Self-Publishing with ALLi

Today, we're going to talk about Findaway Voices, an audiobook service that's an alternative to Audible, which is causing headaches for indie authors after the Audiblegate controversy. We'll also talk about something called social reading. And we'll look back on the legacy of Jeff Bezos at Amazon. These are among the topics discussed on Self-Publishing News with Alli News Editor Dan Holloway and book editor Howard Lovy. Together, they will bring you the latest in indie publishing news. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Hosts Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines Earlier this year he competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is available on Kindle. Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last eight years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

My guest this week is Pete Fu. You may not have heard his name before, but if you're a fan of indie romance novels, you've probably come across at least one of his many pen names. Pete combines his writing talent with knowledge of the genre, and an instinct for marketing to create a wildly successful indie publishing career. And, through his company called Publishwide, he's helping other indie authors use the power of data to become more successful. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Host Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last eight years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Authors Sacha Black and Orna Ross look at what it means for authors to think long term. When you start out in indie publishing, it’s hard to think past the mountainous goal of just publishing your first book. But thinking long term is what transforms the ability to write words into a prosperous business. Orna and Sacha dive into the wide publishing model, IP rights, investing your profits, ownership of websites and mailing lists, and much more to help you establish, maintain, and grow your creative business. Our Foundational Self-Publishing Podcast is brought to you by sponsor Izzard Ink. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Hosts Sacha Black is a bestselling and competition-winning author. She writes the popular YA Fantasy Eden East novels and a series of non-fiction books that are designed to help writers develop their craft. Sacha has been a long-time resident writing coach for website Writers Helping Writers. She is also a developmental editor, wife and mum. Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller’s “100 top people in publishing”. She also publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and is greatly excited by the democratising, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website: http://www.ornaross.com

My guest this week is Amy Rivers, who writes crime thrillers and mysteries that are very much based on real people and events. Amy's writing is infused with her lifelong curiosity over what makes people do the things they do, which can take her writing into very dark places. Although her books are fiction, they are never gratuitous or exploitative. Here's how Amy came to write her unique blend of reality-based fiction. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Host Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last eight years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Why do I need an author website? Our #AskALLi Member Q&A is hosted by Michael La Ronn and ALLi Director, Orna Ross, and this month they'll be answering this question and more. Other questions include: Will IngramSpark promotion for ALLi members continue in 2021 I published the same book on KDP and IngramSpark, but the prices are different. What do I do? Do I need a different ISBN for each format of my book? Is 99Designs worth it for designing your book cover? Amazon price matches print books, but do any of the other big retailers do price matching? Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. Now, go write and publish! About the Hosts Michael La Ronn is the author of over 30 books of science fiction & fantasy and authors self-help books. His books include the Galaxy Mavericks series and Modern Necromancy series. You can now find his new writing course on Teachable. Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller’s “100 top people in publishing”. She also publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and is greatly excited by the democratising, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website: http://www.ornaross.com

My guest this week is Helen Baggott, a UK-based author and editor whose love of history drives her unique books that feature historic postcards as a way to tell the story of individuals. And, to her delight, some of the descendants of those she has featured have contacted her. Helen is also an editor who has advice for writers in these stressful times. But first, I'll let Helen tell her story. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Host Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last eight years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly moving into the realm of writing with natural language generation (NLG) tools that encompass freelance writing and content creation, advertising and marketing copy, and creative works like novels and nonfiction books, poetry, and screenplays. How will AI writing impact authors? And how can indie authors work with AI tools to improve our writing process, and create better books? In this #AskALLi Advanced Livestream Q&A session, Orna Ross interviews Joanna Penn about findings in her recent book, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Virtual Worlds: The Impact of Converging Technologies on Authors and the Publishing Industry. Our advanced salon is brought to you by specialist sponsor IngramSpark. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, http://selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. Now, go write and publish! About the Hosts Joanna Penn writes non-fiction for authors and is an award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author as J.F.Penn. She’s also an award-winning podcaster, creative entrepreneur, and international professional speaker. Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller’s “100 top people in publishing”. She also publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and is greatly excited by the democratising, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website: http://www.ornaross.com

My guest this week is Helen Hollick, who writes historical fiction about fantastical topics like King Arthur, but reimagines the legend as if Arthur was a real man, without the magic, without Merlin. What she ended up with was a successful trilogy picked up by a major publisher. Then, after creative differences with Random House, she decided to go indie and hasn't looked back since. Today, she devotes much of her time to helping other indie authors of historical fiction find their audience. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Host Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last eight years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Do you want to get paid for your poetry? Orna Ross, director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, interviews Trish Hopkinson about submitting poetry to paying publications in this month's #AskALLi Self-Publishing Poetry Advice Podcast. Trish has cross-referenced several lists of outlets, including those that use Pushcart Prize Rankings, literary magazine reviewer expertise, other online writing experts, and Duotrope to create a super useful list of paying markets for emerging poets. In this session, Trish shares her considerable knowledge of the poetry marketplace, and her submission tips to ensure you give yourself the best chance of success. Trish Hopkinson is a poet, blogger, and advocate for the literary arts from Utah, USA, where she runs the regional poetry group Rock Canyon Poets and folds poems to fill Poemball machines for Provo Poetry. Her poetry has been published in numerous literary journals, online and off, including Tinderbox, Glass Poetry Press, and The Penn Review, and her most recent e-chapbook Almost Famous was published by Yavanika Press in 2019 and is free to download here. You can find her online at trishhopkinson.com. Tune in for discussions on a different theme each month with a focus on developing prosperity for poets through community building and self-publishing. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Host Orna Ross Orna’s work for ALLi has seen her repeatedly named one of The Bookseller’s “Top 100 people in publishing.” She launched at the 2012 London Book Fair, after taking her rights back from Penguin in 2011 and republishing her books herself, with the titles and treatment she’d originally wanted. Orna writes award-winning poetry and fiction, runs a Patreon page for poets and poetry lovers as well as an active author website. She is on a mission to help eradicate creative poverty through digital publishing and enterprise. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram: @ornaross.

My guest this week is Tim Lewis, who many of you might know as the host of the ALLi-sponsored #IndieAuthorChat on Twitter. What you may not know is that he's the author of time travel and fantasy stories, works on software to make people more productive, hates to see indie authors get ripped off, and he first became a self-published author more than a decade ago after tragedy struck in his life. But I'll let Tim Lewis tell the story. Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org. About the Host Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last eight years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.