From Ghostwriting to Global Bestsellers: JD Barker’s Savvy Moves that Grew His Author Business {ep. 164}

Alexa's Publishing Chat

In this episode of Alexa’s Publishing Chat, bestselling author JD Barker joins Alexa to share the bold, strategic decisions that helped him build a powerhouse fiction career. From ghostwriting and indie publishing to launching his own imprint with Simon & Schuster, JD has built a career grounded in talent, creative risk-taking, and entrepreneurial smarts.

Today, he’s known for his high-octane thrillers—and yes, for co-authoring multiple novels with James Patterson. But that partnership didn’t happen by luck. JD walks us through how focusing on quality, branding, and business helped him scale his fiction career far beyond the page.
Highlights from this episode:

• JD’s origin story—from ghostwriter to indie author to publishing imprint owner
  
• How his wife’s bold decision kickstarted his full-time writing career
  
• What it’s really like to co-author with James Patterson (including pantsing vs. plotting!)
  
• Why JD trademarked his author name—and how he licenses it like a brand
  
• Using books as marketing tools: hotel placements, real estate investments, and haunted house giveaways
  
• Creating multiple income streams: from real estate to co-authoring as mentorship
  
• The myth of “just writing”—why successful authors need to market like entrepreneurs
  
• The truth about indie publishing: when you should and shouldn’t go solo
  
• A sneak peek at JD’s terrifying new book, Something I Keep Upstairs (May 13 release)
  
• Advice for fiction authors ready to treat their writing like a business
  

Mentioned in the episode:

• Something I Keep Upstairs – JD Barker’s upcoming haunted house thriller
  
• Contest for a haunted overnight stay: Enter here before June 13, 2025
  
• JD’s co-author mentorship model
  

Best Advice from JD:

“Your book needs to be a 5-star story—before you worry about marketing or publishing. Word of mouth only happens when the book is that good.”

J.D. Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is an international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.
https://jdbarker.com/