Askalli: Self-publishing Advice Podcast

Ep#44: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Joel Friedlander and Nick Stephenson. As authors, we all know the role that social media plays in our ability to connect with readers, but the most beneficial ways of establishing a 1:1 relationship with your potential customers is via your email list. Start your list building early: Between them, Joel and Nick have lots of indie author and self-publishing knowledge and expertise, and although their email marketing approaches may differ, they both agree authors need to establish their email list as soon as they start their indie author journey. This is the most crucial factor in your long term success as an author. Not only is it the ideal way to establish a direct line of communication with your readers, but it provides an opportunity to cultivate relationships, it extends your reach and exposure, and helps you raise awareness for your books (or other products). Size doesn’t matter!: When it comes to lists, size doesn’t matter. What’s important is the quality of your

Ep#43: Orna Ross and Joanna Penn answer members' questions on writing, publishing and promoting books. Each month, Joanna and Orna answer Members’ self-publishing questions during our regular Ask ALLi event. We’ve also included a summary of the questions that were asked and answered this month. Q: I’m investing in editors for my first book, do I send to multiple editors one at a time? Q: What’s the difference between trade paperbacks and mass market paperbacks? Q: What are the different book cover design considerations when you’re planning an ebook and print book launch? Q: Are Amazon getting rid of the Table of Contents in their books, and when I upload my book, what should I choose for the DRM (Digital Rights Management) setting? Q: I’ve been offered a contribution-based publishing contract – what are your thoughts on these types of agreements? Q: I’m trying to avoid losing money with my book launch, and am considering a Book Launch service to help me learn the process. Q: How to I go about finding an agen

Ep#42: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Kathy Meis All too often, great books launch into silence. Why? There is no plan in place to give the book a fighting chance. Today’s book marketplace is highly competitive. You need to bring you’re A-game not only on the craft side, but on the business side. In our latest Indie Author Fringe podcast, Kathy Meis from Bublish delves into the six crucial steps that authors need to take before launching their book. Kathy starts off by talking about the foundations of a successful book launch and the kind of mindset you need to have going into this to be successful. Then she takes a deep dive into the six crucial steps you need to do before you launch. Stop thinking of your book as a baby, and start thinking about it as a product. Launching a book is a business, and by following these 6 crucial pre-launch steps you will increase your chances of success: Step 1: Research audience and genre. Step 2: Line up reviews and interviews. Step 3: Set up a system for capturing emai

Ep#41: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Mark Coker from Smashwords Authors are in the midst of rapid and dizzying change, and Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, shares his insights about the "10 Trends Driving the Future of Publishing" in our latest ALLi podcast. Mark kicks off the podcast talking about his epiphany moment that helped to get Smashwords off the ground in 2008. Mark's company was at the forefront of of the indie revolution, and for those of you who aren't familiar with Smashwords, they're an eBook publishing platform that makes it fast, free and easy to publish and distribute your books. At the time of recording, Smashwords features 400,000 books from 115,000 authors and small independent presses. Mark's discusses 10 key elements that are driving the future of publishing, and and how indie authors can can maximize their potential for self-publishing. Trend 1: THE RISE OF EBOOKS. Trend 2: The Democratisation of Publishing. Trend 3: Ebooks are Going Global. Trend 4: The Rise of Indie Authorship. T

Ep#40: Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Sean Platt and Johnny B Truant of Sterling & Stone believe the key to writing better is to write faster. Here they talk about their creative process, how planning helps authors to write a better story in less time, even if they're "pantsers", and their new story-planning app. A lot of indie publishing is frontier thinking. Sean and Johnny have been figuring the best way to approach their writing process, and in this podcast they share some lessons and techniques they’ve learned along the way. Here are three elements from this podcast that really resonated with me: Understanding your genre foundations. Know your characters. The importance of cover design for your readers, and you. Want to know why some books sell more than others? This information is out there and accessible to anyone who wants to take the time to understand their genre better. At the end of the day, if you want to sell more books, you have to write books that appe

Ep#39: Orna Ross and Joanna Penn answer members' questions on writing, publishing and promoting books. See allianceindependendentauthors.org for more details. Here’s a summary of the questions and a brief synopsis of the answers in this month’s Ask ALLi with Orna and Joanna (for more in-depth answers – you should watch the video or listen to the podcast): Q: What exactly makes a piece of fiction, Literary Fiction? Q: Should you use Scrivener to get your books accepted by distributors? Q: How can you generate an ebook review copy? Q: What’s the difference between pre-orders and a soft launch? Q: What are the advantages of using both CreateSpace and IngramSpark for creating your POD print book? Q: Why does Joanna only use CreateSpace for her POD books, and not IngramSpark? Q: When you get really burned, how do you stay motivated enough to keep writing? Q: What is the best way to promote a novel that doesn’t fit into a specific genre? Q: How useful is it to participate in KBoards? Our weekly Self-Publishing Ad

