Self-Publishing with ALLi

My guest this episode is Jackie Watson, a novelist from North East England. She didn't plan to become an author, but a vivid recurring dream about a woman arriving in Greece pushed her to start writing. What began as one novel soon became a trilogy, along with a spin-off novella. Jackie writes contemporary fiction about love, secrets, and the unintended consequences of the choices people make.

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

We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally.

About the Host

Howard Lovy is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach with a long career in journalism and publishing. He works with writers at many stages of their careers, with a focus on helping them develop their ideas and strengthen their work while preserving their unique voices. He lives in Northern Michigan.

About the Guest

Jackie Watson is an internationally selling contemporary fiction novelist and the author of the four-part Apokeri Bay series. Set primarily on the Greek island of Lefkada, the series includes a trilogy and a dark-romance spin-off set on a cruise ship. Her stories explore love, secrets, betrayal, friendship, family loyalty, forgiveness, and hope.

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports from London Book Fair week and covers a dispute at the Paris Book Festival that led Amazon to withdraw its sponsorship after protests from French booksellers. He also examines Audible's new lower-priced subscription plan and what it could mean for listeners and author royalties, and looks at the expansion of the Authors Guild's Human Authored certification program.

Sponsor

Self-Publishing News is proudly sponsored by PublishMe—helping indie authors succeed globally with expert translation, tailored marketing, and publishing support. From first draft to international launch, PublishMe ensures your book reaches readers everywhere. Visit publishme.me.

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

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Howard Lovy speaks with Cameron Sutter, founder of Plottr, about how visual planning tools can help authors organize ideas, structure their books, and move more confidently from concept to finished manuscript. Sutter explains how Plottr's timeline, scene cards, templates, and series planning features allow writers to see their stories at a glance, spot gaps in plot or character development, and rearrange scenes as their ideas evolve. The conversation also covers tools for capturing ideas on the go, integrating with writing software like Scrivener and Word, and maintaining consistency across multi-book series.

Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, 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.

In this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast, hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss creative strategies for getting books into independent bookstores, including sending signed copies, bookmarks, and promotional materials to stores that stock your books.

Other questions include:

• How can authors monetize a new podcast beyond just encouraging listeners to buy their books
• When should traditionally published authors make the leap to self-publishing if their agent hasn't secured a publisher
• What options exist for self-publishing a Chinese translation of a book in Hong Kong and reaching that market
• How can authors evaluate whether a publishing service is legitimate or making too many promises
• What technical settings with distributors like Gardners might prevent bookstores from ordering indie books

And more!

Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-Publishing Author Advice Center, 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.

About the Hosts

Michael La Ronn is ALLi's Outreach Manager. He is the author of over 80 science fiction & fantasy books and self-help books for writers. He writes from the great plains of Iowa and has managed to write while raising a family, working a full-time job, and even attending law school classes in the evenings (now graduated!). You can find his fiction at www.michaellaronn.com and his videos and books for writers at www.authorlevelup.com.

Sacha Black is a bestselling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, speaker and casual rule breaker. She writes fiction under a secret pen name and other books about the art of writing. When Sacha isn't writing, she runs ALLi's blog. She lives in England, with her wife and genius, giant of a son. You can find her on her website, her podcast, and on Instagram.

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway previews the upcoming London Book Fair and highlights the launch of ALLi's new Indie Author Bookstore, a showcase for books by ALLi members. He also reports on plans for Barnes & Noble and Waterstones to return to public markets, Spotify's introduction of audiobook charts to boost discovery, the continuing decline of mass market paperbacks, and new data showing podcasts overtaking talk radio in the United States.

Show Notes

The Indie Author Bookstore

Sponsor

Self-Publishing News is proudly sponsored by PublishMe—helping indie authors succeed globally with expert translation, tailored marketing, and publishing support. From first draft to international launch, PublishMe ensures your book reaches readers everywhere. Visit publishme.me.

Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, 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.

About the Host

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

ALLi nonfiction adviser Anna Featherstone speaks with Abbey Clark of NielsenIQ BookData Australia about book metadata—what it is, why it matters, and how it shapes discoverability and distribution across the publishing ecosystem. Clark offers clear, practical advice on when to set up metadata, how to keep it updated, and the common pitfalls authors and publishers can avoid. The conversation prompted Featherstone to update her own metadata right away and offers useful guidance for any author who wants to give a book the best chance of being found.

Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-Publishing Author Advice Center, 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.

