This regular post from the Alliance of Independent Authors celebrates ALLi member successes to inspire our indie author community. This month, our Member Milestones for June 2024 celebrates the successes of author members Dianne Scott, Kevin G. Chapman and Gianetta Murray
Congratulations to all those featured in this month's roundup and to everyone in our community who has hit a milestone this month!
Do you have a member milestone to share?
We are always looking to hear from ALLi members about your achievements; from those of you who are just setting out, to our most experienced Authorpreneurs. Whatever your achievement, if you are a member of ALLi, please tell us about your success stories using this form. We will share a selection each month with our members and our wider indie author network.
Dianne Scott
Author Member: Dianne Scott
Canadian Dianne Scott is the award-winning author of the Christine Lane Mystery series set on Toronto Island. The first book in the series, FINAL LOOK, is a nominee for the Kobo Emerging Writer Award. You can follow Dianne on Facebook, LinkedIn or X: @DianneAuthor
Member Milestone:
The first book in my Christine Lane Mystery series FINAL LOOK is on the shortlist for the $10,000 Kobo Emerging Writer Prize in the Mystery genre. This Kobo prize is awarded to the winning first mystery novel by a Canadian author.
I am proud of self publishing my Christine Lane Mystery series. (The fourth book in the series will be published June 10, 2024). It's a great deal of work to be an Authorpreneur as well as a Writer, but the control and agency is worth it! And I've accessed resources like ALLi and online communities to help and encourage me in my writing journey. The Kobo Award makes me feel like readers, reviewers and booksellers have connected with FINAL LOOK. This is validating and rewarding, especially since few writing awards are available to self-published writers.
What have you learned?
Keep doing the small things, like applying for promotions, posting on social media, accessing resources, networking and taking webinars to improve your craft, because self-publishing is a marathon not a sprint.
Kevin G. Chapman
Author Member: Kevin G. Chapman
Mystery/Thriller author with a day job (for now). You can follow Kevin on Facebook, Instagram: KevinChapman48 or X: @KGChapman.
Member Milestone:
My latest stand-alone novel, The Other Murder, was the winner of the Grand Prize in the CLUE Division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards on April 24, 2024.
After having my books recognized at various levels in other book award competitions, this is my first Grand Prize win, signifying that the judges scored my book as the best of the year in a division that includes (i) Detective/Crime, (ii) Suspense/Thriller, (iii) Private Eye/Noir, (iv) Legal/Medical/Police Procedural, (v) US Political Thriller, (vi) Spy/Espionage/Undercover, and (vii) True Crime / Investigations.
What have you learned?
The quality of writing improves as you write more, and persevering by continuing to enter contests and get better as a writer can eventually pay off. (Not that validation by independent judges is the most important thing . . . )
Gianetta Murray
Author Member: Gianetta Murray
Writer of short stories and cozy mysteries, Gianetta grew up in California but now lives in South Yorkshire with her British husband and two cats. She enjoys visiting stately homes and rewatching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Find all of Gianetta's platforms here.
Member Milestone:
The first in my Vivien Brandt cozy mystery series will be available on June 28 2024 from Troubador Press. I’ve always wanted to write mysteries, to get my work out there for people to enjoy. This is the result of a year of writing and editing, and I hope the first of many more mysteries.
What have you learned?
I love writing! Thank goodness. But it’s hard to know when to let go. I hope this gets easier with future books.
Not yet an ALLi member?
Not yet an The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) is a global membership association for self-publishing authors. A non-profit, our mission is ethics and excellence in self-publishing.
Everyone on our team is a working indie author and we offer advice and advocacy for self-publishing authors within the literary, publishing, and creative industries around the world. All the membership options and benefits, including free access to our collection of self-publishing advice ebooks, are on our website. Take a look and join us today.
Thoughts or further questions on this post or any self-publishing issue?
If you’re an ALLi member, head over to the SelfPubConnect forum for support from our experienced community of indie authors, advisors, and our own ALLi team. Simply create an account (if you haven’t already) to request to join the forum and get going.
Non-members looking for more information can search our extensive archive of blog posts and podcast episodes packed with tips and advice at ALLi's Self-Publishing Advice Centre.
