Authority Pub Academy — A Nonfiction Publishing System for Authors Who Want to Build a Business, Not Just Write a Book
Steve Scott and Barrie Davenport built their nonfiction author businesses to six figures using the same systematic approach they teach in Authority Pub Academy — a complete nonfiction publishing system from idea validation through long-term marketing.
Instructor / Creator: Steve Scott (SJ Scott) and Barrie Davenport / Authority Pub
Cost: Paid — check authority.pub for current pricing and enrollment
AI-Updated: Partial — course includes content on using AI tools for research, outlining, and content development for nonfiction
Primary Focus: Nonfiction book idea validation, market research, manuscript development, Kindle publishing strategy, author platform building, passive income from nonfiction backlist
Best For: Authors who want to write nonfiction books in self-help, business, productivity, or adjacent categories and build a sustainable income from a nonfiction catalog. Particularly strong for authors interested in the Kindle nonfiction market.
Official Link: https://authority.pub
Who Are Steve Scott and Barrie Davenport?
Steve Scott (who publishes under the pen name SJ Scott) is one of the most prolific and commercially successful nonfiction indie authors in the Kindle space. His books on habits, productivity, and self-improvement have accumulated hundreds of thousands of downloads and generated a sustainable six-figure income from a catalog of short, focused nonfiction books. Barrie Davenport is a certified professional coach and author of numerous books on personal development, confidence, and mindful living.
Together, they represent a specific and successful model of nonfiction indie publishing: short, highly focused books on specific topics within a broader category, published regularly, building catalog depth over time. Authority Pub Academy teaches this model in full — not as a one-size-fits-all prescription, but as a proven system that they have both validated in their own businesses.
The Nonfiction Publishing Difference
Nonfiction publishing on Amazon operates under different rules than fiction. Readers search by problem, not by author — a reader looking for help with procrastination searches for 'how to stop procrastinating' rather than for a favorite author's new book. This means keyword research and topic selection are even more critical for nonfiction than for fiction, and that a well-positioned nonfiction book can generate passive income for years after publication without ongoing marketing activity.
Authority Pub Academy is built around this specific opportunity. It teaches authors how to identify high-demand, lower-competition topics in self-help, business, productivity, and adjacent categories — and how to write, package, and position books that capture organic search traffic on Amazon and beyond.
What the Course Covers
Idea Validation and Market Research
The first modules cover the most critical decision in nonfiction publishing: choosing the right topic. Scott and Davenport teach a specific process for identifying topics that have demonstrated reader demand (evidence from Amazon search volume and review counts) without being so crowded that a new book cannot achieve visibility. This is the market research analog to Chris Fox's Write to Market framework, applied to nonfiction.
Manuscript Development for Nonfiction
The course covers the specific craft elements of nonfiction writing — outlining for clarity and completeness, structuring chapters for maximum practical value, writing in the conversational but authoritative voice that works for Kindle nonfiction, and editing for density (cutting everything that doesn't serve the reader's need to solve the problem).
Publishing and Metadata
The publishing modules cover the complete KDP nonfiction upload process — title construction for search visibility, keyword selection, category placement, pricing strategy, and the mechanics of an effective book description for nonfiction (which differs structurally from fiction blurbs).
Building an Author Platform
Beyond the individual book, the course covers author platform development — email list building for nonfiction authors, content marketing strategy that drives readers to your books, and how to build a productive relationship with your reader community that generates long-term backlist sales.
AI Integration for Nonfiction
Recent updates to the course include content on using AI tools in the nonfiction research and development process — using Claude or ChatGPT for initial research synthesis, outline generation, and first-draft support. The course acknowledges AI's role honestly: as a research and productivity accelerator, not a replacement for the author's expertise and voice.
⚠️ GENRE NOTE: Scott and Davenport publish primarily in the self-help, habits, and productivity space. Authors writing in business, finance, parenting, health, or other nonfiction categories will find the methodology fully applicable, but should research the competitive landscape specific to their category rather than relying on their examples directly.
The Passive Income Model
One of Authority Pub Academy's most appealing promises — and one that has genuine grounding in how the nonfiction Kindle market actually works — is the passive income potential of a well-built nonfiction catalog. A book that captures organic search traffic on Amazon for a stable-demand topic can generate royalties for years with minimal ongoing marketing.
Scott's own publishing history supports this. He has books in his catalog that have sold consistently for years after publication without significant promotional activity. The passive income model is real — but it depends critically on choosing the right topics, positioning the book correctly, and maintaining a high enough quality bar to earn strong reviews.
Tracking Your Results with ScribeCount
📊 Every course teaches strategies. ScribeCount shows you whether those strategies are working — in real numbers, across every platform you publish on.
Authority Pub Academy teaches you to build a nonfiction catalog that generates passive income. ScribeCount's Sales Dashboard shows you exactly how passive that income actually is — tracking daily, weekly, and monthly royalties from each title in your catalog without you having to compile the data manually. Use ScribeCount's Sunburst Chart to visualize which nonfiction titles are generating consistent organic income versus which need additional marketing support. The Historic sales view shows multi-year revenue trends for individual titles — the data you need to evaluate whether the passive income model is working for your specific books.
Final Verdict
Authority Pub Academy is the most complete and credibly taught course on the nonfiction Kindle publishing model for authors building a catalog-based passive income business. Scott and Davenport's published track records ground the instruction in genuine practice rather than theory. The addition of AI tool integration in recent updates makes the course current for 2026. For authors who want to write practical nonfiction and build a sustainable catalog income, this is the right structured course.
✅ Bottom Line: The most complete course on building a passive income nonfiction catalog on Amazon. Taught by two authors who have done exactly what they teach. Best for self-help, productivity, and business nonfiction authors.
About the Author
Hello, I'm Randall Wood. When I'm not pounding the keyboard or entertaining my giant dog, I like to build tools for my fellow indie authors. In these articles, you'll find lessons learned over sixteen years spent in the indie author world. I share it all here to help you get one step closer to where you want to be.