Ten Creative Planning Principles: Creative Self-Publishing Podcast with Orna Ross and Howard Lovy

April 23, 2023

On the Creative Self-Publishing Podcast, ALLi Director Orna Ross and News and Podcast Producer Howard Lovy discuss ten creative planning principles. Indie authors and publishers have to integrate purpose, profits, and pleasure. It’s a balancing act, and these principles help to keep us upright.

The Creative Self-Publishing podcast stream is sponsored by Orna Ross’s guidebook: Creative Self-Publishing. You can purchase the book at selfpublishingAdvice.org/creative. ALLI members receive the ebook edition, and all ALLi guidebooks, free.

Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our self-publishing advice center. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at allianceindependentauthors.org.

Now, go write and publish!

Listen to the Podcast: Creative Planning Principles

Indie authors have to integrate purpose, profits, and pleasure. It’s a balancing act, and these 10 principles keep us upright. Listen to Creative Self-Publishing with Orna Ross and @howard_lovy. Share on X

Don't Miss an #AskALLi Broadcast

Subscribe to our Ask ALLi podcast on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or Spotify.

OR, sign up to get notified via email right when a broadcast is about to go live on Facebook and when a new podcast is published (#AskALLi advice on Fridays and indie inspiration on Sundays).

Show Notes

Creative Planning for Profit: A Facebook Group for Authors
Creative Self-Publishing Guidebook, by Orna Ross
Orna Ross's Patreon page.

About the Hosts

Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller’s “100 top people in publishing”. She also publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and is greatly excited by the democratizing, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website: http://www.ornaross.com

Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 35 years, and now amplifies the voices of independent author-publishers and works with authors as a developmental editor. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Author: Howard Lovy

Howard Lovy is an author, book editor, and journalist. He is also the Content and Communications Manager for the Alliance of Independent Authors, where he hosts and produces podcasts and keeps the blog updated. You can find more of his work at https://howardlovy.com/

Latest advice, news, ratings, tools and trends.

Favorite Stories of the Year: Author Spending, Marketing Trends, and More in Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

For those of you who celebrated yesterday, today might be a day for nursing a sated belly, enjoying leftovers, and picking up parcels from outlying acquaintances. It’s also the perfect context for reflecting on my favorite stories of the year. Here, while you look for something light to mix into your post-celebration haze, is the first of three interconnected stories that brought me joy this year. Stay tuned for the other two next time.

Structuring a Novel to Meet Reader Expectations: The Self-Publishing with ALLi Podcast Featuring Matty Dalrymple

This week on the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Campaigns Manager Matty Dalrymple talks with USA Today bestselling mystery thriller author Pamela Fagan Hutchins. Pamela shares strategies for structuring novels to meet reader expectations, including the importance of a strong midpoint to maintain engagement. She discusses how indie authors can leverage flexibility to adjust content based on reader feedback, connect directly with fans, and plan future books in a series while balancing continuity and adaptability.

AI Narration Guidelines Introduced for Audiobooks as YouTube Tests AI Voice Tools: Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway

It’s the time of year when new news starts to dry up, especially in an industry like ours that shifts focus to best-of lists, stocking fillers, and resolutions. However, the ever-present shadow of AI remains, this time with significant developments in AI narration. A few days ago, the audiobook industry introduced new guidelines to label AI-narrated audiobooks, following similar steps taken by the advertising and food industries to provide greater transparency to consumers.

View all articles