15Feb 26
Inspirational Indie Author Interview: Mike Carden Turns Humorous Cycling Trips into a Writing Career in Midlife
My ALLi author guest this episode is Mike Carden. He’s an author from England who came to writing in midlife. He has independently published six books. Many of them are humorous cycling travelogues. They mix history, conversation, and self-deprecating humor. Readers connect with his warmth and honesty.
14Feb 26
News Summary: Publishers Defend Bid to Join Google AI Lawsuit; AI-Generated Romance Novels Spark Debate
A roundup of AI news to end the week brings a story that has already whipped up a storm and a story that might well do so. But first, a development in the Gemini legal case I reported on recently. You will recall that publishers have sought to join authors in a copyright case against Google's Gemini.
13Feb 26
News Podcast: Bookshop.org Expands Into E-Books, Audio, and Print with Major New Partnerships
On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway focuses on a wave of developments around Bookshop.org, including its new partnership with Draft2Digital that makes it far easier for indie authors to sell e-books through the platform. He also looks at expanded audiobook options via Libro.fm’s new annual subscription model and a major new partnership with Spotify that connects audiobooks, physical books, and indie bookstores through seamless format switching.
12Feb 26
News Summary: Claude Integrates with WordPress; Amazon Reports Record Sales Driven by AWS
After all that excitement about Bookshop.org, here finally is a story that doesn't feature them. It's been refreshing to see AI take a back seat in the news, but its developments are still with us and important to keep abreast of.
11Feb 26
How Indie Authors Market Literary Fiction, with Orna Ross
Many literary fiction authors feel caught in the middle, shut out of a traditional literary establishment that foregrounds their genre, but also out of indie advice urging marketing methods that feel misaligned. Orna Ross explores the psychology of literary writers who feel uneasy about selling their work, shares her own marketing shifts as a literary novelist and poet, and explains why literary fiction is not a special case—simply another genre with its own reader psychology and buying behavior.
10Feb 26
News Summary: Spotify Partners with Bookshop.org for Physical Book Sales, Introduces Page Match Feature
Bookshop has been very busy of late. We ended last week with two significant stories related to the platform that lets people buy globally and support local bookstores. And we start this week with the biggest story of the trio.
08Feb 26
How to Spot Scam Book Marketing Services: Member Q&A with Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black
In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss how to evaluate the legitimacy of marketing companies approaching authors, particularly those claiming to feature books in book clubs for a fee.
07Feb 26
News Summary: Bookshop.org Partners with Draft2Digital; Libro.fm Launches Annual Subscription
The end of the week sees two big stories involving Bookshop.org. First up is some audiobook news, which is a significant development from Libro.fm. This is the audiobook platform that has partnered with Bookshop.org to allow people to purchase audiobooks wherever they're based and benefit local booksellers.
06Feb 26
News Podcast: Selfies Awards Go Global, New Survey Probes Book Prizes, and Libro.fm Adds Annual Plan
On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on the Selfies Awards opening to indie authors worldwide, marking a major shift for one of the most respected indie-only prizes. He also highlights a new Publishing Perspectives survey asking authors, readers, and publishers what they really want from book prizes, looks at Libro.fm’s new annual audiobook subscription model supporting indie bookstores, and notes developments in artist basic income schemes and fresh details emerging from the Anthropic lawsuit.
05Feb 26
Podcast: Ebooks on Bookshop.org: What Does It Mean for Indie Authors?
In 2020, Bookshop.org disrupted the bookselling space with a mission to support independent bookstores while enabling readers to buy print books online. That mission has now expanded to ebooks, with titles distributed through Draft2Digital. In this conversation, Orna Ross is joined by Kris Austin of Draft2Digital and Nick Hunt of Bookshop.org to examine what this shift means for authors. Indie authorship is not the same as indie bookselling. Where do those interests overlap, and where do they diverge? And how can self-publishers make the most of this opportunity?
05Feb 26
News Summary: Publishing Perspectives Surveys Book Awards; Anthropic's Book Purchasing Revealed
It has been some time since I reported on a survey, so maybe people are starting to recover a little from the survey fatigue that can set in sometimes. If that applies to you, then you might want to take a moment to answer some of the questions for Publishing Perspectives on a topic close to many of our hearts: awards. Which is very appropriate as we started the week with an announcement about the Selfies.
04Feb 26
Audio Interview: Using Indie Platforms to Publish First Nations’ Stories with Anna Featherstone and Anna Borzi AM
ALLi nonfiction adviser Anna Featherstone speaks with Anna Borzi AM, chair of the First Nations Writers Festival and its publishing imprint, First Nations Publishers. They discuss how the volunteer-led charity has grown from a literary festival into a global publishing and distribution platform for Pacific writers, often where no other option exists. The conversation covers publishing in an authentic voice, professional production on a lean model, print-on-demand and direct sales, and a strategic move away from costly festivals toward sustainable social media marketing.
