You've spent weeks, months or even years working on a book. Countless hours of blood, sweat and tears, and now you have to give your work away for free? It can be a hard one to accept, but if you shift your mindset, using "free" as a marketing tactic, a tool in your book promo belt can work wonders for you. Today, the Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team is asking and answering the question, does free still work?
Whether you're a firm fan of futurism or you're a little hesitant at the quantity of technology being created, educating yourself on what's to come is important to creating a sustainable business. Four women in the publishing industry who have a keen eye for predicting future trends are Alliance of Independent Authors Director Orna Ross, Joanna Penn, Jane Friedman and Becca Syme. Today, the AskALLi team asks them how they predict and profit from publishing trends.
You've finished a book. You're an author, congratulations. Now you need to decide if you publish under your name, or a pseudonym. Pen names can have a lot of emotion connected to them or they can be the freeing safety net you didn't know you needed. But why would you use one? When should you use one? What do you need to consider when choosing? That's the topic the Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team is covering today: the ultimate guide to pen names.
Crowd funding isn't a word we usually pair with self-publishing. But it is a word that's becoming more synonymous. Platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo and Unbound are providing more options for entrepreneurial authors who want to give more to their readers and create a different type of connection. It's the Creator Economy at play. Today, the Alliance of Independent Authors examines crowd funding for indie authors.
We all know audiobooks are big business, everyone is talking about how important it is to create them. But no one is talking about how to promote and market them. That's what the Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team is doing today. We're diving into audiobook marketing for indie authors.
Being an indie author is a lot of work and no one said it would be easy. Which is undoubtably why so many of us, at all levels of publishing, still suffer with overwhelm. That's exactly what we're talking about today. Overcoming overwhelm is not only important but vital to the health of your business and your ability to continue writing. The Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team thanks its members for their contributions to today's post.
All writers are all vulnerable to attack these days if we speak out, from online trolling and harrassment, threats and insults, all the way to stalking and physical attacks. Many of us know what it is like to receive a social media message from someone claiming they intend to rape or kill us. Some of us have actually experienced such attempts.
When you first start writing, translations might not be your first thought. Just get the book written. Worry about your native language first. Then figure out translations if you're successful. As indie authors, translations have traditionally been illusive and difficult to access. But as technology and the industry open up, that's changing. Today, the Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team is looking at book translations for indie authors. The options, formats and methods.
Backlist is a term thrown about by both self-publishing authors and traditional publishers. While your new books—your front list—are often the highest earning for short periods of time. But it's usually your backlist that brings in the consistent cash over time. How do you make the most of those books? What should you be doing to capitalize on them and what tactics work the best? That's the question the Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team is answering today. This is boost your backlist: how to make the most of every title.
There comes a time for many entrepreneurs, writers and business owners where you can't keep up with the quantity of work you have or want to produce in the amount of time you have. What then? Shrink your business, hire a member of staff or outsource to freelancers. Today, the Alliance of Independent Authors AskALLi team is looking at the latter. Working with virtual assistants for indie authors..
The book is done. Hurrah. You've finished a draft, even had it edited. Now you need to format it and get the thing printed. But how? The Alliance of Independent Authors is pleased to welcome Dave Chesson, creator of Kindlepreneur and Atticus to explain how you can format your book for print. This is the ultimate guide to formatting your print book.