James Clear: How To Actually Make It As An Author In 2026 | 129
From The Nathan Barry Show by Nathan Barry
May 21, 2026 · 1h 4m · Episode 129
About this episode
James Clear and Madeline McIntosh discuss the evolving landscape of publishing and the innovative Author's Equity model.
What actually makes a bestseller? My two guests this episode, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling book of the last decade, knows a thing or two about it. I also sit down with Madeline McIntosh, CEO of Penguin Random House US, where she's overseen the publication of over 1000 books. Together, James and Madeline have co-founded Authors Equity, a publishing model that completely inverts how authors are typically paid and how books are brought to market. In our conversation, they break down everything you need to know about publishing today, what works, what's broken, and how they're revolutionizing the industry with a win-win approach for authors. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:21 Publishing transformations Madeline has witnessed 02:59 Madeline's motivation for founding Author's Equity 05:14 The Author's Equity model compared to traditional publishing 09:20 Why the author's equity model is beneficial 14:03 The power of aligned incentives 18:22 Author pain points solved by Author's Equity 21:00 Selecting custom teams for each book 24:45 Author's Equity's willingness to learn from authors 28:22 Self-published…
People in this episode
Host: Nathan Barry
Guests: James Clear, Madeline McIntosh
Topics covered
- publishing
- authors
- bestsellers
- entrepreneurship
- marketing
- Author's Equity
Keywords
- bestseller
- publishing model
- Author's Equity
- nonfiction
- audience building
- book marketing
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Penguin Random House US
Books & works: Atomic Habits
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