Nathan Baugh

Consultant → writer. I study the best storytellers ever and share with you what I learn. Writing fiction and writing to 77K storytellers every Saturday. Join us 👇

Founder

If you want to improve your writing and storytelling, I urge you to read some fiction.

Not necessarily for the prose but for the structure required to move you through a story.

- Cause & effect
- Intention & obstacle
- Hooks & cliffhangers

The internal logic builds the foundation of a great story, and it’s worth reverse engineering and trying to apply the ideas to your work.

PS. I talk about this stuff every week with 112k readers: nathanbaugh.substack.com

Ghostwriter. Exploring the art and science of storytelling. Debut fantasy novel sometime ~soon.

Here’s the problem with attribution:

1. I know of a business because I’ve followed the founder for years on twitter

2. Convo with friends around the topic

3. I don’t have link, so go to google to get link - accidentally hit sponsored link

4. Send link anyway

5. Friend applies for membership - it’ll be a low five figure a year thing

6. Business will see he clicked through Google ad

7. Attribute lead to Google ads

Reader, the Google ad did nothing, the twitter account did everything, and attribution will show the opposite.

Wonder how often this happens

Alex Wiec 📚

Content Writer

Creator of Alex & Books | I share book recs and tips to become a better reader. | 750k+ followers

Hi there, my name is Alex Wieckowski but most people know me better as Alex & Books.

Over the past 8 years, I've built a social media following of 1+ million readers. To date my content has been seen by 100+ million people. 

• 470,000+ followers on Instagram
• 350,000+ followers on X/Twitter
• 130,000+ followers on Threads
• 110,000+ followers on TikTok
• 25,000+ followers on LinkedIn
• 20,000+ followers on YouTube

Here are 3 ways I can help you:

1) ALEX & BOOKS NEWSLETTER

I write a newsletter where I summarize the best books I've read and the most impactful lessons from them. It's read by Fortune 500 executives, VC investors, NYT bestselling authors, and countless more people.→ Join 50,000+ readers here (it's free): alexandbooks.beehiiv.com/subscribe 

2) THE ART OF READING [DIGITAL COURSE]

Access a proven system for building a lasting reading habit, finding time to read, taking notes in books, and becoming a productive reader. Join 700+ students in this self-paced course. → Check it out: alexandbooks.mykajabi.com/taor-new

3) SPEAKING + WORKSHOPS  

Want me to speak at your next conference or run a workshop where I'll teach your employees how to read more books and become better readers?→ Email: alexwiecblog@gmail.com

Content Creator

Content creator focused on non-fiction books. Grew the brand organically to 650k+ followers across multiple social media platforms.

Michael Bungay Stanier's book “The Coaching Habit” has sold 1M+ copies! 🥳

This book revolutionized coaching by making it practical and accessible to all.

However this book isn’t just for coaches, if you’re a teacher, parent, manager, or anyone else who helps make people better, you’re a coach.

In this book, Michael shares 7 essential coaching questions and how to use them to unlock people’s potential. 

Swipe to read a few of my favorite lessons from the book! 📖 

PS: The 10th anniversary edition has updated content and illustrations and is being released on March 24th. 

Preorder it on Michael’s website here to get tons of cool bonuses: https://lnkd.in/eugjwAZg  👈

Alex Wieckowski

The Coaching Habit

If you're an aspiring author or even an existing one, this chart is for you.

Publishing expert Jane Friedman put together this beautiful chart with the Pros & Cons for 10 different publishing models.

She covers:

-Traditional publishing
-University publishing
-Hybrid publishing
-Small publishing
-Self-publishing
-And more

She also dives into who they work with, how the money works, how to approach them, what you watch out for, and other useful details.

It's worth saving this chart!
–––
♻️ Repost if you found this helpful.

Creator of Alex & Books | 1M+ followers on social media | Follow me for book recs and reading tips

Read one book every week for a year and watch your life change:

Out of curiosity, who here has read 52 or more books in one year?

Quote from "Set for Life" by Scott Trench
–––
PS: Want to read more books but don't know where to start?

Grab a list of my 100 favorite books (plus a new book summary every week) for FREE here: https://lnkd.in/eBFYc3xE 👈

BiggerPockets Money Podcast Co-Host, Author of Set for Life.

Spencer Marshall

This post went crazy viral on Threads so I figured I'd reshare it here:

Andrew Tate: "Reading books is for losers...Books are a total waste of time."

Kanye West: "I am not a fan of books...I am a proud non-reader of books."

Sam Bankman-Fried: "I would never read a book."

Don't be like these guys.

Pick up a book today.

If you can change your mind, you can change your life.

Nir Eyal spent 5+ years studying the neuroscience of beliefs and how to turn limiting beliefs into liberating beliefs.