Sponsor

This podcast is proudly sponsored by Gatekeeper Press — your partner in premium independent publishing. Empowering authors with expert guidance, 100% rights, 100% royalties, and global distribution. From editing to marketing, their all-inclusive services help you publish professionally and confidently. Gatekeeper Press — Where Authors Are Family.

About the Host

Anna Featherstone is ALLi's nonfiction adviser and an author advocate and mentor. A judge of The Australian Business Book Awards and Australian Society of Travel Writers awards, she's also the founder of Bold Authors and presents author marketing and self-publishing workshops for organizations, including Byron Writers Festival. Anna has authored books including how-to and memoirs and her book Look-It's Your Book! about writing, publishing, marketing, and leveraging nonfiction is on the Australian Society of Authors recommended reading list. When she's not being bookish, Anna's into bees, beings, and the big issues of our time.

About the Guest

Abbey Clark is the account manager for metadata at NielsenIQ BookData Australia, where she oversees a wide range of clients across metadata services and works on consumer data projects. She joined NielsenIQ BookData in September 2022 after nearly twenty years in the book industry, with experience in retail, publishing, and library supply. Clark holds a bachelor of arts in creative writing and literature.

My guest this episode is Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent who spent twenty-six years investigating major financial crimes before building a second career as an author and podcaster. Since 2016, she has produced a long-running FBI true crime podcast, written widely about FBI myths and misconceptions, and built a strong independent publishing platform.

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

We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally.

About the Host

Howard Lovy is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach with a long career in journalism and publishing. He works with writers at many stages of their careers, with a focus on helping them develop their ideas and strengthen their work while preserving their unique voices. He lives in Northern Michigan.

About the Guest

Retired FBI agent Jerri Williams spent twenty-six years as a special agent specializing in economic fraud and corruption investigations. She is now on a mission to show the public who the FBI is and what the FBI does. The FBI Agents Association recognized her as its Distinguished Service Honoree for sharing FBI stories. Through her police procedural novels, her nonfiction book, her blog, and her decade-old true crime podcast, "FBI Case File Review," she debunks misconceptions about the FBI found in books, TV, and movies. She has also worked as a consultant for major TV studios, assisting producers and showrunners in developing realistic FBI characters and storylines.

On this episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, Dan Holloway reports on ElevenLabs' new end-to-end audiobook creation and distribution platform aimed at indie authors. He also examines Audible's new "Read and Listen" feature, which allows users to switch between ebook and audiobook formats, and explores what this growing format convergence could mean for author royalties and reader expectations.

Sponsor

Self-Publishing News is proudly sponsored by PublishMe—helping indie authors succeed globally with expert translation, tailored marketing, and publishing support. From first draft to international launch, PublishMe ensures your book reaches readers everywhere. Visit publishme.me.

Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, 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.

About the Host

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

On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to Tim McConnehey, founder and CEO of Izzard Ink Publishing, about why a manuscript assessment can be a crucial first step before a full developmental edit. They discuss how clear, practical evaluations help authors focus their revisions, save time, and make smarter decisions about editing and publishing. The conversation also looks at how early feedback on structure, voice, and market fit can strengthen a book's long-term prospects.

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

We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally.

About the Host

Howard Lovy is an author, developmental editor, and writing coach with a long career in journalism and publishing. He works with writers at many stages of their careers, with a focus on helping them develop their ideas and strengthen their work while preserving their unique voices. He lives in Northern Michigan.

About the Guest

Tim McConnehey is the founder of Izzard Ink Publishing and a Harvard Business School alumnus. He has contributed to U.S. discussions on AI and small-business policy and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fox News, and The Star. At Izzard Ink, he helps independent authors publish at a professional level, from manuscript assessment through editorial, design, production, and full launch and post-launch support.

What if discovering strong indie books were as simple—and as trustworthy—as walking into your favorite bookshop? In this episode, Alliance of Independent Authors director Orna Ross and campaigns lead Melissa Addey introduce ALLi's new Big Indie Author Bookstore. They explain why it was launched now, how it differs from a standard indie author book list, and how it helps members gain greater visibility and credibility. The discussion also looks at how ALLi will work with readers, librarians, bloggers, and booksellers to connect the right readers with the right books.

Show Notes

The Indie Author Bookstore

Sponsor

Our Creative Self-Publishing stream is brought to you by Orna Ross's Go Creative! program—helping authors harness the power of creative flow in writing and publishing.

About the Host

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 democratizing, empowering potential of author-publishing. For more information about Orna, visit her website.