I thought I’d republish a recent FaceBook post here, in hopes of amassing a little more feedback on a notion I’ve been chewing over for a bit.
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I have a few questions for my FaceBook friends who are involved in independent/self-publishing or who are contemplating moving in that direction. Are you familiar with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLI), headquartered in London? Are you a member? If so, have you found their services to be of value? If you are a member, what types of services, support, or activities do you feel are lacking?
I’m asking because I’m contemplating launching an organization that would act as a kind of MeetUp for independent/self-publishers, allowing affinity groups to form that would facilitate socialization (writing, particularly when one is one’s own publisher, can be very isolating), mutual support and encouragement, the sharing of skills and experiences, pooling of resources to purchase services of mutual benefit, labor- and cost-sharing at venues like dealers’ rooms at conventions, the formation of marketing alliances, and new, fun, creative venues within which writers and readers can interact. I envision these self-organizing affinity groups, under an umbrella organization, serving as laboratories for innovation in independent/self-publishing. The umbrella organization could also facilitate juried awards in various categories to recognize and encourage excellence across the full range of independent/self-publishing endeavors — excellence in novels, short fiction, collections, and anthologies across the range of genres, in book design, and in innovations in marketing or in creating writer-reader interchanges. This would help steer readers through the intimidating and confounding mass of millions of self-published books put out each year.
I don’t want to compete with ALLI, and I don’t want to reinvent the wheel, either. Anything I’d try to start would be designed to be complementary to ALLI’s services and efforts.
This is very much at the very beginning, brainstorming stage. I’m hoping for a bit of feedback and to get a sense of whether there’s an appetite out there for this sort of thing.
For anyone who is curious, here’s a link to ALLI’s webpage.
I wouldn’t join the ALLI, I already have a network of contacts that I can turn to for that kind of support without paying 100$ a year. To be honest, it looks more like a vanity press than any kind of professional organization.