Smart Friends

#087 Nat Eliason: From Blogging to Sci-Fi Novels, Writing Books That Last, and Owning Your Audience


Listen Later

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro  

(00:00:45) - Introducing Nat Eliason  

(00:01:27) - Nat's Diverse Career and Writing Journey  

(00:01:47) - The Transition from Nonfiction to Fiction  

(00:02:13) - The Seven Act Structure and Writing Process  

(00:02:44) - Publishing with Scribe and Launching Husk  

(00:03:24) - The Rewards and Challenges of Writing  

(00:04:29) - Building an Audience and Marketing Strategies  

(00:06:54) - Balancing Writing with Other Ventures  

(00:09:09) - The Reality of a Writing Career  

(00:10:49) - The Importance of Consistency and Commitment  

(00:22:37) - Navigating Traditional and Self-Publishing  

(00:23:05) - The Journey to Becoming an Author  

(00:40:56) - Exploring the Shift from Nonfiction to Fiction  

(00:41:40) - The Joy of Storytelling in Fiction  

(00:44:00) - Challenges and Rewards of Writing Fiction  

(00:47:44) - Outlining and Structuring Fictional Works  

(00:57:38) - Marketing and Selling Self-Published Books  

(01:10:38) - The Future of an Author's Career  

(01:18:18) - Conclusion and Recommendations  



Links:

Nat on X

Nat’s Website

Crypto Confidential

Husk


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 early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun

>> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter

>> Text the podcast to a friend

>> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners!


Important Quotes from the podcast on Business and Entrepreneurship

 

There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. - Naval Ravikant

 

You have to work up to the point where you can own equity in a business. You could own equity as a small shareholder where you bought stock. You could also own it as an owner where you started the company. Ownership is really important.  

 

Everybody who really makes money at some point owns a piece of a product, a business, or some IP. That can be through stock options if you work at a tech company. That’s a fine way to start. 


Quotes from Nat:

  1. “Writing is the one thing I love doing enough to commit to for the next 30 years.”

  2. “Traditional publishing taught me how to make a really good book, but I wouldn’t do it again.”

  3. “Holding your book for the first time—and shipping it yourself to your first readers—is pure magic.”

  4. “The best marketing for your book is writing the next one—that’s the fiction game.”

  5. “I used to chase whatever was interesting… now I’m building something I want to last 30 years.”

  6. “Fiction lets me explore big ideas without pretending to be an expert.”

  7. “The self-pub stigma is fading… especially when the book looks and reads like a trad pub hit.”

  8. “Characters start doing things I didn’t plan—then I realize, oh, that’s why they’re here.”

  9. “There’s no product in the world like a book—you can sell the same file for 50 years.”

  10. “My dream is to have a warehouse full of books I wrote. That’s the romantic version of success.”

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Smart FriendsBy Eric Jorgenson

    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9
    • 4.9

    4.9

    109 ratings


    More shows like Smart Friends

    View all
    We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network by The Investor's Podcast Network

    We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

    3,391 Listeners

    The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

    The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

    533 Listeners

    The Knowledge Project by Shane Parrish

    The Knowledge Project

    2,673 Listeners

    a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

    a16z Podcast

    1,086 Listeners

    Founders by David Senra

    Founders

    2,111 Listeners

    Noah Kagan Presents by Noah Kagan

    Noah Kagan Presents

    902 Listeners

    Y Combinator Startup Podcast by Y Combinator

    Y Combinator Startup Podcast

    235 Listeners

    Naval by Naval

    Naval

    2,132 Listeners

    My First Million by Hubspot Media

    My First Million

    2,647 Listeners

    Chai with Pabrai by Mohnish Pabrai

    Chai with Pabrai

    79 Listeners

    The Memo by Howard Marks by Oaktree Capital Management

    The Memo by Howard Marks

    436 Listeners

    The Morgan Housel Podcast by Morgan Housel

    The Morgan Housel Podcast

    1,031 Listeners

    Moneywise by Hampton

    Moneywise

    652 Listeners

    Uncapped with Jack Altman by Alt Capital

    Uncapped with Jack Altman

    39 Listeners

    David Senra by Scicomm Media

    David Senra

    120 Listeners