Business & Planning Archives

Encore Opinion: Why AI & Blockchain Will Be Game-changers for Indie Authors

What can artificial intelligence and blockchain do for you? Kathy Meis of Bublish gives a clear summary and a link to a free webinar on 13 February. (Can't make the event live? Register anyway to access post-event recording.)

July 15, 2019
Kathy Meis
Business & Planning, Opinion, Process 3 & 4: Production & Distribution

Encore Month: #IndieAuthors Broaden Your Business

In today's encore post, Authorpreneur Karen Myers explains why indie authors need to keep learning and expanding their indie author business activity in order to remain vibrant, profitable and dynamic in an increasingly diverse publishing marketplace. She draws on examples of opportunities she has seized upon to grow her expertise, her reach and her reputation, while continuing to write and publish her own series of fantasy and sci-fi novels.

July 13, 2019
Karen Myers
Business & Planning, Process 3 & 4: Production & Distribution

Encore Month: Simple Tips for Formatting Your Book Blurb

If you've ever pulled out your hair trying to figure out how to add spaces between paragraphs, or to bold or italicize your font when formatting book blurb on your Amazon KDP dashboard, you'll appreciate these HTML (hypertext markup language) tips from Rob Johnson.

Encore Month: How to Outsource Like a Pro

Effective outsourcing is a skill in itself, and it can be daunting. Jyotsna Ramachamdran offers expert advice on how to outsource your requirements in a way that will ensure the best end result for your self-publishing project.

New Authorpreneur Membership Category

At the Alliance of Independent Authors we are introducing a new member category: Authorpreneur Membership. Authorpreneur is a made-up, hybrid word (author + entrepreneur), a new word for a new kind of job, but some authors don't like it, thinking it faddy or forced. It is gaining traction in the self-publishing sector for a few reasons. ALLi director Orna Ross is here to talk us through the reasons for the change.

Book Marketing from a Standing Start as an Indie Author

The longer you're in an industry, the more knowledge and information you build. But, in a way, the more blinkers you wear too. It's hard to remember those early days of no readers and single sale days. But there's a huge number of debut authors publishing every day. Author member Alastair Crombie has just launched his first book and is here to explain what marketing from a standing start is like in the current market.

June 24, 2019
Alastair Crombie
Business & Planning, Opinion, Process 5 & 6: Marketing & Promotion

Self-Publishing Solutions to Low Author Earnings: ALLi Members Respond

Another month, another report about poverty-level author incomes. Boni Wagner-Stafford, ALLi's Communications Manager shares ALLi voices participating in the discussion of the UK's All Party Writers Group report's recommendations. Does the APWG report miss the point? Are there self-publishing solutions to low author earnings?

A New Book Blurb Could Revolutionize Your Sales

First impressions matter, both in person and for selling books. But when you've finished your 70,000-word fiction masterpiece, the prospect of condensing it into a 150-word book blurb is overwhelming enough without also needing a one-line tag to catch a reader's eye. ALLi Partner Member Adam Croft explains how spending a little time with your hook and new book blurb could earn you thousands.

June 20, 2019
Adam Croft
Business & Planning, Process 5 & 6: Marketing & Promotion, Writing

7 Ways You Can Make More Money from Your Book

It takes so much time and effort to become an indie author. Now, how about a little ROI? Truth is, now that you’ve crystallized your ideas into book form, there are multiple ways to spin your book into gold — aka make more money from your book — by exploring different formats and unique paths to market. In this post, Georgie Hockett has seven suggestions to help you do just that.

June 17, 2019
Leslie 'Lam' Miller
Business & Planning, Process 5 & 6: Marketing & Promotion

What’s Happened in Ten Years of Nonfiction Publishing?

There's one thing we can all be assured of in our industry, and that's that there will always be changes. Whether it's to platforms, algorithms or technology change shows no signs of slowing down. ALLI Partner Member Karen Williams from The Book Mentor is here today to talk about the changes she's seen in the nonfiction industry over the last decade.

Opinion: Book Marketing is Less Daunting in Baby Steps

Feeling overwhelmed by the need to market your book? Try breaking the process down into baby steps - a system that Cathy Dudley found worked for her, as she describes with a case study here.

April 29, 2019
Cathy Dudley
Business & Planning, Opinion, Process 5 & 6: Marketing & Promotion

Financial Management Image - Book Of Dollar Bills

How to Track Conversion and Calculate ROI on Facebook and Bookbub Ads

Struggling to work out whether your advertising on Amazon, Bookbub, etc is paying its way? Help is at hand with Ricardo Fayet's post explaining number-crunching techniques that work - includes a free spreadsheet!

April 25, 2019
Ricardo Fayet
Business & Planning, Process 5 & 6: Marketing & Promotion