How to Be a Successful Writer

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Sally Kohn: In investing, there's this concept of power law distribution or having a fat tail. You really have to build up that body in order to have a few things that can really be successful. So you've written prolifically, even just thinking about the columns you've done for Inc. Magazine, you've done 200 of those. And then three months goes by and then you're screwed. But if you look at it in context of everything else, that's why volume wins.

In Episode #14, we explore data driven writing and how to reach 100 million people. We’re joined by Nicolas Cole, author of The Art and Business of Online Writing. We cover self-belief vs. desperation, self-publishing, and the secrets of ghost writing.

“You have to surround yourself with the people that are a version of who you ultimately want to become.” – Nicolas Cole

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/nicolas-cole-outliers-show-notes

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/nicolas-cole-outliers-transcript

CHAPTERS

This episode is our definitive guide to data driven writing and how to reach 100 million people. In it we cover:

(00:00:00) – Introduction
(00:01:33) – World of Warcraft and bodybuilding
(00:09:22) – The mental game of self-belief vs. desperation
(00:15:33) – Goal setting and why self-publishing is a good idea for authors
(00:25:25) – The Art and Business of Online Writing, and why writing interested Nicolas
(00:35:08) – Advice for writers who are just getting started online
(00:49:40) – The secrets of ghost writing
(01:00:37) – The writing process
(01:09:09) – Confessions of a Teenage Gamer, and about writing memoirs
(01:16:43) – Nicolas’ daily habits, and the importance of mentors

ABOUT THE ART AND BUSINESS OF ONLINE WRITING

Nicolas Cole the founder of Digital Press, where he helps the world's most successful people, most of whom aren't "writers," write and publish their own books. In this episode, we go deep on writing, including how to break through the noise and become an influential voice in your space. Nicolas has worked with over 300 Silicon Valley founders, executives of publicly traded companies, New York Times bestselling authors, Grammy award-winning musicians, and Olympic athletes to shape their writing.

To date, Nicholas's writing has reached more than 100 million people. He's one of Inc Magazine's most popular columnists, with over 200 columns published to date, and his writing has been featured in Time, Forbes, Fortune, and Huffington Post. He's also written several books, including his most recent and the one that got my attention, The Art and Business of Online Writing.

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ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

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ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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