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The Bestselling Book Formula with Honorée Corder: Introduction · The Daily Writer

• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Rider Podcast, where we bring you tips and inspiration each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: For more resources, including your free Daily Rider Starter Kit, visit DailyRiderLife.com.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: This week on the Daily Rider Podcast, we're doing something a little different than our normal short episodes.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Instead, we're doing a five-part series celebrating the launch of the brand new book, The Best Selling Book Formula, Write a Book That Will Make You a Fortune, which is written by my friend and business coach Honore Corter.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted to feature this fantastic book all this week because I think it's an essential book for every writer.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: In the best-selling book formula, Honore gives you a simple four-part framework for ensuring that you have an amazing nonfiction book.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Honore is the author of dozens of books, including You Must Write a Book, You Must Market Your Book, The Prosperous Writers Book Series, Vision to Reality, The Successful Single Mom Book Series, and many more.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: She's also a business coach and founder of Indie Author University, as well as the founder of the Empire Builders Mastermind, which I joined a couple of years ago.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: So in today's episode, Honore gives us an overview of the best-selling book formula and how it can vastly improve your next book.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: You can get the best-selling book formula on Amazon, and I also recommend signing up for Honore's extremely helpful email list at honorequarter.com.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, before we get to the interview, I want to mention that she's also generously made five copies of the book available to give away.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So the first five people to leave a review of this podcast on Apple Podcasts will receive a print copy of the book in the mail.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: So just leave a review for the Daily Rider Podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: Take a screenshot of your review.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: Email it to me at Kent at DailyWriterLife.com along with your address, and I'll drop a copy of the book in the mail.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Here is the first of five short conversations with the amazing Honore Corter.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Honore Quarter, welcome to this, to the first of several special episodes we're doing here on the Daily Writer Podcast.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Good to have you back.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is, I think, your third or fourth time.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: So uh always enjoy chatting with you.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: Always enjoy talking with you, Kent.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: So we are here doing what is actually the first time I've done this kind of a thing here on the show, which is having a guest on, but we're actually breaking up this conversation into five different, I guess you would call this mini episodes or shorter episodes.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: The reason we're doing this is because I want to talk for several episodes, not just one, about your amazing brand new book called The Best Selling Book Formula.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure why I'm holding this up for you to see because you wrote this.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: It's not like this is a shock to you.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: I'll pull it mine so you can see it.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: Like they're the same.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: I was telling somebody the other day, maybe it was you or or my wife.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: It was it was somebody in my circle, how the physical size of this book, it literally makes me just want to pick it up and carry it with me everywhere.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Please something to that.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's just a crazy.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Feel free to do that.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_01: And if you lose it, I'll send you another one.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I can carry with me everywhere.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: I can just give them out like potato chips.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes, that'd be awesome.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, one of the reasons I wanted to set up this conversation this way instead of just doing one single interview is because I think this is a very different book than almost any other book that I've ever seen for writers, in the sense that it's giving authors a really simple system for doing something that's really important with their book, which is baking into it a system for writing a bestseller.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to explore this on several episodes because this is a really, really great concept that I've never heard anybody talk about before.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, first of all, thanks for writing an amazing book.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is genius.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_01: And also, I'm gonna give you a hat tip because it's all your fault.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, thank you for telling me to write this book.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: So, for those listening who don't know what I'm talking about, this was a blog post that I wrote based on some observations and kind of a little mini scientific study that I did on why some books do better than others, why do authors do better than others?
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: And I used to say, Oh, he the lightning strike, or she got lucky, or whatever.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_01: And then I started to question my assumptions basically around everything, but certainly around this concept of why some books are that are not so great become bestsellers and best earners, and why some books that are fantastic never get traction.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so I just wrote a simple blog post about it, put it out in my newsletter, and then someone named Kent Sanders said, Oh, you should write a book about this.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: I've never heard this before.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: And honestly, it's because you're right, you haven't heard it before because it's something that I did on my own.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: I went kind of on a mission to figure out what are the things that best selling and best-earning books have in common, and figured out that there are four.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like you're sort of like the Joseph Campbell of nonfiction books.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: What I mean by that is, of course, everybody who studies storytelling or mythology, they're going to be familiar with that name because Joseph Campbell essentially identified a formula for storytelling that is now the template for telling stories.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: But he didn't create it from scratch.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: He just recognized what do all the powerful stories and myths that humanity has shared, what do all those have in common?
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: And he kind of gave structure to something that was already baked into the system, but he really helped people to understand it and then gave them a way to use it for their own stories.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's kind of what you've done here is you've identified these four super important traits that are a part of the best books out there, the best nonfiction books.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: And you've made it really easy for us to understand it and implement it.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: So um, let's dig into this a little bit.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Give us kind of a rundown of what is the best-selling book formula in a nutshell and why should we be using this for our nonfiction books?
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_01: So the best-selling book formula in a nutshell are the four keys that are usually included in all books that become best earning books over time.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: So we all know the term best-selling, but really anyone can be a best-selling author, right?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: So we can off to the side because everyone who's an author knows, oh, you can sell five copies of a book in an hour and then you become a best-selling author.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: That doesn't mean you've made any money.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I want to be a best earning author.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_01: I want my books to be best earning and to earn money for a decade.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: So there are four things that I four keys or four common elements of most best earning books, and they are that they are easy to read, they are easy to remember, they are easy to do or implement, and they are easy to share.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna dive into more of those in subsequent episodes of this kind of mini-series that we're doing.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: But let's talk for a second before we wrap up this episode about some of the books that you have noticed this formula in.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: And uh I didn't prepare you beforehand with this question, but what are two or three books that you have noticed have this formula and how do they use this?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: So in the book, I talk about three nonfiction books and one fiction book.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the first one, the most intimate example that I have is the miracle morning.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_01: I worked very closely with Hal to create that series.
