# Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi)

> The only professional membership organization exclusively for self-published authors, offering vetted service ratings via the Watchdog Desk, free contract advice, publishing guidebooks, and a global community forum.

Source: https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/communities/alli
Website: https://www.allianceindependentauthors.org
Category: Author Communities (https://selfpublishingdirectory.com/communities)
Pricing: paid — $119–$169/annual
AI-powered: no
Editor's pick: yes
Tags: professional, membership, vetted-services, advocacy, community, watchdog, contract-advice, nonprofit, education, networking
Last verified: 2026-05-14
Best For: Indie authors at any stage who need vetted service guidance, contract review, or active AI-rights advocacy
Community Type: professional-org
Genre Focus: general
Member Count: Thousands in 100+ countries
Platform: website, forum

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.