Dean Rustin Moore

Author - Eric Koester

Dean of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and nationally respected veterinary leader who had spent decades studying and living the human–animal bond, but had never formalized that work into a single, accessible body of thought.

Modern Author Program

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“I never intended to write a book. But once I started, I realized how many stories and insights needed a home.”

—Dean Rustin Moore

What Changed?

The book became a way to translate years of leadership, research, and lived experience into a durable framework that could reach far beyond academia. What had existed as talks, stories, and intuition was transformed into a structured narrative that now educates, influences policy conversations, and shapes how people understand the human–animal bond.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Establish a category or methodology

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
First-time author
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Executive / C-suite
Academic / educator
Healthcare or technical professional

Watch Deep Dive

https://www.rustinmooredvm.com/

Terry McDougall

Author - Eric Koester

Executive coach and former corporate marketing leader who wanted to turn years of experience helping high achievers into a clear, portable framework she could use across coaching, speaking, and media.

Modern Author Program

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“The book became content I use every day in my coaching and the foundation for the visibility and opportunities that followed.”

—Terry McDougall

What Changed?

The book transformed Terry’s coaching philosophy into a clear point of view she could share at scale. What began as internal insight became reusable intellectual property that supported hundreds of podcast appearances, expanded her coaching practice, and eventually led her to launch her own podcast. The book didn’t just raise visibility, it created a repeatable platform.

Goal

Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Build authority or thought leadership

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Healthcare or technical professional

Watch Deep Dive

Dr. Jonathan Fisher

Author - Eric Koester

Cardiologist with 25 years in practice who experienced burnout before it even had a mainstream name, then rebuilt his work around a bigger mission: improving clinician wellbeing and helping healthcare systems function in a more human, sustainable way. He founded the Ending Clinician Burnout global community, supports operational reform inside a large healthcare system, and used the book as a way to consolidate hard-earned insights into a coherent message and platform.

Modern Author Program

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“I’d been thinking about a book for years. What finally made it real was a structured process, weekly accountability, and multiple editors who kept me producing.”

—Dr. Jonathan Fisher

What Changed?

The book became the bridge between personal recovery and public impact. What started as a legacy project for his children evolved into a broader contribution to patients, clinicians, and healthcare leaders. The process forced synthesis: years of journaling, lived experience, and clinical expertise became a single narrative and framework he can now speak from.

Goal

Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Build authority or thought leadership

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Healthcare or technical professional

Watch Deep Dive

https://drjonathanfisher.com

Steve Fredlund

Author - Eric Koester

Steve Fredlund spent more than two decades as an actuary, doing what he was “supposed” to do, building a stable career, and checking all the boxes of a successful life. Despite outward success, he felt constrained by people-pleasing, safety, and a quiet loss of agency.

Professional speaking was not a childhood dream or a strategic pivot. It emerged accidentally, through free talks, small rooms, and repeated reps, until Steve realized he had found his natural medium.

The book didn’t create the speaker.
It clarified the message that made the speaker sustainable.

Modern Author Program

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“I built a good life doing everything right, and I was still frustrated. Writing the book helped me realize I’d been living by the unright thing my whole life.”

—Steve Fredlund

What Changed?

Originally, Steve set out to write a research-backed self-help book. Midway through the process, editorial pressure forced a reckoning: the book didn’t sound like him.

The pivot to memoir unlocked everything.

By writing Do the UNR Thing, Steve reframed decades of lived experience into a single, coherent idea, the cost of always doing what’s expected, and the freedom that comes from choosing differently.

That clarity reshaped his speaking platform, sharpened his positioning as a leadership voice, and gave audiences language for something they already felt but couldn’t name.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Support a consulting or speaking business
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

First-time author
Limited time / full-time job
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Founder / entrepreneur

Watch Deep Dive

https://stevefredlund.com/

Daniel Wakefield

Author - Eric Koester

Daniel Wakefield is the founder of Top Tier Headshots and a business strategist helping entrepreneurs and creatives grow through genuine connection, not empty algorithms or shallow tactics. With a background in photography, branding, and community building, Daniel turned early coaching conversations into a broader playbook for business growth. His book translates his real-world experience into a framework business owners can use — not just consume.

He’s built his platform around elevating others — celebrating clients, amplifying stories, and cultivating connection in a world increasingly tempted by automation and AI shortcuts.

Modern Author Program

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“This book didn’t just put words on a page — it clarified the actual strategy that’s growing my business today.”

—Daniel Wakefield

What Changed?

Writing Accelerate forced Daniel to move beyond intuition and informal coaching into explicit strategy. What had been organic patterns — connection, celebration, intentional audience building — became a named framework: business acceleration through genuine connection.