• 7:36
  SPEAKER_01: And Hal's book is easy to read.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: So it's written at a grade level that is easy for people to read, right?
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna talk about these things in more depth, but the the miracle morning itself is easy to read, it's easy to remember, it's easy to do, and it's easy to share.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um another one would be the Daily Stoic, and I don't talk about that in the best-selling book formula, but it is easy to remember, easy to read, easy to do, and easy to share.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_01: And and part of this whole process is figuring out like how do you get someone to say, I have to read this book right now, right?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like share the book and and and read it right now.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: And so almost every book that's my favorite book, Think and Grow Rich, um, psychocybernetics, The Law of Success.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh, I recently rediscovered You Were Born Rich by Bob Proctor, and of course, that book meets the best-selling book formula.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: I would say that um 18 Words to Live By meets that criteria.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Who wrote that?
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: That's some some genius.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_01: Sounds like a lame book.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: I wouldn't read it myself.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Just kidding.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, for people listening, that's my own book.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: So there's there's something about the author and or the book and or the message contained in the book that has all of these elements, or one that stands out so much that it's unforgettable.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Hmm.
• 9:05
  unknown: Yeah.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: See, I love that because I feel like a lot of times writers struggle over the words there because there's so much emphasis by literary types in the book world and in the author world, where it's like you've got to have this certain kind of language that you've got to use and you've got to be like this really eloquent writer.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: And they struggle over the words so much.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: But then if you have a book that sounds pretty, but it is, but it doesn't contain these elements, then it's gonna be really hard to have a successful book, isn't it?
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_01: It is, it is, and it's the it's why a lot of the advice that I give in my different courses and books makes even more sense.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: Now that I've dissected this, when I say don't be cute or clever with your book title, be straightforward and direct, right?
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: You want it to be easy to remember, you want it to be easy to share.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: And spoiler alert, I talk about how the morning miracle is the wrong title for the book.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_01: People get the title wrong all the time, but they it's the miracle morning, but they can remember it, right?
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: They can remember the essence of it and they're sharing it, they're compelled to share it for reasons which we will talk about later in the week.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: So please tune in.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but uh you want to make sure that um you're really being direct and straightforward with your title because you want people to be able to easily recall it.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: And the title part is kind of an art and a science, isn't it?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: I know you've thought a lot about titles, you've studied this at length.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: And we probably don't have time to go into all the the depths of how to create a good book title, but are there a couple tips that you could give us about uh when you're thinking about book titles?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because that's the first thing people are gonna encounter is that you know the title of the actual book.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: So, how can people think about creating a a really great title for their book, in addition to all the other things that we're gonna talk about?
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so when I give advice about a title, the first thing I say is don't be cute or clever.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: So don't use a turn of a phrase or I'll I'll use my name in honoreism, right?
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_01: So, like something that I would say, um you will notice that I call this the best selling book formula, but what I'm focused on is a best earning book.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: But if I had titled it the best earning book formula, nobody knows what that is.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Right, right.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_01: Someone asked me why, if I'm known for this, why didn't I title the book that way?
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I think, you know, honore, everybody knows you for that.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_01: It's like, well, all eight people on the planet who know me know about this concept, but the other eight billion people don't know what a best earning book is.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: And rather than making them guess, I'm using a phrase that they understand.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: And then I'm talking about in the introduction what I actually mean when I just say best selling.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_01: I actually mean best earning.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: So you want to be direct and use something that people understand right off the bat because you will not be there to explain what 18 words to live by means.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_01: You will not be there to explain what the faith of Elvis is.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: So people have to get it right off the bat.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: If they think that they don't know, and I throw myself under the bus in the book because I mistitled my book on business networking.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_01: It's called business dating.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, oh, I'm just being clever.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_01: I'm applying dating rules to networking and business, and everyone's gonna just think that's so clever.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_01: Except a lot of people said, I'm already happily married, I don't need a book on dating in the workplace.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_01: And so so many people have not read my book because I didn't title it effectively.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: So making sure that your title um answers the question, what is the book about?
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: And the subtitle answers the question, what do I, meaning I the reader get in exchange for my time and money.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: So the title is the what and the subtitle is the promise.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, love it.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: That that's immensely helpful.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: That right there is is gonna save people a lot of heartache because they struggle over titles and they wonder, is this a good title?
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_00: Is this a good title?
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: So just obeying those couple of principles, I think is gonna be super valuable.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this has been great.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we're gonna wrap up this episode and we will see see you in the next episode when we start to dive into some specifics from the best-selling book formula.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: A big thank you to today's sponsor, Vellum.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: As a writer, you not only want to write great books, you also want them to look professionally formatted and give your readers a great experience.
• 13:35
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• 13:40
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• 13:48
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• 13:56
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• 14:00
  SPEAKER_00: You only have to purchase when you're ready to publish.
• 14:03
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• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: To download Vellum for free, visit tryvellum.comslash daily.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.