We're on the last stretch of our annual round up of the best posts from 2022. The Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team's aim is to bring you the best, most comprehensive content on every aspect of the publishing journey. We want our content to be helpful and applicable no matter whether you're a beginner or an established author. Today, we're bringing you a selection of the best general indie author blogs from 2022.
Publishing Topics
The ultimate guide to formatting your print book
Once the book is done, you breathe a sigh of relief… soon, you'll get to hold your book for the very first time. It's the most exciting moment, until you realize there’s a whole heap of formatting to do. So how do you go from edited manuscript to actual print book? That's what we're discussing in this post.
Creating your copyright page
Still on the subject of formatting and publishing, there are a number of other nitty gritty details we have to sort when we get our book ready for publication. Like your copyright page. But what exactly should go on it? How much legal wording do you need and what are the key phrases? Find out in this article.
Self-publishing predictions for the next 10 years
In ALLi, we like to future-gaze. None more so than our founder, Orna Ross. In this article, Orna identifies the trends that will power self-publishing, change the face of the industry and impact authors in the coming decade. How will reading change? What models will we use? Will we sell direct and decentralize or head more towards KU?
Taking predictions one step further, how do we learn to do what Orna, and titans like Joanna Penn, Jane Friedman and Becca Syme can do? How do we learn to make our own predictions based on what we see and understand in the industry? Well, that's exactly what we aim to explain in this post.
Industry Topics
As part of ALLi’s birthday celebrations, this year, we delved into the history of self-publishing, and, of course, ALLi. We also asked members what they would tell their younger pre-published selves. It was a lovely heart warming post and you can catch up with it here and then read up about the last ten years of self-publishing history here.
Production Topics
Your questions answered: illustrated children’s books
Children's publishing poses a special challenge because your customers aren't your readers and your readers aren't your customers. So how do you successfully publish? This post answers a range of questions from print sizing and materials to marketing, mindset and reaching readers.
Mindset Topics
The ultimate guide to overcoming self-publishing overwhelm
Being an indie author is a lot of work, which many of us find overwhelming at times. We all need strategies to recognise overwhelm, prioritise and take care of our energy so that we can run healthy publishing businesses – and continue to write and produce. That’s the topic we cover in this article, developing habits to overcome overwhelm.
We all like to have a moan occasionally, and while it can be fun, it's not always productive or useful. Regardless, this post was a lot of fun. But some things we say that can influence our mindset and our business decisions in an unhelpful way. If a six-figure indie is in KU, that doesn’t mean you have to be. If indies are successful in the romance genre, that doesn’t mean you can’t achieve success in a smaller niche. In this post, we identify the three things indies should stop saying.
ALLi Publication Updates for 2022
Each year, ALLi publishes more than just blog posts. Alongside the almost daily articles, news and podcasts, we also publish books and guides. ALLi members can download all of our guides and publications for free by logging into the member site: allianceindependentauthors.org and then navigating to PUBLICATIONS where you'll find guidebooks, short guides, member handbooks and the member magazine.
If you're not an ALLi member then you can purchase our guide books in our ALLi bookstore here.
In 2022 specifically, we refreshed our Creative Self-Publishing and Choose the Best Self-Publishing Services books.
Based around the three most effective kinds of book marketing and promotion today, this in-depth self-publishing guidebook from the Director of the Alliance of Independent Author is a must-have for every indie author.
Want to form a solid book marketing plan that works for your personality and writing routine—while delivering a solid return on investment? This guide can show you how.
Through its easy-to-read format, you will:
- Learn timeless book marketing principles.
- Identify strategies that work for today's authors, in your genre.
- Launch and build an author brand, even without a budget.
- Lean into strategies that fit your personality and writing routine.
- Master advanced tactics to grow your readership and book sales.
No matter the genre—fiction, nonfiction, or poetry—the principles and practices outlined in this book work. Applying them to your work, you’ll bake marketing success into your books, see stronger launches, reach more of the right readers, and grow your author business over the long term. Preorder your copy today.