Here are 10+ key lessons from his new book "Beyond Belief":

PS: I'll be sharing a full summary of Nir's book + giving away a free signed copy in my newsletter this weekend. Join for free here: https://lnkd.in/eBFYc3xE 👈

Beyond Belief

Here's some good book news:

More men are starting to host book clubs!

Publishers Weekly says 88% of private book clubs are all-female, so men fall way behind in having a similar community.

Fortunately, men are starting to host more clubs for fellow male readers.

Here's why Chris Wright, the founder of Pritchards Bookshop’s Beer & Book Club, started hosting a book club for men:

1) To stop doomscrolling: 
"My job involves sitting in front of a computer screen all day and we all spend too much time doom-scrolling on our phones, which makes us feel terrible."

2) To help combat male loneliness: 
"No one wants to admit they’re lonely or struggling, especially men, and I thought this could create a positive way to meet, make friends and maybe reignite the spark for reading that’s been lost."

If you're looking to join a book club, there's the Tough Guy Book Club started in 2012 which now has 157 clubs around the world. There are also virtual groups, such as Boys Book Club which meets online every month.

It's estimated that over 60% of bookshops now host book clubs, so consider checking out your local bookstore or library to join or start one.

Is anyone here currently part of or previously part of any book clubs? 💬 
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A Writer's Routine by Grant Snider: 

Very accurate in my opinion. 🤣 

Can any other writers here relate?

Calling all Authors 📚  

If there's one thing I've learned over the past 15 months working on my book it's this...

Writing a book is extremely hard AND lonely.

So I'd love to make this a space where we can all share what we're working on and help you connect with fellow authors who are on the same path.

Here's my question for you: Where you are in your book journey and how's it going?

Comment your answer below! 💬 

I'd love to hear from you (I'll share my answer below as well).
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PS: If you want more content about reading and writing books, follow Alex Wieckowski 👈

20 Problems = 20 Books

1) Want to break a bad habit?
Read "Atomic Habits" by James Clear.

2) Keep getting distracted while working?
Read "Indistractable" by Nir Eyal.

3) Feeling lost in life?
Read "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl.

4) Have trouble controlling your emotions?
Read "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius.

5) Bad at socializing or communicating?
Read "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.

6) Lose motivation to work out quickly?
Read "Can't Hurt Me" by David Goggins. 

7) Always saving information but never using it?
Read "Building a Second Brain" by Tiago Forte.

8) In debt or bad at budgeting?
Read "I Will Teach You To Be Rich" By Ramit Sethi.

9) Want to change your limited mindset?
Read "Mindset" by Carol Dweck.

10) Terrible at small talk?
Read "The Fine Art of Small Talk" by Debra Fine.

11) Scared of starting a creative project?
Read "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield.

12) Want to make smarter financial decisions?
Read "The Psychology of Money" by Morgan Housel.

13) Want to become happier, healthier, and wealthier?
Read "The Almanack of Naval Ravikant" by Eric Jorgenson.

14) Bad at negotiating?
Read "Never Split The Difference" by Chris Voss.

15) Want to make more but work less?
Read "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Tim Ferriss.

16) Want to build resilience and a stronger mind?
Read "Grit" by Angela Duckworth.

17) Overthinking every decision?
Read "Thinking in Bets" by Annie Duke.

18) Have a product that isn't doing so well?
Read "$100M Offers" by Alex Hormozi.

19) Afraid of being judged or disliked?
Read "The Courage to Be Disliked" by Ichiro Kishimi.

20) Feel overwhelmed by too many priorities?
Read "The ONE Thing" by Jay Papasan.
–
Have you read any of the books on this list?  💬

♻ Repost if you found this helpful.

Bestselling author and podcaster Tim Ferriss reads 1-4 books per week.

Here are his 10 reading rules:

1) Be ruthlessly selective.

"It's now 80/20 for me—what you read (being effective) is much more important than how much or how quickly (being efficient) you read." Tim tends to only reads books recommended by people he respects. 

2) Read for action, not just information.

"You read a book. So what? How will it affect your behavior or your beliefs or actions?" Tim always looks for steps to implement the information he's discovered. Inside the front cover of the book, he creates a list with possible next actions so they don't get lost in all the notes.

3) Create your own index.

"Information is useful only to the extent that you can find it when needed." Tim writes page numbers with brief descriptions inside the front cover of every book. This lets him refer back and review key concepts without rereading the entire book.

4) Take multiple passes.

"A day later or a week later, I will go through and 'star' a few entries on my index, and a week later, I'll circle or box or highlight." This helps Tim identify which ideas he's found most useful repeatedly, distilling the best of the best.

5) Reread the books that have helped you.

Tim rereads books like "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius and "Radical Acceptance" by Tara Brach instead of chasing new ones. He avoids what Nassim Taleb calls "neomania"—an obsession with the new.

6) Seek "Just-In-Time" information.

