As an author member of the Alliance of Independent Authors (known as ALLi, pronounced like the word “ally”), you’ve self-published at least your first book and are looking to hone your skills, perhaps building your author business and author brand. How sure are you that you’re getting the most out of your ALLi author membership and that you know about all the resources available here? ALLi Campaigns Manager Melissa Addey offers some insight.
“The members who benefit most from ALLi are those who make full use of the range of services we have on offer, from our active community to our selection of discounts and deals. Go ahead and dive in!”
To find the rest of the membership posts, please go here.
Melissa Addey, Campaigns Manager
Why ALLi Is Your First Point of Call for All Things Self-Publishing
ALLi is here to help you in self-publishing your books with confidence, no matter how much or how little you currently know about the self-publishing process and industry. ALLi is the only global nonprofit association for self-publishing writers.
As an author member, you’ve likely already discovered that being a successful indie author is about far more than writing well. You’ll benefit from a complete rundown of how to self-publish, what it means to self-publish, and how to turn yourself from a self-publishing author into a self-publishing digital business (aka an authorpreneur).
Our goal is to help you to learn more about the decision-making processes in each of the seven stages of publishing:
- Editorial
- Design, including cover and interior
- Formatting and other production issues
- Distribution
- Marketing
- Promotion
- Licensing and publishing rights
You can benefit from advice on when to hire, who to hire, and which elements of the seven stages of the publishing process you keep and carry out yourself.
Remember that you’re not alone as you set out to write and self-publish your next book. ALLi offers many resources that will help you reap the benefits of being an indie author.
Your ALLi Author Membership Benefits
So, what exactly are all the benefits of being an author member with ALLi?
1) Free Books
The team at ALLi has, over the years since ALLi formed in 2012, collaborated to write and publish several complete guides and guidebooks related to all things self-publishing, and we continue to update our catalogue.
Available Now:
- Creative Self-Publishing
- Reach more Readers, Sell more Books
- Choose the Best Self-Publishing Services
- Your Book in Bookstores
- 150 Self-Publishing Questions Answered
- How Authors Sell Publishing Rights
- Self-Publishing a Children's Book
Member Guides include:
- Author Safety
- The Author Estate Handbook
- How to Self-Publish for Free
- Opening Doors, our guide to getting into festivals, libraries, bookshops and more
All members have access to our full library of guides and guidebooks, for free, providing you with years of experience and knowledge you can’t get anywhere else. Make sure to explore them all so you have our advice at your fingertips.
2) Author Advice Centre
Whether it’s an issue about your author branding, publishing strategy, or even just plot points for your next book, right here at ALLi’s Self-Publishing Advice Center, as an author member you’ll find full access to our Watchdog Desk and reports, links to #selfpubcon sessions, our weekly podcasts, including our Inspirational Indie Author showcase, our regular blog posts, and more. Filter our topics or enter your search terms and browse a wealth of advice and expertise for every stage of your writing and publishing business.
3) Private Author Member Forum
Don’t forget to join our members-only private forum, where along with all our members you’ll have the space to ask any question at any time about self-publishing, and you can expect an answer in just moments! This is a moderated group and only ask-answer-advice posts are permitted… in other words, no promotion! Members often remark about the civility on our forum: no question is too basic or advanced, we’re friendly, supportive, and supporting. Ask to join here.
Don’t be shy – ask away, and let experienced authors who have “been there, done that” answer all your questions for you.
4) Write for the Blog!
We invite you to choose a topic and focus to share and then pitch a blog for our selfpublishingadvice.com blog. Only ALLi members can write posts for us, and we welcome all levels of experience and views. You can find our blog guidelines here.
5) Podcast Interview
Your author membership makes you eligible to pitch for an interview on the Inspirational Indie Authors podcast. Host Howard Lovy runs audio author interviews with members whose books or personal stories are inspiring to other authors. The interview focus is on the stories, not the business or marketing side of indie publishing.
6) Upload Your Books
As an author member, you have the opportunity to upload your books to your member profile, which becomes our author database and is periodically shared with media, rights buyers, and other interested parties. A good reason to keep your profile up to date! Make sure to add all your books, with their blurbs and latest covers. You never know who's browsing!
7) Discounts on Vetted Services
With your ALLi author membership, you’re eligible for discounts and deals from our partner members, who have all been vetted by our WatchDog Desk to be sure they meet our standards for ethics and excellence in self-publishing. These discounts cover everything from editorial to print fees, design to coaching, marketing to distribution, and more. Look at your member dashboard and explore all your discounts. Use the Watchdog page to check for scams or unethical services to steer clear of. Remember to always make the most of our Vetted Services Directory. We have checked every Partner member for quality, ethics and value, so that you can choose services from editors to cover designers with confidence.
8) Get Paid to Be a Member
ALLi’s Affiliate Program rewards members for spreading the word by paying 30 percent of first-year membership fees back when someone else joins using your affiliate link.
It’s our way of saying thank you for taking the time and trouble to recommend us to other authors or aspiring authors. And your author friends will thank you too. Details are on your member dashboard.
Talk to Us: That’s Why We’re Here
And finally, we want to stress that being a member of ALLi gives you an open channel to our self-publishing experts, allowing you to contact us whenever you want. We answer self-publishing questions from members in our monthly Member Q&A, which is also published online every Saturday on the AskALLi podcast.
You can expect to hear from us in the following intervals:
- Weekly (weekly round-up)
- You can ask questions on our monthly podcast and our Live! quarterly Q&A podcast session.
- Quarterly (The Indie Author, our self-publishing quarterly advice magazine)
- Annually at #SelfPubCon, our online conference full of insights from self-publishing experts
More Than a Membership
ALLi is a global organization with members on every continent. We are building a growing community of like-minded and supportive indie authors, to spread motivation, inspiration, and knowledge to indie authors around the world.
OVER TO YOU
Are you making the most of your membership?
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