ALLi Blog: The Self-Publishing Advice Blog

StorySelling for Authors: Self-Publishing Conference Highlight

Join Bill Mueller in this session for novelists, poets, and nonfiction authors who want to harness the power of StorySelling to create deeper connections with their audience and encourage them to purchase. Learn the psychology behind why stories work, a life-changing technique for uncovering and crafting compelling stories from your own experiences, and how to seamlessly integrate stories into your marketing and promotional materials across a wide variety of platforms.

AI Translation Sparks Backlash from Translators and Authors: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

Another week, more AI angst. While the Meta AI scandal is not going away any time soon, this week it is AI translation that’s causing the issues—specifically, academic publishing giant Taylor & Francis’s decision to use AI translation to bring research to an English-language audience.

Author Jules Horne on How Writers Can Use Deliberate Practice to Build Skills and Confidence

I'm more of a pantser—someone who figures things out on the page rather than planning every move. But when I heard that Scottish author and writing coach Jules Horne had applied the concept of deliberate practice—something musicians and athletes have used for generations—to writing, I was intrigued. Her book, Deliberate Practice for Creative Writers, argues that focused, bite-sized exercises can help writers build their skills more efficiently than just grinding through another draft. In this Q&A, I ask her how it works, how she uses it herself, and how writers like me might apply it without giving up spontaneity.

Inspirational Indie Author Interview: Annie Fox. Former Educator Writes Fiction That Helps Young Readers Find Themselves

My ALLi author guest this episode is Annie Fox, an educator and author who writes for young adults. She talks about how her background in human development shapes her fiction, why she chose to go indie, and what it really takes to reach readers in a crowded market. Her work explores identity, belonging, and what it means to find your people.

Book Excerpt from ‘Creative Self-Publishing:’ What Does Success Look Like?

Welcome to a new monthly feature on the Self-Publishing Advice blog, where we highlight standout titles from ALLi’s library of self-publishing guidebooks. This month, we’re featuring an excerpt from Creative Self-Publishing, written by ALLi Director and Founder Orna Ross. You can purchase a copy of the book in our bookstore, or, if you're an ALLi member, you can download this and all of our guidebooks for free in the Member Zone—just log in and go to “Publications.”

Authors Call for Compensation as Meta Faces Backlash Over AI Training with Pirated Books: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

The “Meta used pirated copies of my books to train its AI” scandal is most definitely not going away. A recap for anyone who hasn’t been on the internet since last Thursday: The Atlantic published a search facility for the aggregated piracy site LibGen. Writers have been using it and finding out that their titles are on the list (including two of mine). Meta gave the go-ahead from the highest level to use LibGen to train its LLaMA AI. Allegedly, that highest level knew it was a piracy site. Now, those writers call for compensation (inter alia!).

Meta Faces Backlash Over AI Training with Pirated Books; Unbound Shuts Down: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dan Holloway

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on growing outrage after authors discovered their titles among pirated books used to train Meta’s AI model. A searchable LibGen database, highlighted by The Atlantic, has sparked widespread concern over copyright violations. Dan also covers the collapse of Unbound, a crowdfunding-based publisher, and what it means for indie authors.

Bluesky Makes Tracking Traffic Easier; Digital Publishing Award Goes Global: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

This week’s round-up of smaller-scale stories begins with some news from the popular X alternative Bluesky. The platform is making it easier to track incoming links from its feed with its go.bsky.app. What this means is that if you want to run analytics to find out where visitors to your articles, stories, or pages are coming from, you can easily track anything that comes from Bluesky.

Marketing Strategies for Children’s Books That Work: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Dale L. Roberts

Unlock the secrets to marketing strategies for children's nooks. In this episode of Self-Publishing with ALLi, Dale L. Roberts interviews bestselling children’s author Karen Inglis, who shares expert strategies for breaking into the market. Discover the biggest mistakes new authors make, how to market effectively, and why local connections and school visits can boost your brand. Karen also reveals how metadata and keywords impact sales, plus lessons from her journey to selling over half a million books.

Authors Discover Their Books on LibGen, Raise Alarm Over AI Training: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

You’ve probably seen it all over your social media feed this week: light blue rectangular backgrounds with lists of books. Most of these posts feature the writers’ own titles, accompanied by commentary that often hits harder than anything in the books themselves. These are lists of books on LibGen, a piracy-linked site that’s back in the spotlight after a recent article provided a searchable database—allowing authors to see exactly which of their works are available there.

Erotica Authors Confront Platform Restrictions and Market Limits

Erotica authors have always worked on the margins—pushing boundaries of taste, acceptability, and publishing norms. For many, the genre offers a space for freedom, identity, and creative expression. But that space is shrinking. Algorithms quietly bury books. Platforms impose vague restrictions. Advertising is nearly impossible. Authors are left guessing what word, image, or plot line might trigger a shadow ban or a takedown.

How AI in Publishing Is Changing Audiobooks and Author Opportunities: Self-Publishing with ALLi Featuring Orna Ross and Joanna Penn

On the Creative Self-Publishing stream of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast, Orna Ross and Joanna Penn discuss their latest creative projects, insights from the London Book Fair, and the evolving role of AI in publishing. Orna shares her thoughts on how the fair is shifting away from being author-centric, while Joanna explores AI narration and its growing impact on audiobooks, including new developments from ElevenLabs and Amazon’s Audible Virtual Voice.