Editorial feedback helped him:
• Discover his true throughline (the “why” that already lived in his work)
• Present it coherently, not episodically
• Turn everyday practice into a transferable methodology

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Support a consulting or speaking business
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

First-time author
Limited time / full-time job
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Founder / entrepreneur

Watch Deep Dive

https://toptierheadshots.com

Hailey Rodgers

Author - Eric Koester

Hailey Rodgers published See Me: Becoming Your Authentic Self at just 19 years old.

Before she had a corporate title.
Before she had a defined path.

Today she is:

Founder of the Women’s Nonprofit Network (6,000+ members nationwide)
Nonprofit Growth Strategist at Collective Results
National nonprofit leader recognized for innovation and impact

She built platforms for authentic voices — and started with her own.

Modern Author Program

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“I wrote the book before I knew what my career would be — and it built the career for me.”

—Hailey Rodgers

What Changed?

• Clarified her voice and mission
• Gained national visibility at a young age
• Launched speaking, media, and leadership opportunities
• Built a 6,000+ member national community
• Turned early authorship into long-term credibility

The book wasn’t a résumé line.

It was the foundation.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Clarify and organize my ideas

Constraints

First-time author
Not a confident writer
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Founder / entrepreneur
Consultant / advisor

Valeria Aloe

Author - Eric Koester

Leadership consultant and advocate focused on closing the leadership and wealth gap for Latinas who wanted to turn a deeply researched point of view into a credible, visible body of work.

Modern Author Program

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“The book became a platform that opened doors to speaking, training, and leadership work I hadn’t imagined before it was even published.”

—Valeria Aloe

What Changed?

The book transformed Valeria’s mission into a clear, public platform. Before publication, the work lived primarily in ideas and advocacy. Through the writing and launch process, it became a recognized framework that led to speaking engagements, corporate partnerships, and invitations to deliver leadership training across the U.S. and Latin America, even before the book officially launched. Winner of more than fifteen book awards.

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Establish a category or methodology
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

First-time author
Not a confident writer
Needed structure and accountability

Role

Consultant / advisor
Nonprofit or mission-driven leader

Watch Deep Dive

Nate Androsky

Author - Eric Koester

Founder and CEO of a behavioral science and product design firm who wanted a clearer way to communicate how his team thinks and works to higher-stakes, enterprise buyers.

Modern Author Program

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“The book became a sales and positioning asset that directly increased our deal size and helped us land enterprise clients.”

—Nate Androsky

What Changed?

The book became a practical business development tool. Before publishing, the firm’s average deal size was six figures. Afterward, Nate used the book to anchor sales conversations, send prospects a tangible explanation of his firm’s methodology, and close larger, more complex engagements, including seven-figure work with Fortune 50 companies. His company was named to the Inc. 5000.

Goal

Clarify and organize my ideas
Support a consulting or speaking business
Establish a category or methodology
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role
Wanted editorial guidance, not ghostwriting

Role

Founder / entrepreneur,
Consultant / advisor

Watch Deep Dive

Linda Morris

Author - Eric Koester

Linda Morris is a lifelong storyteller—novelist, screenwriter, and editorial consultant—who spent decades helping others shape stories before fully claiming her own as an author.

Her book, The Grizzly Gourmet, is a creative work rooted in imagination, persistence, and the courage to pursue a vision even when confidence wavers.

For Linda, the book wasn’t just a finished product. It was a reclamation of creative identity.

Modern Author Program

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“I finally believed I could do this, and I didn’t have to do it alone.”

—Linda Morris

What Changed?

Writing the book forced Linda to confront a familiar tension for creatives:
knowing how to help others while doubting her own voice.

Through the process, she learned that momentum doesn’t come from pressure.
It comes from permission—to rest, revise, and trust the work.

What emerged wasn’t just a manuscript, but confidence, clarity, and renewed belief in herself as a creator.

Goal

Clarify and organize my ideas
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book

Constraints

Needed structure and accountability
Limited time / full-time job

Role

Memoir & Fiction Project

Ian Lemke

Author - Eric Koester

Ian Lemke is a real estate investor and entrepreneur who built his business by prioritizing trust, transparency, and long-term relationships over transactional wins. His book, People Over Property, documents not just how he invests, but why—positioning ethical decision-making and partnership as competitive advantages in real estate.

Rather than writing a tactics manual, Ian wrote a values manifesto that now functions as a credibility filter for investors, partners, and collaborators.

Modern Author Program

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“This book became my business card. People read it and already trust how I operate before we ever talk.”

—Ian Lemke

What Changed?

During the writing process, Ian let go of the idea that the book needed to perform, rank, or impress.

What mattered was clarity.

As he rewrote and refined the manuscript, the book stopped being about proving expertise and started doing something far more valuable:
pre-qualifying relationships.

The result:
• Fewer conversations
• Higher trust
• Better-aligned partners

Goal

Build authority or thought leadership
Publish a legacy or mission-driven book
Use a book as a business asset

Constraints

Limited time / full-time job
Needed structure and accountability
Balancing book with business or leadership role

Role

Founder / entrepreneur
Nonprofit or mission-driven leader