The Alliance Independent Authors

PODCAST DROP: Latest Self-Publishing News with Dan Holloway
2026-05-01 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-24 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-17 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-10 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-03 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-27 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-20 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-13 13:00 - 14:00 (Europe/London) | ALLi Podcast
A breakdown of the week’s most significant self-publishing news, providing insights, implications, and in-depth analyses.
The Self-Publishing News Podcast stream 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.

PODCAST DROP: Real-world production and distribution decisions from best-selling author, Andrew Griffiths
2026-04-29 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
In this episode, ALLi’s Non-Fiction Advisor Anna Featherstone is joined by Andrew Griffiths, a best-selling small business author to unpack the real-world production and distribution decisions behind his successful books.
From choosing between traditional publishing and self-publishing, to making deliberate design and print choices, Andrew shares how those decisions influence perception, pricing, and reach.
The Self-Publishing With ALLi Production & Distribution Podcast Stream 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.

LIVE PARTNER WEBINAR: Grow Your Book Business with Customization and Direct Sales with Lulu
2026-04-28 19:00 - 20:00
It’s more important than ever for authors to own their content and audience. With Lulu’s Print API, you can create a library of personalized books, journals, and planners for your readers and sell them directly from your website. No inventory, no upfront costs and no losing your customers to third party retailers.
In this ALLi Member only session, Lulu’s Education & Community Manager, Chelsea Bennett, will explain the benefits of customization and direct sales, and share some user cases and steps to get started.
If you’re looking for a competitive edge for your author or publishing business, this may be it!
Key takeaways:
1) How to utilize customization to grow your business
2) How direct sales can help build relationships with readers
3) What to know before you get started
Join us live and bring any questions you have about Lulu for our closing Q&A.
See you there!

PODCAST DROP: Inspirational Indie Authors interview
2026-04-26 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-04-12 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-29 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-15 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
Dive deep into personal stories of indie authors, understanding their pathways to success, challenges faced, and lessons learned.

LIVE: Wellbeing Session - The Comparison Trap
2026-04-23 19:00 - 20:00
Do you track your sales obsessively? Feel a pang when you see another author succeeding? Struggle to know whether your progress is ‘enough’?
This session is for you.
Hosts Dan Blank and Sarah Begley will unpick the anxiety that comes with tracking sales, watching others succeed, and measuring your own progress honestly.
We’ll open with a f-r-e-e-writing prompt to get you grounded, then explore together:

Imposter syndrome and the highlight reel problem
How to look at your numbers without them defining you
The difference between useful data and harmful obsession
Reframing what ‘success’ means for your specific author path

The session is gently structured to balance reflection with open conversation. Bring your challenges, your comparisons, your inner critic – and let’s work through it together.
The chat facility is open throughout. You’re welcome to share as much or as little as feels right. Participation is encouraged, never required.
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These sessions are part of ALLi’s ongoing commitment to author mental health and wellbeing. All members welcome.
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Meet your hosts…
Dan Blank is the founder of WeGrowMedia where he helps writers develop a human-centered approach to marketing and reaching their audience. He is also the author of Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience.
Dan has worked with thousands of writers, and amazing organizations who support creative people, such as Penguin Random House, Sesame Workshop, Hachette Book Group, and many more.
You can find Dan at https://WeGrowMedia.com, his weekly newsletter at https://danblank.substack.com or on social media @DanBlank.
Sarah Begley is ALLi’s Member Support Manager and a passionate advocate for the wellbeing of business owners. As a content marketer and VA, she takes the marketing and administrative weight off her clients’ shoulders, because she knows first-hand how easily that load can overwhelm the joy and creativity that drew them to their work in the first place.
You can find Sarah at https://virtualmissbegley.com or on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahabegley/

PODCAST DROP: Editing & Design
2026-04-22 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
Tune in to our Editing & Design podcast stream with Howard Lovy. Discover how you can apply best practices in these first stages of the publishing process to ensure the excellence of your work and its ability to appeal to your target readership.

PODCAST DROP: Lunar Planning as a Creative Tool for Authors
2026-04-19 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
Orna Ross explores lunar planning as a creative framework for authors: a way to set intentions, focus attention, and shape your writing and publishing work across a natural, grounded, and connected cycle of momentum and release.
Drawing on her own lunar planning practice, and offering some simple tools you can use immediately, Orna shows how the moon’s phases can provide an establishing rhythm and routine for sustaining your most essential work, rest and play as an author-publisher—idea-gathering and drafting, editing and finishing, outreach and promotion, release and renewal.
Stop pushing your natural energy and start collaborating with it to build a creative life that’s both productive and sustainable.

