Best Social Media Platforms for Authors in 2026: A Practical Guide
Based on insights from ALLi's member magazine, The Indie Author. You can't be everywhere. And in 2026, spreading yourself too…
Inspirational Indie Author Interview: Michael Maloof Turned Global Adventure and Tech Experience Into Award-Winning Thrillers
My ALLi author guest this episode is Michael Maloof, author of award-winning thrillers about a former CIA analyst drawn into conspiracies that stretch across continents. Michael brings to his fiction a background in technology, entrepreneurship, global travel, and real-world tactical training. His books combine action, technology, emotional stakes, and a strong female lead who refuses to back down.
News Summary: Kobo Partners with Storygraph; Everand and Fable Launch Combined Subscription
It amazes me how often news items come in pairs. And this week sees one of those prima facie unlikely pairs, either of which would be interesting and unusual. The theme? E-book platforms announcing partnerships with social reading apps.
News Podcast: Spotify Reports 60% Audiobook Growth; ElevenLabs Expands; AI Copyright Cases Narrow the Class
On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway reports on Spotify's investor day, where the company credited its Page Match feature for a 60 percent rise in audiobook listening hours, notes ElevenLabs' quiet expansion as a listening platform in its own right, and examines a troubling trend in AI copyright class actions — where increasingly narrow eligibility requirements around ISBN registration and Copyright Office filings are leaving many indie and overseas authors out of the picture.
News Summary: ElevenLabs Adds 200,000 Human-Narrated Titles; Readers Can Swap Narrators for AI Voices
This week's second story is less legally dense and full of plot twists than our first. But no less important. At the center of it is ElevenLabs, the AI-generated voice giant. You will recall that ElevenLabs was in the news last week because of its audiobook partnership with Spotify. This week, a reminder that ElevenLabs is, itself, an audiobook platform thanks to its Eleven Reader app.
Does Social Media Still Sell Books? With Orna Ross
Orna Ross explores what social media can — and can't — do for indie authors in a landscape that has changed beyond recognition. Listen for tips on how to audit what social media truly costs you in time, money, and creative energy; a comparison of the top ten platforms for authors in 2026; and questions that point you to the right platform for you — or help you decide whether social media is worth your time at all.
News Summary: Writer Beware Warns Indie Authors May Be Excluded from AI Copyright Class Actions
Thanks to Jane Friedman for pointing toward the Writer Beware piece that forms the basis for this week's first story. Class action lawsuits taken out by rights holders against tech companies for alleged violations related to copyright law committed in pursuit of the development of large generative AI models. That's a general description of what we've seen a lot in the news. And we will be seeing it a lot more.
Spammers and Scammers: How to Spot a Publishing Scam in 2026
June 2026. This is the first in a new monthly series on publishing scams, bad actors, and how to protect…
How to Successfully Change Genres and Topics: Member Q&A with Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black
In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss how to successfully pivot from one nonfiction topic to another, including whether you need a new pen name and how to manage existing backlist titles.
News Summary: Spotify Reports 60% Audiobook Listening Growth; Page Match Feature Drives Engagement
One reason Spotify has been in the news a fair bit of late is that May 21 was its Investor Day. That's the time each year when they make big announcements about the year ahead, such as reported in my earlier post on the ElevenLabs deal. And it's when they look back and highlight the things they are proudest of in the previous year. And that's what I'm looking at today.
News Podcast: Spotify Expands AI Audiobook Tools; Barnes & Noble Contradicts Itself on AI; Commonwealth Prize Controversy
On this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dan Holloway covers a week dominated by AI controversy: Spotify's expanded ElevenLabs partnership for seamless AI audiobook creation, Barnes & Noble CEO James Daunt's muddled attempt to clarify his store's AI book policy, and a Commonwealth Short Story Prize winner accused of using AI — and why Dan thinks the organizers got their response exactly right.
News Summary: Korean Publishers Embrace AI as ‘Reader’; Barnes and Noble Clarifies AI Book Policy
Last week saw a highly controversial statement from Kim Tae-Heon, president of the Korean Publishers Association. In the statement, Kim refers to the emergence of AI as "reader." This has, of course, caused considerable rumblings among those who feel he has not done adequate justice to the rapacious nature of the technology and the companies who control it.