Tag: Alliance of Independent Authors

Creative Self-Publishing Podcast With Orna Ross and Me

Every other Sunday, I join Orna Ross, director of the Alliance of Independent Authors, for our Creative Self-Publishing Podcast. I learn a great deal from Orna, who is my publishing mentor in addition to novelist, poet, and creative facilitator. Every episode, we’ll discuss how to become a profitable self-publisher while also retaining your unique, creative voice. There are many paths to self-publishing, and we’ll help you discover yours. You can listen to our episodes at the link below, or find us on your favorite podcast app.

Subscribe to our AskALLi podcasts on iTunes, Stitcher, Player.FM, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or Spotify.

October 14, 2022
Podcast: Indie Publishing is a Great News Story

Indie publishing is a great news story! I recently flew from my hometown of Traverse City, Michigan, to London to attend the London Book Fair, where my colleagues at ALLi were celebrating a decade since our founder, Orna Ross, launched the self-publishing group at 2012’s book fair. I come from a journalism background, so I did what I enjoy doing at events like this. I interviewed people. And, today, I’ll feature many of their voices about where indie publishing has been, where it is today, and where it’s going.

Above all, I think of indie publishing as a great news story, and one that I’m happy to be covering both as a member of ALLi and as a journalist. For me, the rise of indie publishing suits my personality. In my days as a business and technology reporter, if the rest of the media pack were headed one way, I’d head the opposite. That’s where the interesting stories were. Who is going against the grain? Who is innovating?

The old system of publishing is based on outdated technology and assumptions. But technology has progressed to the point where authors need not play by established rules. Independent-minded authors, or those who wish to retain control over their own work and ability to earn from it, can choose not to play the old game.

And that’s where we’ll begin, with ALLi cofounder and director Orna Ross, who talked about this shift in author attitudes that she’s witnessed over the past decade.

You can listen to the full podcast on the Alliance of Independent Authors site, or click the arrow below.

Listen to all Self-Publishing News podcasts here.

May 9, 2022
Author in 70s Draws on Deep Well of Experience

Diana Stevan is in her 70s and is beginning to hit her stride as a prolific indie author of novels about family, love, and relationships.

Her third self-published book, called Sunflowers Under Fire, is set in WWI and the Bolshevik Revolution. It’s based on stories told to her by her mother and it’s a finalist for the 2019 Whistler Independent Book Awards, sponsored by the Writers Union of Canada.

Diana is able to draw on a wide range of experience, from working at a meat-packing plant to an actress and model—but most of all as a family counselor—to accurately portray people in difficult circumstances.

You can listen to my interview with Diana Stevan by clicking the arrow below.

Or take a look at the entire post, and transcripts, at the Alliance of Independent Authors. You can listen and subscribe to all my author-interview podcasts for the Alliance of Independent over here.

May 11, 2020
Interview With Top Indie Author Jane Davis

We don’t have very many rock stars in the indie publishing world, but a few have risen to the top with a reputation for producing wonderfully written, compelling books that stand out as great literature, no matter what label you put on it. One of them is Inspirational Indie Author Jane Davis.

Jane was recently recognized as one of the best self-published authors of the year with the new Selfie awards for her book called Smash All The Windows, which is also smashing all the preconceptions many people have about self published books.

Smash all the Windows is based on a real disaster in a football stadium in 1989. Jane discusses how fiction can help humanize big disasters, placing them in perspective while assigning what she calls “unblame.”

Read more of my interview with Jane at the Alliance of Independent Authors, or listen to the podcast below.

April 21, 2020
Audio Interview: Indie Author Jane Davis Uses Fiction to Place ‘Unblame’ For Disaster

My two best freelance gigs are at the Alliance of Independent Authors and at Publishers Weekly because they both give me the the opportunity to grab some wisdom from authors. I get paid to interview them, and there’s nothing better than that. This one is from self-published author Jane Davis. One of her editors is a guy I greatly admire for many reasons, my co-host when I do the News Update podcast for ALLi once a month, Dan Holloway.

Jane, though, is one of the few rock stars of the indie publishing world. She was recently recognized as one of the best self-published authors of the year with the new Selfie awards for her book called Smash All The Windows, which is also smashing all the preconceptions many people have about self published books. Smash all the Windows is based on a real disaster in a football stadium in 1989. In our interview, Jane discusses how fiction can help humanize big disasters, placing them in perspective while assigning what she calls “unblame.”

Click the “play” button below for the 10-minute interview, where she’ll explain what she means.

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May 10, 2019