Self-Publishing with ALLi

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to novelist, poet, and educator Elizabeth Gauffreau about beta readers — what they actually do, how they differ from developmental editors, and why their real job is reader response, not critique. Drawing on decades of giving and receiving feedback as a writer and teacher, Gauffreau explains how authors can set clear expectations, ch...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway covers a turbulent week for AI and publishing: the Association of American Literary Agents updating their Canon of Ethics to allow closer work with indie authors; a seven-figure publishing deal shelved within hours of an AI allegation; and a peer-reviewed study of 14,419 self-published Amazon titles finding that AI-generated books are comm...

In this member-first partner webinar at the Alliance of Independent Authors, ALLi Director Orna Ross presses Draft2Digital CEO Kris Austin on the $20 activation fee and $12 annual maintenance fee that landed on indie authors in April with no advance warning. Austin explains what the fees are meant to stop, why authors weren't consulted first, and whether the era of free, open access to publishing...

My guest this episode is Julie Day, an autistic author and advocate from London who writes children's books featuring autistic characters finding confidence — the kind of books she never had growing up undiagnosed. Her path to indie publishing began with a recurring dream she had to write down, and it carried her through a late Asperger's diagnosis and a life-threatening heart illness she turned i...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports that the Anthropic settlement has received its final legal approval, with nearly half a million titles eligible for a payout of around $3,000 — and legal fees cut to just over $100 million. He covers Simon and Schuster's second new imprint for indie authors, Simon Stream, offering 50 percent net ebook royalties, alongside the previ...

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss whether an author can safely use a real band's name in a novel title, including how to check for trademarks, why disclaimers won't shield you from lawsuits, and when it's worth consulting an intellectual property attorney. Other questions include: What is the best platform for publish...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway covers three stories pointing in the same direction: books are everywhere. He reports on AI search engine Perplexity launching an ebook store, adding yet another major platform to the growing list selling books directly to readers. He examines the Library of Congress's initiative to acquire indie and self-published titles — and explains wh...

Anna Featherstone talks with author Sarah Martin about the production and distribution of her two purpose-led nonfiction books, Dear Psychosis and Dear Carer . Sarah explains how she built a professional publishing team, changed her approach for her second book, secured consignment with a local bookstore, and used speaking engagements—including one that generated a 260-book order—to reach readers....

My guest this episode is Michelle M. Pillow, a bestselling romance author who has published more than one hundred books during a career spanning more than twenty years. She talks about her early love of reading, the unexpected path that led her to indie publishing, the fictional worlds she has built, and the challenge of managing a large backlist while staying connected to her readers. Find more a...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway covers three positive stories: KDP raising the upper price limit for its top royalty bracket from $9.99 to $12.99, effective July 7th; Bookshop.org launching audiobooks for UK readers on a £12.99 monthly subscription designed to deepen ties between readers and their local indie bookstores; and the rise of dystomance — the blend of dystopia...

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to Pablo Yáñez, founder of BeYourCover, about how artificial intelligence is changing book cover design. A professional book cover photographer for more than fifteen years before building AI tools, Yáñez explains where AI can help authors create marketable covers, where it still falls short, and why genre conventions matter more than...

Orna Ross, founder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, discusses the development and purpose of Indie Author Lab, explaining how it was created in response to changes in the indie author community—particularly the rise of AI. An ongoing monthly program designed to help serious authors address their specific challenges, it is based on Orna's Alliance of Independent Authors guideboo...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway covers four stories: a new EU tariff that will affect authors shipping books directly to European readers; The Economist's striking data showing book publishing volumes have doubled since ChatGPT launched in 2022; the Commonwealth Short Story Prize awarding its top prize to the very story accused of AI authorship; and the relaunch of Simon...

In this member-first Q&A on the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Michael La Ronn talks with Alliance of Independent Authors Business Adviser Joe Solari about how indie authors can think more clearly about the business side of writing. Joe explains why authors should focus less on revenue and more on profit, how to approach pricing without undervaluing their work, when going wide makes sense...

My guest this episode is Diane Hatz. Diane spent years in the music industry, working at major and indie record companies, managing a band, and co-founding a fanzine on The Who that ended up in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Years later, she drew on those surreal experiences and turned them into fiction. After decades of putting off her dream of being an author, she published a four-book series in...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports on a revealing piece by Rakuten Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn, who explains why Kobo rejected 45 percent of self-published submissions in 2025 — most of them suspected AI-generated — and frames the decision as a "book community first" choice over a "readers first" approach. Dan also returns to the Commonwealth Short Story Prize controve...

Artificial intelligence is changing how readers discover books, and few people have a broader view of that shift than Rob Prime. An indie author, founder of Publishing.co.uk, co-owner of LoveReading, and head of an Amazon marketing agency, Prime joins Orna Ross on the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast to explain how AI-powered search is reshaping book discoverability. They discuss Amazon's evolvin...

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss whether it is legal to use real people's names in nonfiction, including the limits around copyright, defamation, and writing about deceased public figures. Other questions include: How much does it generally cost to have a 52,000-word fiction short story collection edited? Where can a...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway covers a week dominated by new tools for authors and readers alike. He reports on BookFunnel's new WooCommerce plugin for self-hosted WordPress sites, Substack's rollout of paid sponsorships for writers with 100 or more paid subscribers, and the launch of the Book Carbon Calculator, which lets print-focused authors generate a certified car...

Most indie authors know print-on-demand. Pop-up and movable books inhabit a very different world — one of hand-assembly, specialist printers, and minimum print runs that make the economics unlike anything in standard publishing. In this episode, Anna Featherstone talks with Kelli Anderson, paper engineer and author of  Alphabet in Motion , about what it actually takes to bring a movable book to li...

My guest this episode is Annabel Youens, a novelist who left a long career in tech to return to her first love: writing fiction. Her work explores midlife reinvention, creativity, nature, and the courage it takes to stop putting off the life you meant to live. She also brings a business founder's discipline to indie publishing, treating authorship not just as a creative act but as a serious enterp...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports that audiobook sales grew 9 percent in the US and 10 percent in the UK in 2025 — a return to double-digit growth — but cautions that active titles grew even faster, meaning many individual authors are getting a smaller slice of a bigger pie. He also questions a suspiciously low 0.03 percent figure for AI-narrated audiobook sales, a...

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to Amelia Ross, a developmental editor and children's librarian who specializes in KidLit, about what authors need to know when writing for young readers. Amelia explains the differences between board books, picture books, early readers, chapter books, middle grade, and YA, and why age categories matter. She also discusses authentic...

Germany is the third-largest book market in the world, and unlike the English-language market, it is not yet saturated. Skye MacKinnon has turned her second publishing language into her bestselling one across three pen names and more than seventy translated titles. In this conversation about the newly released second edition of her book, Self-Publishing in German , she tells indie authors how to d...

On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports on a week dominated by good news for readers and indie authors alike. He covers new social reading partnerships — Kobo with StoryGraph, and Everand with Fable — that let readers track, share, and experience books together. He reports on the American Booksellers Association's announcement that indie bookstore membership has hit its...