Tucker Max; Co-Founder of Scribe

He was known as the “King of Fratire”. Whether on his infamous blog or in his New York Times bestsellers, Tucker Max could court humor and controversy with the best of them. With his undeniable writing skill and flair for the sensational, Max seemed unstoppable.

And then he announced the unthinkable: he was settling down and stepping away from the lifestyle he was famous for.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

“Almost everything good in my life I’ve fallen into a**-backwards,” he laughs. He’d dropped out of law school, been fired as a summer associate, and even got fired from his family business: Max was 27, depressed, and living in Florida. His only lifeline was in writing funny emails to his friends from school. One of them encouraged him to do something with them.

So, he did. In 2002, when the internet was in its infancy, Max posted his emails onto his website. He also chased and chased publishers, hoping that someone would take the bait. They didn’t. And yet, those emails would go on to form the backbone of 2006’s I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell: a book that hit the New York Times #1 bestseller and made the Best Seller List each year from 2006 to 2011.

Having established a groove for himself, Max would go on to write the books which defined the “fratire” genre: Assholes Finish First in 2010, Hilarity Ensues in 2012, and Sloppy Seconds: The Tucker Max Leftovers in 2012.

Which is when Max decided to step back from writing his own books. In true Tucker Max style, he fell straight into a new idea — he co-founded a publishing company based on helping other people to get their books written, where they wouldn’t have to do the writing.

Scribe Media was born. From his first collaboration with Melissa Gonzalez, the CEO of the Lionesque Group, for her book The Pop-Up Paradigm, Max started to develop the structure that Scribe uses today. Acknowledging that successful people really want to turn their ideas into a book, but they don’t have the time, ability, or patience to do it the conventional way, Scribe Media solves that problem.

With his typical uncanny knowledge, Max has managed to once again put his finger on the pulse of marketing. “A traditional publisher only wants a broad book that they think will sell a lot of copies. They don’t care if it helps your business, right? And so, that’s why I started the company.”

Not only does Max assist people in getting their books written, but also shows how business people, entrepreneurs, and thought leaders can set up their book as a separate and profitable arm of their business. To find out more, visit his website for the full story.

To hear more from Tucker Max:

About Tucker Max

Website: Scribe Media
To listen to this podcast: Tucker Max with Steve Sims

To subscribe to Steve Sims, “The Art of Making Things Happen — Podcast”