Orna Ross, founder and director of ALLi, explains why she likes the term author-publisher.
ALLi's founder and director, Orna Ross
At ALLi, independent authors come in many guises but are united by a mindset: we see ourselves as the creative directors of our books, from inspiration to publication.
Unlike the kind of authors who are in thrall to the idea of getting a publisher or agent, longing for somebody else to give them an imprimatur, our members “choose ourselves“.
We don’t waste creative energy longing or complaining. We just do it: write, publish, reach our readers. We may take a DIY self-publishing route, we may hire an assisted-publishing service, we may use a trade publisher for some of our projects. We see all of these as author-services and decide on the basis of conditions arising… guided by what’s best for the book.
Self publisher or Author publisher?
The terms “self ”-publishing and “indie” author are relative terms, misnomers, really, in what is a highly collaborative business.
To go indie is actually to become a team leader, CEO of a business, perhaps a successful global one — as ALLi's Author-as-Entrepreneur Advisor, Joanna Penn, tries to encourage in her new book, Business For Authors.
Nobody who produces a good book does so alone, and publishing means partnership, often with a variety of individuals and organisations.
That’s why authors need to connect, communicate and collaborate across publishing divides. That’s why ALLi was set up and why we will be reaching out to author organisations all over the world though our new Going Global initiative.
And, since the launch of Dan Holloway and Debbie Young’s book Opening Up To Indie Authors at The London Book Fair in April 2014, that's why we have been urging other players in the industry to do just that.
We don’t publish ourselves, we publish books.
We are publishers who are also authors.
Author-publishers.
Orna Ross launching “Opening Up To Indie Authors” at the London Book Fair, with Dan Holloway and Debbie Young
EASY TWEET
“Should authors who self-publish call themselves author-publishers? @OrnaRoss asks, at @IndieAuthorALLi's #selfpublishing advice blog: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/?p=8977 #publishingopenup”
