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

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

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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.”