H.J. Chammas is the founder of Authority Publishing, a full-service publishing, promotion, and monetization platform for coaches, consultants, and experts who want to use a book to build their authority and grow their business. After leaving a successful corporate career and becoming financially independent through real estate, H.J. invested $65,000 in a traditional publishing deal that flopped — and used that painful experience to reverse-engineer what actually works. He has since helped authors across the Middle East and beyond turn their books into platforms, leads, and high-ticket client pipelines.

In this episode:

• H.J.'s $65,000 publishing mistake — and the mindset shift that turned everything around

• Why chasing royalties is the wrong goal, and what to chase instead

• How to research your audience, competitors, and keywords before writing a single word

• The tools H.J. uses for Amazon research: SEMrush, KDP Rocket, and Helium 10

• What separates an authority book from a generic collection of ideas

• Three approaches to writing your book: ready manuscript, interview-based transcription, or ghost writing

• Why AI-written books are getting flagged on Amazon — and what to use AI for instead

• The right way to launch a book: why big spike launches are vanity publishing in disguise

• How Amazon ads work as a long-term strategy, not a short-term sales tool

• Why social media rarely works for nonfiction authors — and what LinkedIn outreach actually delivers

• The publish, promote, monetize framework: how Authority Publishing works with authors from manuscript to ongoing client acquisition

• What to bring to your first conversation with H.J. — and why clarity on your niche comes before everything else

Resources mentioned:

• Authority Publishing: https://authority-publishing.com/

• SEMrush (keyword research): semrush.com

• KDP Rocket / Publisher Rocket: publisherrocket.com

• Helium 10 (Amazon research): helium10.com

• LinkedIn (recommended platform for nonfiction authors): linkedin.com

Connect with H.J. Chammas:

• Website: authority-publishing.com

• LinkedIn: H.J. Chammas

• Free book:

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

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Jo Blackwell is a writer, podcaster, researcher, and personal brand builder whose work centers on helping women over 50 rethink aging. After raising four children, navigating perimenopause, and spending 14 years as a professional portrait and brand photographer, Jo founded the Midlife Movement in 2018 to share the latest science on aging — challenging the outdated cultural narratives that tell women their best years are behind them. Her books include Oh Crap, I'm 50, 50 Facing 50 (a BBC-featured photography project), and her most recent release Aging Wonderfully Well. She hosts the Midlife and Beyond podcast and publishes regularly on YouTube and Substack.

In this episode:

• How perimenopause and depression led Jo to start writing again — and how a blog became a book and a movement
• Why building a personal brand before publishing made a measurable difference in book sales
• The "grandmotherly vibe" lesson: why leaning into who you actually are is the most powerful branding strategy
• How Jo uses YouTube and Substack as a content loop — and why she stopped trying to make Facebook work
• Using audience comments, YouTube polls, and Facebook group data to decide what books to write next
• How to overcome the fear of putting yourself out there, especially as an older woman
• Practical advice for starting a personal brand after 50: platform selection, content planning, and setting your own boundaries
• The right way to use AI in your writing process — as an editor and sounding board, not a content generator
• What's inside Aging Wonderfully Well: self-ageism, perimenopause, brain research, and the science of becoming
• Why Jo says she's never been happier than in her 60s — and what that means for women who think it's too late to start

Resources mentioned:

• Substack (platform for newsletters and audio): substack.com
• YouTube (Jo's video platform): youtube.com
• Pinterest (used as a visual search engine): pinterest.com
• LinkedIn (for collaboration): linkedin.com
• Riverside (podcast recording tool): riverside.fm

Book Recommendations:

• Aging Wonderfully Well by Jo Blackwell
• Oh Crap, I'm 50: Journey from Fearful to Fabulous by Jo Blackwell

Connect with Jo Blackwell:

• Website: joblackwell.co.uk
• Youtube :https://www.youtube.com/@JoBlackwell-MidlifeAndBeyond
• Podcast: https://joblackwellmidlifeandbeyond.substack.com/podcast
  
  

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/

Robert Moutal is the founder of Cover Design App, an AI-powered tool that helps independent publishers create professional, market-ready book covers using principles from semiotics, color theory, and design psychology. A publishing coach with a master's degree in semiotics and communication, Robert has personally published more than 60–70 books and built Cover Design App to solve the exact problems he saw holding self-publishers back: poor typography, bad stock imagery, and covers that failed to communicate genre at a glance.

In this episode:

• Why book covers have a bigger impact on Amazon sales than most authors realize — and the 3-second rule every self-publisher needs to know
• The most common cover mistakes self-publishers make, including bad stock images, cramming too many elements, and typography errors
• How Cover Design App uses semiotics and psychology — not just aesthetics — to build covers that actually perform
• Color theory for book covers: what each color communicates to readers and why getting it wrong can tank your sales
• How the app's Market Intelligence feature analyzes competitor covers on Amazon to help you stand out within your genre
• The Thumbnail Test: why your cover must be readable at every size Amazon displays it
• A full step-by-step walkthrough of Cover Design App, from market research and design brief to generating variations, iterating, and exporting
• How to create a complete visual package — cover, author photo, A plus content, and Amazon description — in about 20 minutes
• Why A plus content is free advertising space inside your Amazon listing that too many authors are wasting
• How to edit existing designer covers inside the app, translate covers into other languages, and repurpose assets for a series

Resources mentioned:

• Cover Design App: coverdesignapp.com/Teddy (10% off forever with this link)
• Ideogram (AI image generation tool referenced for design): ideogram.ai
• Amazon KDP: kdp.amazon.com
• Fiverr (mentioned for comparison): fiverr.com
• Canva (mentioned as a common tool authors misuse): canva.com

Connect with Robert Moutal:

• Website & app: coverdesignapp.com
• Special discount link for listeners: coverdesignapp.com/Teddy (10% off forever)

Connect with Teddy Smith:
@teddyagsmith
Website: https://publishingperformance.com/?ref=ywm3mtc
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/publishingperformance/
Pinterest - https://nz.pinterest.com/publishingperformance/
Instagram - https://instagram.com/publishingperformanceinsta
Youtube -https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHV6ltaUB4SULkU6JEMhFSw
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com

Support the show

Discover More with Our Curated Starter Packs: https://teddyagsmith.com/starter-packs/