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 […]
No More Nine-to-Five
From Detective Inspector Declan Walsh to Doctor Who, Tony Lee’s Career Has Been Anything But Ordinary—Even for an Author For thirty-plus years, multi-modal writer Tony Lee has been no stranger to the industry. He started by writing game reviews for a British magazine at sixteen years old, and now, his name is associated with successful […]
Does Your Academia Fiction Make the Grade across the Pond?
The Similarities and Differences between US and UK Schools that May Show Up in Your Manuscript School is back in session, and for authors who write YA in academic settings, inspiration may be at the bus stop right outside your door. But if your story has dark academia tropes, light academia vibes, or a boarding […]
Ask the Experts
Why Fact-Checking Can Make Your Fiction Stronger, and How to Find the Right People for the Job Your manuscript is finished; you have taken your beta readers’ input and made changes suggested by your agent or content editor. You are ready to set your manuscript aside until publish day, right? Well, not quite. Whether your […]
Finding Light amid Dark Genres
How Authors Writing Heavier Stories Manage Their Mental Health In the middle of research, author Terry Wells-Brown had to step away from her story. She’d interviewed a district attorney in charge of human trafficking for her book, but in the process of learning about the topic, it became too much to write about. She realized […]
Indie Author Training Roundup
If there’s one thing we can be certain of in our indie author careers, it’s that things change constantly, and trying to keep up can be a real time sink. Indie Author Training is a one-stop place that offers education, community, and tools for storytellers. New webinars, courses and product tours are coming online every […]
Dear Indie Annie,
I keep hearing that I need to niche down into a genre to build a solid author brand, but I love writing multiple. Is it possible in our industry to build my brand around me and write what I want to write? Genre Wanderer Dear Genre Wanderer, My precious Wanderer, I feel your pain. Being […]
Solari Says: Reframe Failure as a Path to Success
Business mindset is just as important as business strategy, says Managing Director of Author Nation Joe Solari in part 3 of his quarterly series. Plenty of indie authors limit their growth by avoiding taking risks or telling themselves they won’t succeed at certain publishing ventures, but Solari says failure is the biggest teacher we have—and […]
Seven Apps to Gamify Your Writing Sessions, and Other Author-Approved Methods for Boosting Your Word Count
No matter how much we love writing, every author knows the struggle of days when the words won’t flow and our attention wants to drift to other things. Maintaining a regular writing schedule means some sessions are inherently more productive than others—but that doesn’t mean you can’t trick yourself into putting words down on the […]
10 Tips for: Increasing Your Writing Speed
Ask a group of authors what they’d change about their writing routine, and most are likely to say, “I wish I could write faster and publish more.” For many of us, there never seem to be enough hours in the day to reach the word counts we aspire to, but that doesn’t mean we should […]