How it works

How your book gets built.

The book writing and publishing process built for entrepreneurs, executives, and experts who want the right book, in their voice, professionally published.

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Voice

It sounds like you, because it is you.

We draw the book out through guided conversations, then shape the raw material into a manuscript that reads like your best thinking, only sharper. Nobody guesses at your expertise.

Quality

Publish one of the best books in your field.

Your book is edited, designed, and produced by the same team behind books you already know. Strategy, structure, cover, interior, and production are held to the highest standard.

Your schedule

Your time is expensive.

You already have the ideas. Guided interviews replace the blank page, so nobody takes time away from the business or hands their thinking to a stranger to get a book done.

Leverage

Put your book to work.

The right book attracts clients, opens speaking opportunities, strengthens partnerships, earns media attention, recruits talent, and positions you as a category-of-one. Copies sold is the smallest part of the return.

The premise

The book is already in your head.

You talk. We build. Every idea, story, and argument in the finished book started as something you said out loud, which is why you can put your name on the cover without an asterisk.

Lynn Smith

Communication strategist and former national news anchor. Author of The Magnetic Method.

Featured author
How recording works

What you said. What it became.

This is the whole method in one object. You talk. An editor cuts, orders, and sets the cadence. Nothing gets invented.

Session audio00:41:12
Raw transcript
so the thing nobody tells you is that, like, the deal was already dead when we walked in. it was dead. and I knew it, and I think he knew it too, and we spent forty minutes pretending otherwise because neither of us wanted to be the one who said it
After editing
The deal was dead when we walked in. I knew it. He knew it. We spent forty minutes pretending otherwise, because neither of us wanted to be the one who said it out loud.
An illustration of the edit, not an excerpt from a client book. Client manuscripts stay confidential until publication.
The Publishing Journey

From expert to author.

You bring the expertise. We lead the conversations, shape the manuscript, design the book, publish it, and help you put it to work.

Chapter outline and book structure planning
Phase 01
01

Define the book worth writing.

Before we start your book, we clarify the reader, the promise, the argument, and the role the book should play in your business. Your Book Strategist runs this with you, and nothing moves until you approve it.

Positioning
Reader, category, promise, thesis, and the market angle nobody else can claim.
Table of contents
Your argument in order, chapter by chapter, tested with readers like yours and approved before anything else starts.
Chapter talking points
A detailed roadmap so every recorded chapter has a spine to follow.
Story vault
The examples, numbers, and moments you already own, pulled into one place.
Microphone in a guided book recording session
Phase 02
02

Speak your expertise.

Your best material already exists in your experience. We help you reach it through focused conversations with your Book Director. No wondering what to say next. Structured discussions that let you share the ideas, stories, frameworks, and hard-won lessons the way you would explain them to a colleague.

Guided interviews
Your Book Director leads every session, so you never wonder what to say next.
Recording sessions
Remote or in person, set around your calendar.
Your voice on the record
The manuscript gets built from your recordings and from nothing else.
Every sentence yours
AI helps the team ideate, test, transcribe and organize. The writing comes from your words and our editors.
Editor working through a manuscript draft
Phase 03
03

Polish your manuscript.

The recorded material becomes a real manuscript: structured, edited, and refined until it reads like a book only you could have written. You sign off before a single page moves to design.

First draft
A complete manuscript in your voice, delivered within two weeks of your final recording session.
Line editing and read-aloud review
Every sentence checked against the way you actually talk.
The Editorial Room
Weekly live editing sessions with Charlie Hoehn or another bestselling editor, a guaranteed live review of your introduction, and between sessions, the most intelligent and easiest writing tool you've ever used.
Polish, copyedit, proofread
The passes that separate a manuscript from a published book.
Finished covers of books our team has worked on, including Own or Be Owned and When Success Isn't Enough
Phase 04
04

Design and publish the book.

Your manuscript becomes a bookshelf-quality book with elite cover design, interior layout, publishing, and worldwide distribution. You keep the copyright, and the book publishes under the Author.Inc imprint (or your own imprint).

Cover design
From the designers behind books you already recognize.
Interior layout
Custom typesetting built for the way your book reads.
Copyright and ISBN
You keep the copyright. The ISBN comes from the Author.Inc imprint (or your own imprint).
Global distribution
Amazon, IngramSpark, and major retailers, in ebook, paperback, and hardcover.
Founders Edition
100 special edition hardcovers and a signature distribution launch, available as an add-on.
A published book working across media, speaking, and marketing channels
Phase 05
05

Put the book to work.

Publication day is where the work starts paying. We help business leaders turn a finished book into clients, authority, speaking engagements, partnerships, media attention, and growth.

Pre-order offer
Our signature process for building a pre-order offering that maximizes return.
Launch strategy
Pre-sale advisory built around your first 1,000 copies, a launch email campaign in your voice, and a media list with pitches drafted for you. Two thirds of titles from the largest publishers finish their first year under a thousand copies.
Weekly calls with Charlie Hoehn
Six months of weekly group advisory calls with a 4x New York Times bestselling editor, plus live access to ask him about your launch.
Your Publishing Manager
Driving the work day to day, through launch and past it.
We advise, equip, and support your marketing. We do not run campaigns on your behalf.
The publishing model

Publishing built for you.

Quality, ownership, and a return that justifies the work. Here is what each path actually gives you.