LIVE: New Member Orientation
2026-04-16 19:00 - 20:00
This live session is an introduction to ALLi and a chance for you to learn how to make the most of your membership, including how to access and use your benefits.
Your host, Ross Lynch, ALLi’s Global Community Lead, will:

Provide an introduction to your ALLi membership, including how to access and use your benefits
Outline what new members often focus on first, and where to go for help and support
Give a short overview of ALLi as an organisation and our role in the indie publishing community

The session ends with a live Q&A, focused on membership and getting started. More detailed or technical questions will be directed to the most appropriate resource or team.
Questions can be asked live via the chat, or submitted in advance in the comments.
A replay will be available for members who can’t attend live.

PODCAST DROP: Marketing & Promotion
2026-04-08 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
The Marketing, & Promotion podcast stream is proudly sponsored by Bookfunnel
Tune in to our Marketing, & Promotion podcast stream with Orna Ross. Orna interviews the brightest minds, experts, and insiders in the writing and self-publishing business. Get actionable insights to help you level up your author brand and reach more readers.
Bookfunnel – The essential tool for your author business.

PODCAST DROP: Gardners vs Ingram, Account Closures, Vetting Service Providers, and More
2026-04-05 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
This month’s episode of the Self-Publishing with ALLi Member Q&A podcast with hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black, covers:

Should I use Gardners vs. IngramSpark?
Help! Amazon KDP closed my account!
Help! Google Play closed my account!
How do I vet a service provider to determine if they are legitimate?
How do I vet an unsolicited request from a literary agent?

And more…
Don’t miss it!

PODCAST DROP: Verse, Visuals & Special Edition Decisions — Making a Book with Intention
2026-04-01 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
In this episode, Anna Featherstone explores with author Lande Jewels the many decisions that can sit around — and beyond — the writing of a book.
The conversation looks at what happens when authors think carefully about form, illustration, publishing models, and the wider impact of how their work is made and shared.
They talk about writing in verse, working with illustrations, choosing a pen name, publishing special editions with a focus on quality, using Kickstarter and thinking about social responsibility in authorship.
Along the way, Lande reflects on what she’s learned by doing — offering practical insights for writers and creators who are curious about publishing choices beyond the manuscript.
The Self-Publishing With ALLi Production & Distribution Podcast Stream 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.

Live Webinar: Putting Together Your Publishing Dream Team with Reedsy
2026-03-31 19:00 - 20:00 | SelfPubConnect
ALLi Member Exclusive Event.
Learn how to assemble the right professionals for your publishing journey — from editors and designers to marketers and translators.
Reedsy cofounder Ricardo Fayet walks you through each stage of the publishing process, what services you actually need (and what they cost), how to spot scams, and pro tips for finding, hiring, and collaborating with top-tier freelancers.
Plus, discover free tools like Reedsy Studio that can save you money on formatting and typesetting.
The presentation will be followed by a 15 minute Q&A.

PODCAST DROP: Why Self-Editing Matters and How to Strengthen Your Manuscript Before Hiring an Editor
2026-03-25 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
On the Self-Publishing with ALLi podcast, host Howard Lovy talks to Katie Chambers of Beacon Point, an editing and writing services company, about what self-editing really means and why it’s a critical step before hiring a professional editor.
Katie explains her structured, multi-pass approach, showing how authors can strengthen their manuscripts, reduce editing costs, and make better use of professional feedback.
They discuss common self-editing mistakes, practical techniques authors can apply right away, the careful use of AI as a tool rather than a shortcut, and how developing these skills helps writers improve with each book.

PODCAST DROP: The Creative Power of Substack for Authors
2026-03-22 13:00 - 14:00 | ALLi Podcast
Orna Ross shares her personal experience of using Substack as a creative and commercial home for her writing. What has it changed and clarified, what it has asked of her, and how has publishing serialised fiction has transformed her working methods?
She argues that Substack’s simple but wide-ranging tools—Posts, Notes, Sections, Audio and Live—make it the most creatively enabling platform available to authors today, offering a structure for showing up in whatever way suits you best while strengthening the direct relationship with readers.

LIVE: Indie Author Lab @ The London Book Fair
2026-03-11 09:30 - 17:00 | Kensington Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX, United Kingdom
Introducing Indie Author Lab in association with The London Book Fair: a brand new, in-person event for indie authors during London Book Fair 2026.
Indie Author Lab is not a conference but an immersive workshop-cum-mentoring event.
Held in the Small Hall at Kensington Town Hall as a special independent author event in association with the London Book Fair, this event brings together indie authors, industry partners, and publishing professionals for:

Talks & workshops
Intimate Q&A sessions with Self-Publishing Experts
Small-group mentoring
Peer Review
Breakout Exercises
Networking
Evening drinks, sponsored by Amazon (location TBC)

Find out more and book your tickets here.
