#726: Hugh Howey, Author of Silo and Wool — A Masterclass on Writing, Unorthodox Self-Publishing, and Living in The AI Age

Hugh Howey is the New York Times bestselling
author of Wool, Beacon 23, Sand, Machine Learning, Half Way Home,
and more than a dozen other novels. His Silo
trilogy was recently adapted by Apple TV, becoming their #1 drama
of all time. Please enjoy!


Timestamps for this episode are available below. Resources from
this episode: https://tim.blog/2024/03/13/hugh-howey/


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Timestamps:


[00:00] Start


[06:48] Breaking the formula with a literary sleight of hand.


[11:00] A commitment to 10 years of obscurity.


[15:02] Buying back rights and self-publishing.


[22:04] Why authors should strive for a reader-first vs.
publisher-first mindset.


[24:22] Hitting the NYT Best Sellers List with a self-pub book.


[27:44] Pricing logic.


[31:00] The undersold value of worldwide rights.


[33:57] How authors can find deal leverage early on.


[37:07] Establishing a daily writing habit.


[41:34] Fiction that inspires better writing.


[45:27] Collaboration vs. writing solo.


[46:59] Ways the publishing industry protects the status quo.


[49:55] Why Hugh makes publishing deals at all.


[50:45] Self-promotion as therapy.


[53:05] Keys to fruitful collaboration.


[55:47] Common mistakes creatives make.


[1:01:03] AI’s present-and-future impact on publishing.


[1:06:05] AI-generated occupational and existential crises.


[01:10:11] Mid-term optimist, long-term pessimist


[01:14:57] Procreation in uncertain times.


[01:19:07] The future of religion.


[01:26:21] Free will and objective moral truth.


[01:31:02] Parting thoughts.


*


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Past guests on The Tim Ferriss
Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh
Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin
Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew
McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth
Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah
Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine
Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary
Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael
Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria
Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de
Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly
Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard
Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael
Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan
Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit
Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim
Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval
Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth
Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard
Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid
Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick
Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren
Aronofsky, Margaret Atwood, Mark Zuckerberg, Peter
Thiel, Dr. Gabor Maté, Anne Lamott, Sarah
Silverman, Dr. Andrew Huberman, and many more.


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