Self-Publishing with ALLi

In today's Beginners Self-Publishing Podcast: editing and proofreading. Writing a book is impressive but getting yours to a publishable standard is a whole other trial by fire. Doing so requires a stringent quality control process, a team of collaborators, and several editorial stages. In this episode, ALLi's Product Marketing Manager Dan Parsons and Campaigns Manager Melissa Addey walk listeners...

On the Creative Self-Publishing Podcast, we'll talk about creative play to improve your work. Today's episode is the second of three parts in an integrative approach to creativity. Last episode, we discussed creative work. Now, we'll discuss something that sounds even more fun, creative play. But there's also some serious science behind it, helping to improve your productivity by as much as 20 per...

In this month's Advanced Self-Publishing Podcast ALLi Director Orna Ross and Enterprise Adviser Joanna Penn discuss self-publishing values. All publishers care about craft, engage with readers, and harness the power of book retailer algorithms—but each publisher must also decide whether they are primarily a craft publisher (focus: creative excellence) an engagement publisher (focus: responsive to...

My guest this episode is Guy Windsor, who is also known as "The Sword Guy." He has taken his love for a very niche topic, which is researching medieval and Renaissance sword-fighting techniques and turned it into a successful career through books, online courses and crowdfunding campaigns. It's a model that other indie authors could follow. ALLi's Inspirational Indie Author interviews are sponsore...

Today on Self-Publishing News: Amazon has amended its returns policy after authors pushed back. Also, is BookTok always good for authors? And, in our Tech Corner, new AI helps readers discover your books.  These are among the topics discussed on Self-Publishing News with ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway and News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our  Self-pu...

Today, we'll talk about how to get your creative work done. Welcome to the Creative Self-Publishing podcast with ALLi director, novelist, poet, and creative facilitator Orna Ross, and ALLi News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy. Every episode, we'll discuss how to become a profitable self-publisher while also retaining your unique, creative voice. There are many paths to self-publishing, and we'll...

How to handle book design plagiarism? That's among the questions answered in this month's AskALLi Member Q&A with Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black. Other questions include: What services are authors using to setup direct sales on their websites? What is the best way to get my indie book into bookstores? What is the best way to negotiate the rights to an audiobook to a publisher? If I am rebranding...

My guest this episode is Jessica Bell, a book cover designer, author, singer/songwriter, publisher, and parent. Yes, Jessica juggles many moving parts in her career. In our interview, she tells us how she evolved from a songwriter to what she calls a multipreneur. ALLi's Inspirational Indie Author interviews are sponsored by Kobo Writing Life, a global, independent ebook and audiobook publishing p...

What are the reasons to self-publish? Despite the growth of the self-publishing industry, many inexperienced authors still choose to sign with a traditional publisher. That's fine if that route is best for your business, but it's not fine if you only do it because you don't know any better. In this episode, ALLi's Product Marketing Manager Dan Parsons and Campaigns Manager Melissa Addey discuss al...

How do you build your publishing team? Welcome to the Creative Self-Publishing podcast with ALLi director, novelist, poet, and creative facilitator Orna Ross, and ALLi News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy. Every episode, we'll discuss how to become a profitable self-publisher while also retaining your unique, creative voice. There are many paths to self-publishing, and we'll help you discover you...

In this month's Advanced Self-Publishing Podcast ALLi Director Orna Ross and Enterprise Adviser Joanna Penn talk about the importance of creative rest for indie authors and how it is a core part of the writing and publishing process. They share advice on different ways to give yourself a break while and lessons learned from their own recent downtimes. The #AskALLi Advanced Self-Publishing Salon is...

My guest this episode is Tanya Anne Crosby, who first found a traditional publisher, writing romance novels that consistently made the best-seller lists. Eventually, Tanya grew weary of the tropes she was expected to follow in her genre and longed to break barriers. That's when she decided to go indie. Now, she revels in the freedom this gives her as a writer. Not only that, she helps other author...