"Focus on just-in-time information instead of just-in-case information. Seek what you need, when you need it, instead of stockpiling decaying memories." Stop hoarding information you might never use.

7) Quit books without guilt.

"Being able to quit things that don't work is integral to being a winner." Tim gives books a chance to win him over. If it's not working after a few chapters, he moves on. Life is too short for bad books.

8) Take structured notes.

"Consuming a ton of information is recreation; it's not retention." Tim takes notes even when reading for fun because there is value, even when reading fiction. Notes help him review a 10 hour book in 10 minutes.

9) Balance speed-reading with slow-reading.

"There are also books I'll savor for weeks, reading a small chunk at a time, like the poetry of Naomi Shihab Nye or Walt Whitman just before bed." Not every book should be speed-read. Some deserve to be savored and read slowly.

10) Read anything and everything.

"I liberally borrow from nonfiction to think about imaginary worlds and fantasy, and I will also borrow liberally from fiction, say Dune, and try to copy and paste lessons learned about leadership." Read across genres. Try something new today. The best ideas come from unexpected places.

Which of these rules do you follow? 💬
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PS: Want book recommendations? Grab a list of my 100 favorite books here: https://lnkd.in/eBFYc3xE  👈

The average length of a bestselling book is getting shorter and shorter.

2011 = ~440 pages
2017 = ~420 pages
2021 = ~380 pages

As people's attention spans get shorter, so do our books.

Personally, I've noticed most bestselling non-fiction books are around 200-250 pages.

What do you think about this trend?

Here's who I met and 3 lessons I learned at my most recent author dinner:

We had a NYT bestselling author who's sold 400,000+ books, an author who's been on the Tim Ferriss podcast, an author who started a publishing company, and more.

1) Most Podcasts Don't Sell Books

95% of podcasts won't drive significant book sales. Some podcasters don't even bother to read your book before the interview. And most don't even link to your book in their podcast or YouTube bio (follow up with them and ask that they do).

However, 5% of podcasts will drive a ton of book sales. The difficult part is knowing which podcasts are in that 5%. If you get a chance to go on a major podcast like Tim Ferriss, that one interview can drive 3,000+ book sales. However, the second best option is to find podcasts that have a small but incredibly loyal fan base. Think of niches where the people have diehard fans such as crypto, crossfit, etc. 

2) Actually Read Your Book Contract

Most authors are so happy to get a book contract that they never read it. However, that's a big mistake. And don't rely on your agent–they are likely NOT a lawyer. 

One author had an early book deal which in the contract stated that the publisher had rights to all future work. Fortunately, the first book didn't sell well and the author was able to buy themselves out of that contract and then sign a better deal with a different publisher. Don't be afraid to negotiate and ask questions about your contract.

3) Do Not Use AI to Write Your Book

As an author it can be tempting to use a little AI to help you write a book but that's a line you should never cross. Use it to help with short-form content like social media content and video scripts, but don't use it for your book. 

Readers can sense AI writing, such as em dashes (–) in every other sentence, and will get the ICK. It will ruin your reputation. Use AI for research and for asking feedback on your work, but not for any actual writing.

Thank you for joining:

- Elaine Pofeldt ("The Million-dollar, One-person Business") 
- Heather Boneparth ("Money Together")
- Nick Maggiulli ("The Wealth Ladder")
- Jimmy Soni ("The Founders")
- Rob Henderson ("Troubled")

PS: If you're looking for more content about books and writing, follow Alex Wieckowski

It only takes 1 book to completely change the trajectory of your life:

Here are 10 such examples:

1) Elon Musk overcame his depression and existential crisis after reading "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams, and became inspired to expand human consciousness.

2) Steve Jobs was inspired to start Apple after reading “Autobiography of a Yogi” by Paramahansa Yogananda, and even arranged for copies to be given to everyone at his funeral.

3) Sir Isaac Newton was captivated by “Elements” by Euclid and used it as a cornerstone for his mathematical innovations.

4) Thomas Edison’s love for experiments was ignited after reading "A School Compendium of Natural and Experimental Philosophy" by Richard Green Parker when he was 11 years old.

5) George Lucas was greatly influenced to create Star Wars after reading “A Hero With A Thousand Faces” by Joseph Campbell.

6) Jeff Bezos was inspired to quit his lucrative finance job and start Amazon after reading “The Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro.

7) Nobel prize-winning scientist Marie Curie’s passion for discovering the secrets of the world was awakened after reading "Introduction to Higher Mathematics" by August Comte.

8) Futurist Nikola Tesla’s scientific imagination of the future was inspired after reading "Faust" by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

9) The genius physicist Albert Einstein was deeply inspired by reading “A Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism” by James Clerk Maxwell which laid the foundation for Einstein’s revolutionary contributions to physics.