✓
Handled
–
Depends who you hire
✕
On you
Traditional publishing
A door that rarely opens.
Slow, selective, and built around the publisher's priorities. The manuscript is still on you.
✕
Fast
✕
Writing handled for you
–
Sounds like you
✓
Publishing handled for you
✓
High quality
✕
You keep the rights
Ghostwriter
Pages without your voice.
A writer can help with pages. You still need a publisher, a design team, and a launch.
✕
Fast
✓
Writing handled for you
✕
Sounds like you
✕
Publishing handled for you
–
High quality
–
You keep the rights
On your own
Control without the team.
You keep control and carry the writing, editing, design, publishing, and positioning.
✕
Fast
✕
Writing handled for you
✓
Sounds like you
✕
Publishing handled for you
✕
High quality
✓
You keep the rights
Author.Inc
Everything, without tradeoffs.
Elite publishing quality, full ownership, and a book built for business return.
✓
Fast
✓
Writing handled for you
✓
Sounds like you
✓
Publishing handled for you
✓
High quality
✓
You keep the rights
Author stories

The team behind books that moved markets.

Involvement has ranged from a few conversations to being in the trenches from start to finish. The success belongs to these authors.

Authors who built with Author.Inc
Level 7 Leadership by Jack Swift
“Your team is very good at what they do. You guys are at the tip of the spear, and I’m excited for you to reshape this industry.”
Jack Swift
Author of Level 7 Leadership
When Success Isn't Enough by Jason Connell
“Every single person on the team has been absolutely delightful. Someone I look forward to talking to, whose work exceeds expectations. Every step of the way was incredible.”
Jason Connell
Author of When Success Isn’t Enough
Exit Without Leaving by Harrison Tash
“I enjoyed the work Charlie did with his weekly advisory calls, and the whole internal team. It was a great experience. I definitely wouldn’t have the book that I have today without them.”
Harrison Tash
Author of Exit Without Leaving
The 56-Hour Method by Chris Jennings
“All day, every day, if you want a really good partner, go with Author.Inc. You probably pay a little more, but you’ll get more.”
Chris Jennings
Author of The 56-Hour Method
Lead and Let Lead by Chris Perkin
“The organization is exemplary. Everything’s been proactive. The times are all adhered to. Every deliverable that’s been promised has been met. The whole customer journey and the way it’s put together is so professional.”
Chris Perkin
Author of Lead and Let Lead
Facing the Mind Killers by Chris Irwin
“If you want to write a book I cannot recommend these guys highly enough. Top shelf.”
Chris Irwin
Author of Facing the Mind Killers
Who we work with

We are selective, and transparent about it.

Some goals are better served by a different process, and we will tell you if that is the case. Read both lists before you book a call.

Likely a fit
01
You are a founder, CEO, or executive with a track record worth documenting.
02
You want the book to sound like you, in your own cadence.
03
You see the book as a way to earn authority, clients, speaking, partnerships, and hires.
04
You can commit to a six to eight month process and the decisions it asks of you.
05
You want the team behind 4x New York Times bestsellers, and you want to keep every right to the book.
Probably not a fit
01
You want a memoir, a novel, or fiction. We publish nonfiction for business leaders.
02
You expect royalties alone to justify the investment.
03
You want the cheapest available route to a published book.
04
You are not ready to settle your positioning, your standards, and your point of view.
05
You only care about hitting a bestseller list.
Questions

What people ask on the call.

Do I write any of it myself?
No. You speak it. After we build your outline, chapter talking points, and story vault, your Book Director interviews you across your recording sessions, and we draft the manuscript from those recordings. You review, refine, and approve. You never face a blank page.
Will it sound like me?
Every idea, story, and argument in the book comes out of your own recorded words. There is no ghostwriter approximating your voice. AI helps the team ideate, test, transcribe and organize, and human editors make every judgment about structure and refinement. You sign off on the manuscript before it moves to design.
How long does it take?
Most books complete and launch inside six to eight months. The engagement term runs twelve months, which leaves room for the weekly calls that continue after publication.
Who owns the book?
You do. All intellectual property in the manuscript belongs to you, you keep the copyright, and you keep 100% of royalties and profits. The book publishes under the Author.Inc imprint with an ISBN from our registry (or under your own imprint). We never take a cut, now or later.
What is the return beyond book sales?
Royalties alone rarely justify this investment, and we will say so on the call. The return comes from authority: shorter sales cycles, higher speaking fees, enterprise trust, partnerships, press, and recruiting. Geoff Woods published The AI-Driven Leader with us, sold 100,000 copies in year one, and generated over $10M in new business inside twelve months.
Do you market the book for me?
We build the launch with you. We advise, equip, and support your marketing, and you send it. Here's what Publish includes:

- Write a custom launch email campaign in your voice, drawn from your manuscript and stories, following our Whisper, Tease, Shout, Echo sequence, so your network is primed to support the book before launch day; you review, personalize, and send
- Build a personalized media outreach list of podcasts and outlets matched to your book and audience, with a pitch drafted in your voice for each, ready to send, prioritizing podcasts for the familiarity and credibility that longer formats build
- Design social media launch assets pairing your cover with retailer availability and preorder details, built for your channels
- Provide hands-on pre-sale advisory covering your pre-sale strategy and book bonuses, built around selling your first 1,000 copies
- Provide weekly live access to ask Charlie directly about your launch, whether you are pre-launch, launching, or post-launch
- Provide access to Author.Inc's marketing curriculum: self-paced training on launch principles, building and activating your email list, reaching your bullseye readers, running a pre-launch, using social media well, and landing media opportunities
- Provide six (6) months of access to weekly live group advisory calls hosted by 4x New York Times bestselling editor Charlie Hoehn, available throughout your engagement and after launch
Available as add-ons: the Founders Edition (100 special edition hardcovers with a signature distribution launch), the Austin Experience for in-person recording, and more months of advisory calls.
“

You guys are at the tip of the spear, and I’m excited for you to reshape this industry.

Jack Swift
Author of Level 7 Leadership
speak to a founder to decide if publishing a book with us gets you where you want to go.
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