“Will, people tell me all the time . . . ‘I want to write a book someday.’” Alex told me those words in the fall of 2020. I was running a marketing company, and had just started a new offering centered around ghostwriting: helping others write and publish their own book. When Alex, an author himself and keynote speaker, found out about my new offering, he was intrigued. Although we both knew there was and is a market for prospective authors, we know that most people who ask “How do I write a book?” are actually thinking “How to write a bestseller?”

Or at least, the more Alex and I began digging into the publishing industry—glancing over websites, examining other offerings, etc.—we found that one word kept coming up over and over again: bestseller. It was everywhere!

• “Here’s how to write a bestseller.”
• “We’ll teach you how to write a bestseller.”
• “We guarantee your book will be a bestseller.”
• “Pay us this amount of money and we’ll assure you bestseller status.”

But we didn’t really notice that kind of language at first, because Alex and I’s first goal was to . . . well, help someone write their book! Not a bestseller, but simply a good book. And Alex had a friend who had just got done telling him that high and lofty dream . . . “I want to write a book someday.”

A Better Path Forward

But what if it wasn’t that “high and lofty” after all? What if writing a book and/or the publishing process was a little bit more accessible for normal people to access? What if there was a more streamlined way to take that book idea in your head, and take the proper steps necessary to turn those thoughts into a book?

Those are the couple questions that intrigued Alex and I enough to start down a pretty fun journey. It started as a simple conversation in the fall of 2020, and led to us kicking off our first author in February of 2021. That first author, Colin Holba, became more than just an author to us. Colin became a very good friend, and during the formation of his manuscript . . . Alex and I knew we were onto something much more important than books. And definitely more important than bestsellers.

Colin’s first book, Leap!, was published in July of 2021, and Alex and I experienced that first rush of helping someone write and publish their book. Again, the book launch and aftermath was fun because we got to see Colin thrive in a totally different way than ever before in his career. After all, the guy is an NFL veteran of five years who could snap a football between his legs at ~40mph with laser precision. Every time. Quite impressive!

What else is impressive is the book we got to help Colin write and publish on Amazon. It’s the process that solidified a new path forward for Alex and I’s business, Streamline Books. And we’re grateful you’re here! Why? Because we don’t think the world needs your bestselling book. We know the world needs your authentic story.

More Than a Bestseller

It’s become a large part of our “Why”: to help them write and get booked. Beneath those two objectives is a human longing that supersedes any kind of New York Times bestselling charts—it’s the core longing of every human from the moment we’re born: to be recognized.

It’s no wonder to us that 81% of people say they want to write a book, but less than 1% of people do it every year. Writing a book is hard! But from July 2021 to July 2022, Alex and I committed to making that process a little easier. And we’re very confident in one thing: we have many more authentic stories to help write.

I can’t thank God enough that He kept Alex Demczak in my life, but more than that, that Alex and Will are friends and business partners. Streamline was just that: simple, efficient, and impactful. A river isn’t carved in a day, it is rather a persistent effort from a trickle of water, and that stream, with enough supply and time can create a movement greater than ever imagined. I believe that is what “stream”line did for Leap! I had literally no idea who I was writing to, what I was writing for, or the exact message I had to say. With the guidance of Will and Alex, not only were we able to create a book, one I am proud to share with anyone, we accomplished that goal in a few months! I couldn’t be happier with the path Leap! Took. These guys were there for me, not only in the writing process, but in my travels for work, in my life adjustments with my pregnant wife and all of the fantastic life events that happened in my writing process, which to say the least, was a lot.

Not only did we set a lofty goal, of launching the book before the birth of my son, we got the website up and had a speaking engagement all set before the book had been out a month. I honestly miss the godly conversation and guidance I got, not just in writing but in being a Christian man, husband and father from the two of them. There are few people I could give such high praise too, these men over this time period became my brothers! I value them not only for their professional guidance but their friendship for the rest of my life!

—Colin Holba, author of Leap!