
#100 Interviewing Your Parents, Writing Through Fear, and One's First Book (Kyle Thiermann)
From Smart Friends by Eric Jorgenson
January 20, 2026 · 1h 25m
About this episode
Kyle Thiermann discusses the process of writing his first book, the emotional challenges of interviewing his parents, and insights into the publishing industry.
Title: #100 Interviewing Your Parents, Writing Through Fear, and One's First Book (Kyle Thiermann) Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:01:47) - The birth of a book: from idea to reality (00:04:01) - A pandemic epiphany: interviewing my dad (00:07:51) - The journey of a professional surfer and journalist (00:10:48) - Writing a book: challenges and insights (00:17:04) - The emotional depth of interviewing parents (00:22:40) - Balancing humor and vulnerability in writing (00:34:39) - Creating unique value in a book (00:41:59) - The power of a good title (00:44:31) - The importance of a book title (00:49:10) - Balancing writing and marketing (00:57:56) - Long-term marketing approach (01:10:16) - Navigating the publishing process (01:19:45) - Unexpected outcomes and reflections Links: One Last Question Before You Go - https://amzn.to/49JVWg2 Scribe Media - https://scribemedia.com/ To support the costs of producing this podcast: >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/ >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage >> Invest in…
People in this episode
Host: Eric Jorgenson
Guest: Kyle Thiermann
Topics covered
- interviewing parents
- writing through fear
- book publishing
- professional surfing
- marketing a book
- emotional depth in writing
- creating unique value
Keywords
- book writing
- interviewing parents
- publishing process
- marketing strategies
- professional surfing
- emotional writing
- unique book value
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Scribe Media, Rolling Fun
Products: Navalmanack, The Anthology of Balaji
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