Ep#38: Orna Ross and Joanna Penn answer members' questions on writing, publishing and promoting books. Here’s the questions posed to Orna and Joanna this month: Q: How did you find your beta readers and how many do you have? Q: What should I instruct an editor or line editor to look out for in my manuscript? Q: Past, Present or Future - which tense is most appropriate? Q: Is it ok to self-publish before you go to school? Q: I'm designing my own book covers. If I download photos from the internet, am I breaking copyright? Q: Is there funding to help an independent publishers? Q: Are Bookbub Ads and Goodreads Deals worth the effort? Q: Are review bloggers and guest blogging still a powerful marketing strategy? Our weekly Self-Publishing Advice broadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Member Self-Publishing Q&A is one of four regular shows, which include a more advanced salon, a beginners' salon and a special guest highlight presentation from the Indie Author Fringe, A

Ep#37: Orna Ross and Joanna Penn answer members' questions on writing, publishing and promoting books. Here’s the questions posed to Orna and Joanna this month: Q: How would you define the difference between a non-fiction writers and a journalist? Q: In a previous Ask ALLi Joanna mentioned that she was moving from direct with Nook to Draft2Digital distribution, I thought the advice was that it was best to go direct? Q: When a book is finally finished… what is the right order for all of the follow up activities to get it to market? Q: Do you need to send hard copies to the British Library? Q: I have a new book I’m working on, Should it be completed before I decide on a company to do the ebook formatting? Q: What is the current best practice on formatting? Q: What’s your input on Amazon Affiliate accounts? Q: My book is written and produced, what is the best way to market it? I’ve been approach local books stores and TV stations, as well as local historic societies. Q: My illustrator is having problems uploadi

Ep#30: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Joni & Jerusha Rodgers and Orna Ross In this live 20 minute presentation from BEA, mom and daughter ghostwriting and editing team, Joni & Jerusha Rodgers, explain how story works - in your books and in the words you write around them. Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.allianceindependentauthors.org.   If you're not familiar with our Fringe event, it's three-times a year, online conference for self-publishing authors, brought to you by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and fringe to the ma

Ep#31: Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Kieffer Brown & Orna Ross In this live 20 minute presentation from BEA, Kiffer talks about the qualities and strategies that are non-negotiable for indie authors.  Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.allianceindependentauthors.org.   If you're not familiar with our Fringe event, it's three-times a year, online conference for self-publishing authors, brought to you by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and fringe to the major global publishing fairs; London Book Fa

Ep#32: Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Amie McCracken & Orna Ross In this live 20 minute presentation from BEA, editor, book designer and indie author Amie McCracken outlines how to get your first draft down in six months.  Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.allianceindependentauthors.org.   If you're not familiar with our Fringe event, it's three-times a year, online conference for self-publishing authors, brought to you by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and fringe to the major global publishing

Ep#33: Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Kim Bookless & Orna Ross In this live 20 minute presentation from BEA, Orna Ross and Kim Bookless talk about how their respective organisations serve the needs of indie authors and can help you write and sell more books.  Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.allianceindependentauthors.org.   If you're not familiar with our Fringe event, it's three-times a year, online conference for self-publishing authors, brought to you by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and f

Ep#34: Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Bryan Cohen & Orna Ross In this live 20 minute presentation from BEA, author and copywriter Bryan Cohen explains how you can optimize your sales pages to get more readers to buy your book.  Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.allianceindependentauthors.org.   If you're not familiar with our Fringe event, it's three-times a year, online conference for self-publishing authors, brought to you by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and fringe to the major global publis

Ep#35: Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Kinga Jentetics & Orna Ross In this live 20 minute presentation from BEA, Orna Ross and talks with Kinga Jentetics of PublishDrive about book distribution world wide. Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.allianceindependentauthors.org.   If you're not familiar with our Fringe event, it's three-times a year, online conference for self-publishing authors, brought to you by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and fringe to the major global publishing fairs; London Book

Ep#36: Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Penny Sansevieri & Orna Ross The secret to sustaining a successful author career is the connection you make to your fans. Join Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts and Orna Ross, Director, Alliance of Independent Authors — both bestselling authors and publishing experts, learn how to identify and reach your ideal readers, turn them into superfans and how to ignite those fans so they are ones promoting your work. Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.

