I just learned about the Alliance of Independent Authors and I thought I would share some information about this international organization.
Who Are They?
The Alliance of Independent Authors is a non-profit professional association for authors who self-publish. Their mission is ethics and excellence in self-publishing.
The Alliance of Independent Authors has a global team who, together with ambassadors and advisors worldwide, provide trusted, best-practice information and advice to the author community and provide our members with an extensive suite of benefits.
The Alliance of Independent Authors is global with members on all seven continents, and our outreach campaigns, self-publishing services center, guidebooks, live streams, podcasts, and blogs reach far and wide and have had an impact at every level of the wider author community.
The organization launched at the London Book Fair 2012 to foster excellence and ethics in self-publishing.
The Alliance of Independent Authors works in four areas:
- Provides advice through the Self-Publishing Advice Center, which offers a daily blog, weekly live streams and podcasts, and a bookstore of self-publishing guidebooks.
- Monitors the self-publishing sector through the watchdog desk, alerting authors to bad actors and predatory players, running a self-publishing service ratings list, and approved partner program.
- Campaigns for the advancement of indie authors in the publishing and literary sectors (bookstores, libraries, literary events, prizes, grants, awards, and other author organizations) globally, encouraging the provision of publishing and business skills for authors, and furthering the indie author cause.
Membership Levels
The Alliance of Independent Authors has three levels of author membership. I have only included the first two levels.
Associate: $89/year
Associate members receive:
- Advisory team – all questions answered
- Free author advice guides
- Private moderated member’s forum
- Selected discounts for author services
- Affiliate earnings program
- Approved Services directory
- Online advice conference
- Daily blog, a twice-weekly podcast
- Associate member website badge
Author $119/year
Author members receive:
- Advisory team – all questions answered
- Free author advice guides
- Private moderated member’s forum
- All discounts for author services
- Affiliate earnings program
- Approved Services directory
- Online advice conference
- Daily blog, a twice-weekly podcast
- Author member website badge
- Public author-publisher profile
- Book listing
- Contract vetting
- General legal advice
- Blogging opportunities
- Speaker opportunities
- Interview opportunities
Interesting Statistics
Income Comparison Between Self Published Authors and Traditionally Published Authors
- Self-published authors earn more than authors who are traditionally published.
- Self-published female authors earn more than self-published male authors.
- LGBTQIA+ self-published authors earn more than heterosexual self-published authors.
- Successful self-published authors are not ‘agreeable’… and that’s good!
- 75% of book sales were part of a series (fiction and non-fiction).
In 2022, the median income of the Alliance of Independent Authors indie authors was $12,754.56. For seniors, the income was $10,000 for ages 55-64 and $3,000 for those 65 years and older.
The median income level for some of the genres in 2022. Income and sample size in parentheses.
Biography $795.59 (8)
Children’s $3,000 (89)
Crime/Thriller/Detective $18,893 (270)
Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Speculative $7,982 (330)
General Fiction $1,057 (64)
General Nonfiction $13,538.32 (54)
Historical Fiction $7,421.4 (129)
Horror $2,324 (24)
Memoir $2,474 (21)
Narrative Nonfiction $10,000 (13)
New Adult $145,448 (2)
Romance $38,800 (496)
Women’s Fiction $9,226 (45)
Young Adult $1,686 (35)
Other $10,000 (151)
Source: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org/facts/
I encourage readers to learn more about this organization, especially those interested in obtaining outside, fee-based help for your book.
Allen Mesch 