t plan your next move—and what Daniel would do differently
• The surprising reality that authority in one niche doesn’t automatically carry into another
• Why more than half of Daniel’s company’s recent sales are audio and digital—and what that signals about reader behavior
• How large language models, shifting copyright rulings and lack of first-party customer data may force legacy publishers to rethink everything
• Daniel’s prediction that publishing will split in two—one camp returning to human-crafted classics and another embracing fully AI-driven content ecosystems
• Why writing a book is like buying a stock—it appreciates over time if nurtured and aligned with your broader career vision

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.

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 gala
• The moment he realized "tell me what you did" was a coaching business waiting to happen
• Why 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 yourself

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.

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.

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 show
• The moment Kelsey knew she was done being "the dead-husband woman" — and what comes next
• The 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 story

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.