Ep#29 : Self-Publishing Advice Podcast: Indie Author Fringe Highlight with Orna Ross Want to boost your sales? Who doesn’t? In a panel session recorded live in the Author HQ at London Book Fair, ALLi Director Orna Ross interviews two bestselling indie authors and sales gurus, Mark Dawson and Joanna Penn, together with ALLi’s literary agent Toby Mundy about how to go beyond selling ebooks in your home territory. Our weekly Self-Publishing Advicebroadcast is brought to you by ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors. This Indie Author Fringe Highlight  is one of four regular shows, which include an ALLi Member Q&A, a beginners' salon and an advanced self-publishing salon.   Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, www.selfpublishingadvice.org. And, if you haven’t already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at www.allianceindependentauthors.org.   If you're not familiar with our Fringe event, it's three-times a year,

Ep#28: Orna Ross and Joanna Penn answer members' questions on writing, publishing and promoting books. Here’s a summary of the questions in this month’s Ask ALLi with Orna and Joanna: Q: What should you do when you feel badly served by a self-publishing service provider? And do you have a list of book formatters? Q: How do you create front matter and chapter headings, so that they look good on Kindle? Q: What company would you recommend for a Non-Ficiton Hardback? Q: There’s still so many really bad Indie Book Covers, do you think they’ll every become a thing of the past? Q: Is there any good tools out there that can help you chart the months leading up to a book release? Q: I’m publishing a book about rural libraries in Zimbabwe, how can I have them published widely? Q: Once you’ve self-published, what would it take to get an agent interested? Q: How can I get estimates of adding illustrations to my KDP file? Q: Should manuscripts be proof-read after you’ve completed the interior book layout? Q: Do I own ri

Ep#27: Orna Ross and Joanna Penn answer members' questions on writing, publishing and promoting books. Here’s the questions posed to Orna and Joanna this month: Here’s the questions posed to Orna and Joanna this month: Q: I write Fantasy. How can I show my character’s mind-speak (i.e. what they’re thinking)? Q. I’ve released my first non-fiction e-book, and I’m struggling with reads let alone sales, and I’d really like to get some book reviews. Q: “My Publisher” wants 8 books for 10 years. Do I have to accept these terms, or can I have it reduced? Q: I’m a YA Writer. How should I market and promote for this segment? Q: Is it a problem that I have a separate ISBN for my e-book and POD, and my reviews and sales rank from my e-book won’t transfer over to my POD listing on Amazon. Q: On book covers when you see “perfect for fans of ” .. do you need permission from the author to use their name? Q: What is the best way to promote books to an Indian market? Q: I have questions about my fixed-pub layout kids book, a

Ep#26: Orna Ross presents a new episode of ALLI Insights: NaNoWriMo is Over, Now Publish Your Novel Did you take part in NaNoWriMo last year, and now have a finished draft in front of you, and are thinking "Now What?" You're not alone. Did you know that nearly half a million writers signed up for NaNo in 2015? That's quite a jump from 1999, when Chris (the founder of National Novel Writing Month) and 21 of his friends set themselves a target of 50,000 words in 30 days. In January and February, NaNoWriMo support the revision and publishing process. It’s an extension of their November writing frenzy, and a much-deserved author break in December. The goal of this period is to help fulfil your novel's potential by getting it from it's rough first draft stage and see it through the publishing process into the hands of readers. There's a natural synergy between National Novel Writing Month's focus on writing and ALLi's continued focus on self-publishing, and this month's ALLi Insights features Orna Ross and Grant F

Ep#25: Orna Ross and Joanna Penn answer members' questions on writing, publishing and promoting books. Here’s the questions posed to Orna and Joanna this month: Q: Is ALLi continuing to work with Ingram Spark this year and are they offering a self-publishing discount to ALLi Members? Q: Do you have Insights about iUniverse Services? Q: What are the legal issues about setting up your publisher imprint? Q: What are the differences between CreateSpace and Ingram Spark POD distribution services? Q: Should authors release their books in Hardback? Q: Do ALLi maintain a list of reputable book Editors? Q: Is there such a thing as a "Book Shepherd" who could help an aspiring author publish their first book? Q: Is there any recourse if my publisher won't take my book off Amazon or Barnes and Noble? Q: I'm publishing my book via Lightening Source, but on CreateSpace it shows that it has a long lead time for delivery. Is there anything I can do about this? And why is this happening to a POD version of my book? Q: Where