Self-Publishing with ALLi

This week's AskALLi session with Orna Ross and Dalma Szentpály will show you how to work with a poetry editor and how to find the editing process that's right for you.

The editing process is as essential for poets as for all writers.

• So what kind of editor do you need as a poet?
• Does the usual trio of developmental editing, copyediting and proofing apply or is it different?
• How do you find a good poetry editor?
• How can one help you?
• Can a group of skilled poets take an editor's place?

Tune in for discussions on a different theme each month with a focus on developing prosperity for poets through community building and self-publishing.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Hosts

Orna Ross

Orna's work for ALLi has seen her repeatedly named one of The Bookseller's "Top 100 people in publishing." She launched at the 2012 London Book Fair, after taking her rights back from Penguin in 2011 and republishing her books herself, with the titles and treatment she'd originally wanted. Orna writes award-winning poetry and fiction, runs a Patreon page for poets and poetry lovers as well as an active author website. She is on a mission to help eradicate creative poverty through digital publishing and enterprise. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram: @ornaross.

Dalma Szentpály

Dalma Szentpály co-hosts the Self-Publishing Poetry salon. She works at PublishDrive as a self-publishing professional and has been a lifelong lover of poetry. A native Hungarian, she started learning about lyricism from poetry giants like Attila József and János Pilinszky but also recited brooding lines of verse from international poets like Pablo Neruda or Anna Ahmatova. In university, she fell in love with W.B. Yeats and Emily Dickinson and wrote her thesis about the "villanelle" form in Sylvia Plath's poetry. As a university lecturer and an event manager at an independent bookstore in Budapest Dalma encouraged readers to re-engage with poetry. Check out her blog post about contemporary poetry trends here: Find Dalma on Twitter and LinkedIn.

My guest this week is Sara Easterly, an adoptee who wrote a book, Searching for Mom, about her quest to find her birth mother. But, more than that, her book is a spiritual and emotional search that tries to come to terms with something experienced by many adoptees, a feeling of abandonment. Along the way, Sara learned many surprising things about her adopted mother, her birth mother, and herself.

Every week I interview a member of ALLi to talk about their writing and what inspires them, and why they are inspiring to other authors.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Host

Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last six years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Why Do I Need an Author Website? That's among the questions answered in this month's Members Q&A and Self-Publishing News Salon with Michael LaRonn in the co-presenter seat with Orna Ross, ALLi director, followed by Dan Holloway's news roundup.

Other questions this month include:

• Is 99Designs worth it for designing your book cover?
• Amazon price matches print books, but do any of the other big retailers do price matching?
• Will IngramSpark promotion for ALLi members continue in 2020?
• Do I need a different ISBN for each format of my book?Where can I find ALLi's Watchdog list of service providers?
• How do I vet a service provider that may not be listed in the directory?
• Is it worth entering my book for the London Book Fair Showcase in 2020?
• Does ALLi offer discounts for various worldwide conferences?

Also, News Editor Dan Holloway talks to Multimedia Manager Howard Lovy to update us on the Audible captions controversy, Digital Book World, and London Book Fair.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

Now, go write and publish!

About the Hosts

Michael La Ronn is the author of over 30 books of science fiction & fantasy and authors self-help books. His books include the Galaxy Mavericks series and Modern Necromancy series. You can now find his new writing course on Teachable.

Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller's "100 top people in publishing". She also publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and is greatly excited by the democratising, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website: http://www.ornaross.com

Dan Holloway is a novelist, poet and spoken word artist. He is the MC of the performance arts show The New Libertines Earlier this year he competed at the National Poetry Slam final at the Royal Albert Hall. His latest collection, The Transparency of Sutures, is available on Kindle.

My guest this week is Brenda Felber, an American author who just can't seem to sit still. In fact, she's making a career of not sitting still, visiting all 50 states to write middle-grade, paranormal fiction about each one. She originally did it to teach her grandchildren about their country, but along the way, other kids began to enjoy taking these journeys with her.

Every week I interview a member of ALLi to talk about their writing and what inspires them, and why they are inspiring to other authors.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Host

Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last six years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

If you've hung around ALLi long enough, you'll know multiple streams of income are a core principle we follow. But what does it really mean? What do those streams look like? And how can you create those streams around both your fiction and nonfiction books? Join Sacha Black and Adam Croft as they discuss building a sustainable business with multiple streams of income around your books, no matter the genre you write.

Our fiction and nonfiction salon is brought to you by sponsor Izzard Ink.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Hosts

Sacha Black is a bestselling and competition-winning author. She writes the popular YA Fantasy Eden East novels and a series of non-fiction books that are designed to help writers develop their craft. Sacha has been a long-time resident writing coach for website Writers Helping Writers. She is also a developmental editor, wife and mum.

With almost two million books sold to date, Adam Croft is one of the most successful independently published authors in the world and one of the biggest selling authors of the past few years, having sold books in over 120 different countries. In February 2017, Only The Truth became a worldwide bestseller, reaching storewide number one at both Amazon US and Amazon UK, making it the bestselling book in the world at that moment in time. The same day, Amazon's overall Author Rankings placed Adam as the world's most widely read author, with J.K. Rowling in second place. In March 2018, Adam was conferred as an Honorary Doctor of Arts, the highest academic qualification in the UK, by the University of Bedfordshire in recognition of his services to literature. Visit his website, The Indie Author Mindset, or find him on Twitter.

