James Clear: How To Actually Make It As An Author In 2026

What actually makes a bestseller? My two guests this episode, James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, which has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling book of the last decade, knows a thing or two about it. I also sit down with Madeline McIntosh, CEO of Penguin Random House US, where she's overseen the publication of over 1000 books. Together, James and Madeline have co-founded Authors Equity, a publishing model that completely inverts how authors are typically paid and how books are brought to market. In our conversation, they break down everything you need to know about publishing today, what works, what's broken, and how they're revolutionizing the industry with a win-win approach for authors. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 01:21 Publishing transformations Madeline has witnessed 02:59 Madeline's motivation for founding Author's Equity 05:14 The Author's Equity model compared to traditional publishing 09:20 Why the author's equity model is beneficial 14:03 The power of aligned incentives 18:22 Author pain points solved by Author's Equity 21:00 Selecting custom teams for each book 24:45 Author's Equity's willingness to learn from authors 28:22 Self-published authors joining Author's Equity 31:07 Who Author's Equity is not for 34:00 The win-win philosophy of Author's Equity 36:05 Crafting books that sell for years 39:00 The importance of building an audience as a nonfiction author 41:40 The timeless desire and new vessel for delivering information 46:00 Getting your best work in front of readers 50:08 What makes books keep selling in year two and beyond 53:10 Leveraging seasonal buying and promotional efforts 55:22 The New York Times Bestseller list: commercial vs. psychological 1:00:30 The most accurate bestseller list 1:02:10 Reaching out to Author's Equity If you enjoyed this episode, please like and subscribe, share it with your friends, and leave a review. I read every single one. Learn more about the podcast: https://nathanbarry.com/show Follow Nathan: Instagram:   / nathanbarry   LinkedIn:   / nathanbarry   X:   / nathanbarry   YouTube:    / @thenathanbarryshow   Website: https://nathanbarry.com Kit: https://kit.com/?utm_campaign=2966155... Follow James: Website: https://jamesclear.com X:   / jamesclear   Instagram:   / jamesclear   LinkedIn:   / jamesclear   Follow Madeline: LinkedIn:   / madelinemcintosh   Instagram:   / madmci   Featured in this episode: Kit: https://www.kit.com Authors Equity: https://authorsequity.com Atomic Habits: https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits Highlights: 01:21 – Publishing before the internet and email 09:20 – Authors no longer have to choose 21:00 – Hand-selecting custom teams for each book 31:07 – Avoiding books with a short shelf life 47:03 – Value in the push and pull of ideas 50:28 – The book has to sell itself 1:00:30 – The most accurate bestseller list