10) History’s most famous biologist Charles Darwin’s thinking about evolution was fundamentally shaped after reading "Principles of Geology" by Charles Lyell.

What are some other examples of a single book changing a person's life?

A scary trend for non-fiction authors:

Non-fiction book sales have been decreasing every year for the past 5+ years! 

2019 = 72 million sales
2022 = 65 million sales
2023 = 62 million sales
2024 = 58 million sales
2025 = 55 million sales

What's causing the decrease in non-fiction book sales?

A combination of things:
-People are asking AI to learn instead of reading books
-People are replacing reading books with listening to podcasts
-People are spending more time on social media than ever before

Do you think this trend will continue or do you see non-fiction books coming back into the zeitgeist? 
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For more book content like this, follow Alex Wieckowski
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Last week I hosted an author lunch!

We had an author who's been on the Tim Ferriss podcast, an author who worked at Barnes & Noble for 15 years, an author who's TED Talk has 10M+ views, and more.

Here's the biggest lesson I learned:

If you self-publish your book, you're selling to readers.
If you trad-publish your book, you're selling to book retailers (and then they sell it to readers).

You can think of self-publishing as B2C (business-to-consumer) and trad-publishing more as B2B (business-to-business).

How can you get booksellers more excited for your book?

1) "Publishing is a business of enthusiasm." The more enthusiasm your publisher/editor has for your book, the more likely booksellers will give it a better position in the store. 

2) Preorders. If a bookstore sees that your book is getting a lot of preorders or selling well on Amazon, they're more likely to give it better coverage in their store.

Note: Better coverage and positioning in a bookstore doesn't guarantee success, but it does help. 

Thank you for joining:

- Alisa Cohn ("From Start-Up to Grown-Up")
- Ellen Vora, MD ("The Anatomy of Anxiety")
- Jane Hyun ("Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling")
- Guy Winch ("Mind Over Grind")
- Glenn Kaplan ("Angel of Ambition")

PS: If you want more content like this, follow Alex Wieckowski 👈

10 Awesome Book Visual Summaries:

Have you read any of these books?

(Credit to Sacha Chua for creating these visuals.)
–––
PS: For more book recommendations and reading tips, follow Alex Wieckowski

10 Awesome Visual Book Summaries:

Speed-reading is a scam:

Scientists studied professional speed-readers and found that the faster you read, the less you understand or remember.

“There’s just a maximum limit for how quickly humans can absorb information.”

Last week I hosted an author dinner in NYC.

We had a neuroscientist, an editor at a big 5 publisher, a book coach, and a NYT bestselling author. 

Here's who joined and the most important lesson I learned:

If you want media attention and people talking about your book, you need an angle.

A media outlet doesn't care that you published a book. If you want them to talk about your book, you need to say something unique, controversial, or something that goes against the zeitgeist. 

Take Tim Ferriss's book for instance. He said a 4-hour workweek was possible instead of a 40-hour workweek. Now that's interesting.

Or look at Matthew Walker's book "Why We Sleep." It reframed lack of sleep from a badge of honor/hustle to a serious threat to our health, performance, and longevity.

So ask yourself, what's the most unique angle of my book? What does my book say that would surprise most people? 

Once you know your unique angle, that's what you want to pitch publications, podcasts, and other media outlets. 

If you can say something new, you'll have a better chance of being in the news.

Thank you for joining us:
- Wendy Suzuki ("Healthy Brain, Happy Life")
- Matt James (PRH editor)
- Brooke Law (Book coach)
- Jon Levy ("You're Invited")
–––
PS: For more content like this, follow Alex Wieckowski

Here's how your reading habits compare to other people:

• If you read 1 book in 2025, you read more than 41% of adults
• If you read 10 books in 2025, you read more than 81% of adults
• If you read 50 books in 2025, you read more than 97% of adults

How many books did you read in 2025? 💬 
–––
For more book content like this, follow Alex Wieckowski
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Congrats to Jessica for being the 100-book giveaway winner!

PS: I'm doing another book giveaway soon, join my free newsletter here so that you don't miss it: https://lnkd.in/eBFYc3xE

I am so excited about this!

I recently won a giveaway for 100 books from Alex Wieckowski, and I have to say, the follow through was absolutely incredible. Three huge boxes showed up at my door, packed to the brim with some of the most amazing titles.

It is one thing to win a drawing, but seeing the care put into getting these books across the finish line and into my hands was such a professional and kind experience. Thank you, Alex, for hosting this and for being so generous.

Now, the fun part begins. I have a friend helping me build custom bookshelves in my office to make a proper home for all of them. My workspace is about to get a major upgrade in inspiration and knowledge.

Has anyone else recently added a few new favorites to their collection? I would love to hear what you are reading.

#AlexWieckowski #Books #BigSkyMontana #FirebreakManagement #ContinuousLearning

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