asked Dick Costolo, CEO of Twitter at the time, to write the fore- word. Many readers did not know who James Altucher was at the time, but they knew that the CEO of one of the largest tech compa- nies in the world was willing to vouch for him and his book, which was a strong signal of credibility. 2. PROVIDE CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND FOR THE READER For some nonfiction books, a foreword explains why readers need this book, and says things about the book that the author cannot. This context could also say nice things about the author that the author cannot say about themselves. It’s much more powerful when someone else calls you a “thought leader,” but (like blurbs) it has to be the right someone. For example, we did a book with a man who was well known in real estate, but not known outside that space. He was friends with Kevin Harrington, who wrote the foreword. Kevin is well known in many business areas, and not only conferred status on the author, but also said some great things about him that he could not say about himself, or they would have come off as bragging. Note again that great forewords do both—they confer status and provide context. If the foreword won’t accomplish one of these two things, then it shouldn’t be written. As long as it’s doing at least one, then the foreword is doing its job. WHO WRITES THE FOREWORD? If you want a foreword for your book, the first question is “Who do you know that could write one?” If you have a good relationship with someone who makes sense, great. Move down to the “how” section. 216 · ThE SCriBE METhOD