A Year in the Life of ASPA

As 2025 draws to a close, it's time to reflect on the many achievements of our ASPA community this year.

MEMBERS

The Association of Self-Published Authors remains true to its original promise of being free to all members and ‘proudly run by self-published authors, for self-published authors’. Today, it has 684 members, all of whom can take advantage of the wide-ranging resources on the website. Click here to learn more.

PROSE AND CONS

One of the major successes this year has been the introduction of the ‘Prose and Cons’ meetings. On the first Monday of every month, we meet for a lunchtime chat on Microsoft Teams, which has proved a fantastic way to bring writers together and make new friends. Without fail, we learn something every session and always leave with fresh ideas.

The next meeting, on 5^th January 2026, will have a specific focus on audiobooks. Here's the link if you’re interested.

WEBINARS

Webinars are something we are hoping to expand on much more next year. Lee hosted a webinar last October to introduce his ‘InkBots’ platform, which was well received, and came with the option of a free digital license for ‘Inkbots Pro’ thrown in. Plans are already afoot to teach the benefits of newsletters and Instagram in the new year, and we actively encourage anyone with experience or a passion for their craft to share the tricks of their trade.

BLOGS

Twenty-two different blog posts have been posted to the website this year, written by a mix of contributors on a range of topics. A huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who has written for us or left a comment. At the time of

writing, these posts have been viewed 1,246 times! You can read them here.

SOCIAL MEDIA

This year saw the introduction of a dedicated ‘Members Only’ moderated Facebook group. It's a lively community and a great place to leave a quick question or catch up with colleagues. At the time of writing, it has fifty followers, so if you would like to be added to that list, search for the private group, 'Association of Self-Published Authors' and request to join.

The ASPA Instagram page currently has ninety-one followers and can be found @aspa_uk

YOU TUBE CHANNEL

Another new resource this year has been the ASPA YouTube channel. There you can find thirteen different training videos on a number of topics. It’s an ideal place to look if you want a walk-through on something technical, like advertising or cover design, and particularly useful if you want to pause the video and follow along at your own pace. See what’s on offer here.

BOOK STORE

The ASPA bookstore remains a popular and free way to advertise your books and link to different websites for readers to purchase. At present, there are fourteen pages of shelves to browse and pick your next read. If your book is still not in there, and you’d like it to be, follow this link.

NETWORKING

In October, Rob and Lee were invited to form part of a panel to address the Society of Young Publishers on the topic of Self-Publishing and Social Media. They answered questions from keen young writers, some of whom have since joined ASPA too.

INKBOTS

The final word in our 2025 review goes to the ‘InkBots Tools for Authors’ that was launched this year. For anyone who doesn’t know about it, this was developed by Lee, who designed it especially to help writers through every stage of their creative journey. It can be dipped in and out of, however you choose to use it, and the website is updated constantly with new options and packages.

Here’s the link with more information.

A massive thank you to everyone who makes ASPA the great community it is, and best wishes to you all for a happy and healthy Christmas. Thanks for being part of the team!