Today on Self-Publishing News: Spotify gets ready to go big on audiobooks, and they're working with writers to "innovate and create something that is different." Also, IBPA has set new guidelines for hybrid publishers, and artificial intelligence is now creating cover art—making many artists nervous. These are among the topics discussed on Self-Publishing News with ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway an...

What does it mean to be creative? Welcome to our latest podcast, Creative Self-Publishing with ALLi director, novelist, poet, and creative facilitator Orna Ross, and ALLi News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy. Every episode, we'll discuss how to become a profitable self-publisher while also retaining your unique, creative voice. There are many paths to self-publishing, and we'll help you discover...

The AskALLi Members Q&A Podcast is back with your most common self-publishing questions answered by authors Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black.  Questions include: Where can I find the IngramSpark discount code? Where is ALLi's resources on ISBNs? What does ALLi think about X service? I have a problem with my membership. Can you help? I signed a deal with a bad publisher. How do I get the rights back...

My guest this episode is J. W. Judge, an author who writes fantasy novels while also holding down a busy day job as a lawyer and is very involved in family life. Judge says that to be a prolific writer, you don't necessarily need to let other aspects of your life suffer. In our interview, he'll tell us how it's done. I'll let J. W. Judge tell his story. ALLi's Inspirational Indie Author interviews...

Orna Ross, director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, talks to ALLi News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy about upcoming additions and changes to our twice-weekly family of podcasts. We took a little more than a month off to collect feedback from listeners and we're coming back with new hosts, new shows, improved content, all with the same commitment to giving you the news and advice you nee...

Hello, everyone. A short broadcast from us today. It's Orna Ross here, director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, just here to tell you that we are taking a short production break. We will be back at the beginning of September. We are doing a major upgrade of the podcast, as well as the general Self-Publishing Advice Center, from our ratings pages, where we bring you the best and the worst o...

In this Self-Publishing Conference Highlight, Sacha Black discusses how to level up your side characters. All too often, side characters are afterthoughts for an author. Most writers spend their time focused on the hero and the plot, so their side characters are slapped on without much thought. But they shouldn't be. Side characters are the pillars upon which your heroes and villains stand. By the...

My guest this episode is Keith A Pearson, who grew up in economically disadvantaged conditions in England, left school when he was sixteen, and developed a work ethic as he advanced in his career. That work ethic came in handy when he transitioned to full-time author. It was a very unlikely new career choice for Keith, who did not exactly surround himself with the literati. In fact, he wrote his f...

Today on Self-Publishing News: Spotify rewrites the rules on audiobook sales by ditching the subscription model and going à la carte. Also, Spotify buys an AI narration tool, but is artificial intelligence really ready to take over from human narrators? These are among the topics discussed on Self-Publishing News with ALLi News Editor Dan Holloway and News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy. Find mo...

Should I traditionally publish my book? This is among the questions answered on our #AskALLi Members Q&A hosted by Michael La Ronn, author of science fiction and fantasy novels as well as author self-help books; and ALLi Director, author, and poet Orna Ross. Other questions include: Do I have to blog to be successful at writing? Should I hire someone to manage my social media? I've been approached...

My guest this episode is Tessa Buckley, who had a successful career working with architects and designers until she developed multiple sclerosis and had to rethink everything about her life. This led to research about the proper diet to prevent the progression of MS, which in turn led to a brand-new writing career. Today, she writes middle-grade adventure stories and, she says, there's no better t...

The indie author's life is full of creative transformations, which means closing one phase and beginning another. In this session, Orna Ross and Joanna Penn discuss their current transitions, lessons learned from years of growth, and the projects and approaches they left behind along the way. The #AskALLi Advanced Self-Publishing Salon is sponsored by IngramSpark: "Go Publish Yourself!" Find more...

In this Self-Publishing Conference Highlight, Nick Stephenson discusses how to write emails that sell books.  Nick will breakdown the four essential elements of every successful marketing email, including how to come up with topics and ideas (even if you have no idea what to write about), the "missing link" to launch campaigns that can double your sales, and how to integrate your sales message in...