The Advantages of Self-Publishing for Non-Fiction
"Today is the best time to be an author, especially of non-fiction," says Amy Shojai, certified animal behaviour consultant and…
Writing: Feel the Fear and Write It Anyway
Launching Cauldstane, her seventh novel, has a special significance for Linda Gillard, because the book embodies her response to her…
How They Did It In 2013 – A Round-Up Of Our Sunday Features
During 2013, we've run a series of interviews with high-achieving self-published authors who have kindly agreed to share their top…
Writing: How Poetry Helped My Prose
Self-published writer of novels, poetry, short stories and more, Michael La Ronn describes how his early ventures of writing poetry…
Opinion: Social Media? No Thanks! I’d Rather Be Writing
With six novels (both trade-published and self-published) to her name, and an extensive following of loyal readers, Linda Gillard explains…
How to Index A Self-Published Non-Fiction Book – A Beginner’s Guide by Joanne Phillips
Professional indexer and successful self-published novelist Joanne Phillips provides an easy-to-follow guide to compiling an index for a self-published non-fiction…
Audio Interview: How AI Is Changing Book Cover Design, with Howard Lovy and Pablo Yáñez
On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to Pablo Yáñez González, founder of BeYourCover, about how artificial intelligence is changing book cover design. A professional book cover photographer for more than fifteen years before building AI tools, Yáñez explains where AI can help authors create marketable covers, where it still falls short, and why genre conventions matter more than many writers realize. He also discusses the ethics of AI, the continuing value of human designers, and how authors can decide which approach is right for their books.
News Summary: ALA Meeting Reveals What Librarians Look for When Ordering Indie Titles
Earlier this month saw the annual meeting of the American Library Association (ALA). Long-time indie supporter Guy LeCharles Gonzalez was there and reported back some invaluable insights. It follows a number of items featuring libraries and the issue of pricing, specifically the way librarians believe e-books should be priced for library usage. This time, the main point of interest is on discovery, and two related questions: what are librarians looking for from indie titles? And how can indie authors make their titles easier for librarians looking for those things to find (and, crucially, to go ahead and order once they have been found)?