Is Bookbaby or Smashwords Best for Self-Publishers?
Part One of A Five-Part Week Series: "Which Distributor". A Guest Post by Giacomo Giammatteo. All this week on the Alliance…
Book Publicity Tips for Self-Publishers. Part One: Blogs
GUEST POST: By Ben Cameron of Smith Publicity.
For publicity purposes, there are essentially two kinds of blogs, those that are an offshoot of another form of media, such as a newspaper, magazine or radio show; and those that are independent stand-alones. Either way, they are usually written by a single individual or a small group and have a very personal feel to them.
Like people, blogs can be quirky, opinionated and prejudiced. You are off to a great start if you think if them as people – as funny as your Aunt Bessie or grumpy as your old Uncle Carl.
1) Blogs Are Not an Afterthought
When it comes to media, some rank contacts in order of ‘importance’, with television being the golden ticket and blogs being something you try once other
An Indie Author Is Not An Island
Our decision here at The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) to hire a rights agent to represent our members' books in translation markets has raised the hackles of those who think an indie author is not allowed to make publishing partnerships.
Snarky comments emerging across the Internet, of the indies-admit-they-are-not-so-indie-after-all variety, show that there is still fundamental misunderstanding of what it means to be an indie author or self-publisher.
Here at ALLi, our definition of an indie is one who recognises the writer as the primary driver of the book, not just in getting it written but also in
Guest Post: Independent Authors and Visibility by Linda Gillard
Linda knows how to be seen!
In an over-crowded marketplace, we assume it’s reviews that sell books and, predictably, it’s now possible to buy “honest reviews”. Could paid-for reviews be a good investment? Possibly, but I think we should be asking ourselves a different question—how do books find their readers? Or, to put it another way, what makes a book visible in the marketplace?
International Rights Agent To Work With Alliance of Independent Authors
Jennifer Custer, International Rights Director, AM Heath
We’re delighted to announce that we have secured the services of Jennifer Custer, Rights Director at AM Heath, to represent those of our members who have suitable books in translation markets.
Founded in 1919, AM Heath has always been one of the UK's leading literary agencies and has represented some of the iconic writers of the 20th Century. The agency currently represents a broad range of best-selling and award-winning authors, including novelists, historians, biographers, and children's authors — and has a reputation for successfully launching talented newcomers.
The agency offers representation in all markets and all languages throughout the world and Jennifer Custer heads up the international rights department. “We have huge successes,” says Custer. “Many of our authors, Hilary Mantel, Conn Iggulden, and
Guest Post: SEO For Your Author Website by Karen Lotter
On its website, Boston-based search engine optimisation (SEO) and marketing firm 'Brandignity' says: “Always write for humans first”. For those who…
The Self-Publishing Advice Center: from the Alliance of Independent Authors
Welcome to ALLi's Self-publishing Advice Center, a community outreach service from the Alliance of Independent Authors, offering advice and guidance you can trust, across the seven processes of publishing:Editorial
Design
Production
Distribution
Marketing
Promotion
Publishing rights management
Self-Publishers Promote Each Other
We value each other's work
We've been having a debate about self-promotion on our Alliance of Independent Authors' member-only Facebook group. And one of our members, Richard Bunning, came up with a great idea to get around this perennial problem for self-publishers and the forums they hang out on.
Like most great ideas, it's simple. Naturally, as writers, we want to share news of our books and other writings but
Write For Yourself, Edit For Your Reader
John Potter writes: In this time of emergent digital publishing, writers have never been more empowered to write the kind of…
A Definition of an Author Platform by Jane Friedman
This post originally appeared on Jane Friedman's blog.
(picture: www.atlei.com)
Platform is one of the most difficult concepts to explain, partly because everyone defines it a little differently.
So let's break down this thing called platform a
Writer: Who Are You? A Guest Post by Dan Holloway.
OK, I’m the first to admit I’m subject to a not insubstantial influence from Ginsberg, 
Cassady, Patti Smith and various other parts of late mid twentieth century American countercultur — but this really has nothing to do with navel-gazing, primal screams or the Age of Aquarius. Just like those slightly awkward elements of hippydom, though, this is one of those topics that makes authors shift uneasily in their chair, shuffle and generally look for an exit.
I get why writers resent the question: “What do you stand for?” You can understand it in two ways. First, it sounds like a
How to get your Self-Published Books into Bookstores
For a lot of self-publishing authors, getting their books into big-chain bookshops can seem as impossible as hitting a space station with a sling-shot.
There is something of a validation in walking into a bookshop, especially a big-chain branch, and spying your book on the shelf. It’s something we crave as indie authors. But as indies, with corporate structure and head office guidelines, that shelf can often seem a million miles away.
But is getting our books into big chains as impossible as we think?
HOW I DID IT
I’m a fantasy author of The Emaneska Series and my books The Written and Pale Kings are permanently stocked in some 20+ Waterstones stores across the UK. I hold regular signings and events at a large number of branches across the South and the Midlands – around twenty so far in the past year.
I’ve just finished one