What is custom publishing?
The world of book publishing has traditionally been dominated by conventional publishers. If you had an idea, you needed to convince a publisher like McGraw Hill or Gotham to not only publish the book but (hopefully) offer some kind of advance. Those deals still happen, but publishers are getting more cautious about what books they develop—both in terms of the number of deals they make and the size of the advances they offer. If you aren't somebody with tens of thousands of Twitter followers who is camera-ready for the Today show (or have the strong potential to become somebody like that), you either aren't getting a contract, or you're getting one for little or no advance money. Custom publishing (or self publishing) is much different than it was even five years ago. Where authors used to spend thousands of dollars to have 50 or 100 copies of their book published by a specialty house, now print-on-demand services like Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) program let authors not only avoid spending money on inventory, but also promote their books in same marketplace as conventionally-published books. And as the author, you retain ownership of the book.  

How do I make a book? 
It has never been easier to produce and sell a book—either printed or digital. Thanks to Amazon, anybody can upload a cover and an interior file and have a book up for sale on Amazon in a few days. Of course, because anybody can do it, many people have. Getting the book listed for sale is just the first hurdle—and it's the lowest one. The best books are targeted correctly from the beginning, written and designed to the highest standard and executed with no quality compromises. I help authors organize, write, produce and promote professional-quality books that are indistinguishable from those produced by conventional publishers.   

Who designs the books?
I have been working with New York Times and Golf Digest designer Tim Oliver for more than a decade. In addition to designing many of the spreads you have seen in newspapers and magazines (and each of the books on the Titles page), Tim has designed books for Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson and Nick Faldo. I also have relationships with several other excellent designers like Scott Combs, which means I’m sure we’ll be able to find a design language for any project.

What do you do about photography?
It depends on the book. Golf instruction books can be image intensive, which means having access to strong photography (or some other kind of image generation) is important. Leadership and business books tend to be more text-driven and rely less on high-quality photography infographic presentation.  

Is it possible to produce an e-book?
Easily. The same design created for the cover of a printed book can be used for the digital version (Kindle or Apple), and conversion software can transform the book's interior file quickly and inexpensively. 

How much does it cost to produce a book?
It depends. How much does it cost to build a new house? A relatively small editing or rewriting project can run the same cost as a new bed or a set of irons. Larger projects like the ones on the Titles page range in cost from $15,000 to $25,000, depending on the length and complexity of the work. That includes the cost of the cover and interior design, but does not include photography or illustration. Before any project, I build a comprehensive creative plan and cost quote so that there are no surprises. 

How long does it take?
I generally plan book projects six months in advance, and dedicate a six-month window of full attention to each book. Projects occasionally overlap, but six to eight months from contract to delivery is a good estimate. It does depend on what other projects are on my schedule, and the schedule of the participating author. If you're busy and have trouble scheduling time for us to talk (and make content), it will take longer to build your book. 

How do I make money selling a book? 
The KDP platform is very straightforward. Each book sale is a 60-40 split between the author and Amazon after deducting the unit cost of the book to print. A typical 100-page, $19.95 book will cost about $3 to print, leaving $16.95—or about $10 in profit. Sell 100 books on Amazon and you make around $1,000. You can also buy as many books as you like directly from Amazon for the unit cost to print (plus shipping) and sell them yourself—at a shop, at appearances, or wherever else you please. On those sales, you would make the full margin of $16.95 ($19.95 price—$3 unit cost) per book. It's harder to put a dollar value on the marketing benefit of putting a book up for sale on Amazon, but the SEO benefit of an Amazon listing is formidable. If somebody is searching for you (or somebody like you), the book listing will be one of the first things they see in a Google search. 

Do you write about anything else besides golf? 
All the time! In the first quarter of 2018, three of the ghostwriting projects I did were released by conventional publishers, and none of them are about golf. Your Score is a guide to consumer credit by money-guy-to-the-stars Anthony Davenport. TakingPoint is a leadership guide by management consultant and former Navy SEAL Brent Gleeson. Organize Your Team Today is a peak performance manual by former St. Louis Cardinals team psychologist Dr. Jason Selk and Edward Jones executive trainer Tom Bartow. My expertise is capturing voice and telling authentic stories—whether it’s about hitting a ball with a stick, managing people in a corporate setting or even going through an extraordinary life, like Andrew Klein did in the memoir we produced about his experiences living through the Holocaust in Hungary and Poland. Recent clients have included everything from a brand development guru to an elite executive coach to a rising activist star committing to making the corporate world more accessible to everyone.

I want to make something other than a book. Can you help me?
Unless you’re talking about engineering a suspension bridge, putting together some bunk beds from raw timber or knitting a sweater, absolutely. I help coaches and other peak performance experts build websites, script, direct and produce videos and develop digital and social media content strategies. I can help you figure out who you want to reach with your message, pick the right medium and then tell the story expertly and authentically.