ALLi Exclusive: The Art of the Blurb
Writing a compelling book sales description—also known as a blurb—is a critical skill for any author, and one that taps into a different set of writing skills than those used to create the book itself. A well-crafted blurb can significantly impact a book’s sales since it, along with the title and the cover, is one […]
ALLi Exclusive: All Eyes on Your Author Business
Matty Dalrymple, ALLi Campaigns Manager We’re probably all familiar with paid advertising meant to drive readers to a website or other platforms, called “traffic.” But before investing in ads, authors should optimize for unpaid, organic traffic. For most authors, organic traffic is generated in three ways: These depend on effective search engine optimization (SEO). When […]
ALLi Exclusive: When Authors Should Go Global
Matty Dalrymple, ALLi Campaigns Manager As the book market becomes ever more global, the idea of offering translations of their work intrigues many authors. Ethan Ellenberg, a New York-based literary agent who works with a number of the Alliance of Independent Authors’s (ALLi’s) top authors—those who are part of ALLi’s Authorpreneur membership and sell twenty-five-thousand-plus […]
ALLi Exclusive: One Story Takes Many Forms
Melissa Addey, ALLi Campaigns Manager What book formats should an author be creating? Doesn’t it just come down to print, e-books, and audio? Well, no; there are a lot of exciting variations to explore under the broad heading of “formats.” The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) does of course offer detailed advice on each of […]
ALLi Exclusive: Invest in the Best of Your Business
Melissa Addey, ALLi Campaigns Manager Should authors “write to market”? It’s a question we’ve answered before, but this month, we’re looking at a more practical question: if you want to understand what’s going on in the market in which you are doing business, how do you go about it? Where can you find the best […]
ALLi Exclusive: The Power of Past Titles
Melissa Addey, ALLi Campaigns Manager The term “backlist” is one self-publishing authors adopted from traditional publishers, though it’s less relevant in the days of digital publishing than it was when only the frontlist—the newest books—got the most attention from readers. Today, we can promote any book, any time, and though your latest book is often […]
ALLi Exclusive: Give the Readers What They Want
Melissa Addey, ALLi Campaigns Manager What is “writing to market”? The phrase is tossed around a lot in author circles, and especially in independent publishing. The concept involves creating content specifically tailored to what’s currently in demand for readers, maximizing the chances of commercial success by writing what readers are actively seeking. You research popular […]
ALLi Exclusive: Getting Your Book in Readers’ Hands
“Distribution” may sound technical and far from the creativity of writing. But distribution simply comes down to how you can get a book from your hands into those of your readers as easily and widely as possible. The Alliance of Independent Authors’ (ALLi’s) guiding policy for the most effective distribution plan is to be in […]
ALLi Exclusive: Building a Business Mindset
For successful authors, writing is not just an art. It is also a business. In fact, the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) refers to its top tier members, who have access to special benefits, such as a literary agent, as “authorpreneurs” because they are authors but also entrepreneurs. It’s a mindset all authors who wish […]
ALLi Exclusive: The Basics of Book Production
Professional layout and formatting is crucial to a book’s success. All authors worry about their book covers, and rightly so, but a beautiful cover and wonderful content can quickly be overshadowed by poor layout and formatting. The Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi) has a comprehensive book, Creative Self-Publishing, that covers the seven processes of self-publishing […]