Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)

The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) is a UK-registered nonprofit professional membership organization founded in 2012 by author Orna Ross at the London Book Fair. It is the only major professional author organization built exclusively around self-published authors, serving members in more than 100 countries. ALLi operates through two distinct channels: the freely accessible Self-Publishing Advice Center (selfpublishingadvice.org), and paid membership that unlocks direct support, contract guidance, and community access.

Membership Tiers#

ALLi offers three annual membership levels:

• Associate ($119/year): For writers not yet published, creative writing students, and pre-publication authors preparing to self-publish for the first time
• Author ($149/year): The standard tier for any author with at least one published book; includes the full benefit suite
• Authorpreneur ($169/year): Application-based tier for full-time author-publishers who can show evidence of 50,000+ book sales (or KU/business equivalent) in the past two years; adds dedicated literary agent support, rights consultancy, and business/tax/legal resources

The Watchdog Desk#

ALLi's most distinctive feature is the Watchdog Desk, led by John Doppler, which monitors the self-publishing services industry and publishes monthly reports flagging predatory services and recognizing trustworthy ones. Services earn "Partner Member" status by passing ALLi's vetting criteria — pricing and value, quality, contract terms, transparency, and accountability. The public-facing service ratings directory is freely accessible at selfpublishingadvice.org; membership provides direct advisory access when a specific contract or service needs scrutiny.

Member Benefits#

All paid tiers include:

• Contract advice: Free guidance from Orna Ross and Helen Sedwick (co-authors of How To Sell Publishing Rights), plus downloadable annotated contract templates; advisors are publishing professionals, not lawyers
• Guidebooks: Creative Self-Publishing, Reach More Readers, 150 Self-Publishing Questions Answered, and an author safety guide
• Monthly webinars: Expert Q&A sessions with agents, marketers, and platform representatives
• The Indie Author magazine: Quarterly publication for members
• SelfPubCon: ALLi's annual online conference (October; 2025 was a 2-day event)
• Partner discounts: IngramSpark coupon codes, BookVault, IBPA membership, and vetted editing and design services

Free Resources#

The Self-Publishing Advice Center at selfpublishingadvice.org — including the weekly "Self-Publishing with ALLi" podcast and nearly 2,000 archived blog posts — is freely accessible to all authors regardless of membership. ALLi also publishes the Big Indie Author Data Drop annually; the 2025 edition showed median indie author income at $13,500, up 6% year-over-year.

Who It's For#

• Authors hiring service providers: The Watchdog Desk and contract guidance make ALLi invaluable when evaluating editors, designers, or formatters
• Authors pursuing foreign rights or licensing: The Rights Desk (Author and Authorpreneur tiers) provides guidance on translation, TV, and film licensing
• Authors wanting professional community: Private forum and monthly expert access provide a different tier of support than free Facebook groups
• Authors concerned about AI policy: ALLi is actively campaigning on AI training data licensing, copyright protection, and platform policy changes

Pricing: $119/year (Associate), $149/year (Author), $169/year (Authorpreneur). 28-day refund policy on new and renewed memberships.

Limitations#

• Cost vs. value for casuals: At $119–$169/year, ALLi is a meaningful investment. Authors primarily wanting community rather than professional guidance may find free alternatives (20Books to 50K, Wide for the Win) sufficient.
• IngramSpark benefit erosion: ALLi has historically offered IS coupon codes as a key perk. IngramSpark removed all revision fees in February 2026, reducing the practical value of this benefit.
• No genre-specific depth: ALLi covers all indie genres broadly; genre-specific organizations (SFWA for sci-fi/fantasy, Sisters in Crime for crime fiction) offer deeper genre community.

Alternatives#

The Authors Guild ($165+/year) serves traditionally published authors primarily — a different focus. SFWA and Sisters in Crime are genre-specific. No other professional organization is exclusively focused on self-publishing across all genres.