Kobo and ALLi (The Alliance of Independent Authors) need you for our Open Up to Indie Authors launch!

We’ve got an exciting opportunity for you (ALLi members) to be part of something special.

As another step forward for our Open Up to Indies campaign, ALLi is delighted to be working with Kobo on our forthcoming guidebook for authors and industry players, including bookstores, libraries, reviews and literary conferences, festivals and events: Open Up To Indie Authors.

This guidebook, written by our Self Publishing Advice blog editor Debbie Young with contributor Dan Holloway, and edited by ALLi Director Orna Ross, enables all players (including authors) to meet the challenges of absorbing author-publishers into the wider publishing and literary ecosystem.

The guide will launch in April. Although we’re keeping some of the details under wraps at the moment – expect a more formal announcement soon –  we do have a special announcement (and request) for ALLi members.

Key to our work with Kobo will be drawing on their fantastic global retail presence and their online store — links to bookstores in 190 countries via Kobo.com and its bookseller and retail partner network — to help us launch the guide.

It all adds up to some 17,600 locations across the globe, and probably one near you. That’s a whole lot of potential readings and readers, which we’ll be joyfully taking advantage as part of the Open Up to Indies Guidebook launch.

So where do you come in, dear ALLi member? What we are looking for is successfully self-published authors able and willing to sell books on kobo.com, to share their experiences (sucessful or otherwise) of reaching out to the publishing industry for inclusion as a case history in our guide and to participate in a bookstore launch on the day.

If you’re an ALLi member and you’d like to take part, get in touch with Debbie to register your interest and tell us a little more about yourself.

We want to know:

• Where you’re from (city/town/village and country and nearest Kobo retailer if you’re aware of it)
• Details of the book you’d like to feature (pub date, jacket, blurb, success to date)
• A short introduction to your story and journey as an indie author

We also need a short statement that confirms you are happy to take part in any publicity arising from being featured in the book. And we need your books to be on Kobo.com prior to applying.

We look forward to having an amazing global launch of our guidebook and petition.

ALLi doesn’t yet have members in every part of the world so if you’d like to take part and haven’t joined us yet, and particularly if you’re NOT in London or New York, it looks like now might be the time! Joining details here.

Got any comments? Then head over to the Open Up to Indies campaign page to add them in.