My guest this week is Chris Calder, a writer who discovered his voice later in life. In his 70s, in fact. He had been diagnosed with cancer and, during his treatment, decided that there really wasn't any more time to put off a writing career. So, he penned his first novel in the hospital. Now, at the age of 82, there have been four more and he shows no signs of slowing down.

Every week I interview a member of ALLi to talk about their writing and what inspires them, and why they are inspiring to other authors.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Host

Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last six years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

In this session Orna and Joanna go back to the source to talk about creativity: what it is, how to sustain and nurture it and the challenges of overcoming resistance, beating block and sustaining a creative life over the long term.

Sharing their own creative practices and process, and what they've learned over decades of writing and publishing, they explore creative approaches not just to writing, but to publishing and author business too.

This podcast is for you if you want to know what it takes to make a life, and a living, in words.

• Defining "creative" and creative success
• Applying creativity not just to writing but to publishing and business too: the "create-state"
• Filling the creative well - how we both do it
• Trust in emergence - a seven stage process
• Making time to write and create vs business stuff:
• How not to burn out - Balance creative work, rest, play
• Contrast -- get off the internet and social media, get into nature, be sociable, get your body moving
• Cycles of creative life, like cycles in nature. Allow for fallow periods (not necessarily blocked)
• Making Business Creative: Self-Talk
• Forms of Creative Resistance
• Varying Pace
• Keep learning - and try new things - don't be wedded to just one way of doing things,
• Think long term and make sure you have a stable base of multiple streams of income - so you are never desperate to just rely on your art.

Our advanced salon is brought to you by specialist sponsor IngramSpark.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our self-publishing advice center, http://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 http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

Now, go write and publish!

About the Hosts

Joanna Penn is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author, as well as writing non-fiction for authors. She is also a professional speaker and entrepreneur, voted as one of The Guardian UK Top 100 creative professionals 2013. She spent 13 years as a business IT consultant in large corporations across the globe before becoming a full-time author-entrepreneur in September 2011. For more information about Joanna, visit her website: http://thecreativepenn.com

Orna Ross launched the Alliance of Independent Authors at the London Book Fair in 2012. Her work for ALLi has seen her named as one of The Bookseller's "100 top people in publishing". She also publishes poetry, fiction and nonfiction, and is greatly excited by the democratising, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website: http://www.ornaross.com

My guest this week is English author Julie Carter. When she's not writing, you'll see her doing something called fell running, which is sort of what it sounds like. She runs through craggy hills, trying not to … fall. But when Julie does it, it's about more than running. It's about finding joy, sorting things out in her head, and dealing with chronic pain.

Every week I interview a member of ALLi to talk about their writing and what inspires them, and why they are inspiring to other authors.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Host

Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last six years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Interested in writing and publishing love poetry?

In advance of Valentine's day, this week's AskALLi session with Orna Ross and Dalma Szentpály will discuss How to Self-Publish Love Poetry.

If you're an indie poet, or aspire to publish poetry books, this AskALLi salon is for you.

You'll learn:

• Why love poetry is always popular and who is reading it in these digital days
• Latest trends in poetry publishing
• Genres in love poetry
• Publishing poetry tips
• Also: Indie Poetry Please! in which Dalma and Orna read some poetry submissions and Orna reads her poem "Love Hurts."

Tune in for discussions on a different theme each month with a focus on developing prosperity for poets through community building and self-publishing.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Hosts

Orna Ross

Orna's work for ALLi has seen her repeatedly named one of The Bookseller's "Top 100 people in publishing." She launched at the 2012 London Book Fair, after taking her rights back from Penguin in 2011 and republishing her books herself, with the titles and treatment she'd originally wanted. Orna writes award-winning poetry and fiction, runs a Patreon page for poets and poetry lovers as well as an active author website. She is on a mission to help eradicate creative poverty through digital publishing and enterprise. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram: @ornaross.

Dalma Szentpály

Dalma Szentpály co-hosts the Self-Publishing Poetry salon. She works at PublishDrive as a self-publishing professional and has been a lifelong lover of poetry. A native Hungarian, she started learning about lyricism from poetry giants like Attila József and János Pilinszky but also recited brooding lines of verse from international poets like Pablo Neruda or Anna Ahmatova. In university, she fell in love with W.B. Yeats and Emily Dickinson and wrote her thesis about the "villanelle" form in Sylvia Plath's poetry. As a university lecturer and an event manager at an independent bookstore in Budapest Dalma encouraged readers to re-engage with poetry. Check out her blog post about contemporary poetry trends here: Find Dalma on Twitter and LinkedIn.

My guest this week is Jude Lennon, an English children's author who does so much more than write books. She is a traveling storyteller, going from school to school to instill in children a love for books, covering topics from pirates and astronauts to mindfulness and autism. She's the full package when it comes to indie publishing. She's not just selling books, but she's sharing her stories in unique ways. And, yes, Jude Lennon is related to that "other" Lennon from Liverpool.

Every week I interview a member of ALLi to talk about their writing and what inspires them, and why they are inspiring to other authors.

Find more author advice, tips and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center: https://selfpublishingadvice.org, with a huge archive of nearly 2,000 blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need.

And, if you haven't already, we invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. You can do that at http://allianceindependentauthors.org.

About the Host

Howard Lovy has been a journalist for more than 30 years, and has spent the last six years amplifying the voices of independent publishers and authors. He works with authors as a book editor to prepare their work to be published. Howard is also a freelance writer specializing in Jewish issues whose work appears regularly in Publishers Weekly, the Jewish Daily Forward, and Longreads. Find Howard at howardlovy.com, LinkedIn and Twitter.