If you live in the UK, and would like to get your book into libraries for readers to borrow, there are a few things you need to be aware of first. The first is Public Lending Right. This is the system whereby authors receive payment in remuneration for the lending of their books in public libraries. It is not only authors that are paid, but illustrators, photographers, translators and editors too. Payments are made annually by the British Library, from a fixed pot of money pr

In 2023, the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) commissioned the first-ever global income survey of indie authors, which discovered that self-published writers earned more than those who were traditionally published. Following on from that, they investigated further and produced ‘The Big Indie Author Data Drop 2025’. Its findings are enlightening and encouraging for self-published authors. If you would like to read the report in full, click on the image. Some of the major

Arranging for book royalties to be paid after your death involves making preparations within your estate planning now. UK and US copyright lasts for 70 years after the author's death, so to ensure your beneficiaries continue to receive royalty income during this time, your copyright needs to be recognised as a transferable asset. The simplest way to do this is to include it in your will by clearly naming who you wish to inherit your rights and royalties (e.g., spouse, child

If you are looking for a way to use print-on-demand services for your customers without paying big royalties, then Books.by may be your answer. Instead of charging for every book, like Amazon or Ingram Spark, Books.by funds its costs by charging an annual fee of $99, after which you keep 100% of your sales, minus print costs. You are given your own shopfront platform to customise as you wish, with its own URL to direct customers to from your website or social media pages.

If you publish a new book or edit an existing one, you will be asked at the time of uploading it if you have used AI to create the content. You will need to understand if you have used ‘AI-generated’ or ‘AI-assisted’ content and know exactly what is allowed. ‘AI-Generated’ means that your text, images or translations have been created by AI, even if you have edited them heavily later. You MUST disclose this when uploading your book and indicate the level of human editing th

The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is a UK not-for-profit organisation that collects and distributes secondary royalties to writers. It exists to make sure you’re paid when your work is copied, shared, or used in ways that don’t generate traditional royalties and has been operating since 1977. ‘Secondary uses’ are things like: · Scripts being used for broadcasting · Use of articles in journals and magazines · Lending in libraries overseas ·