In my previous post, I discussed some of the problems of today’s publishing industry and some of the challenges that authors face: Why do authors give up pursuing their stories? It is because they are alone. Why do publishers give up looking at authors whose names they don’t recognize? It is because they have seen far too many rough drafts that, at present, aren’t ready for distribution. 

There is a solution to both of these problems, and that is the solution that we, at Alonili Press, are trying to offer.  

Community. 

Like the Kingdom of Alonili, we need to break the barriers between publisher and author. The author is not simply a “subject” or “employee” of a publisher. Create meaningful community between the publisher and its many authors, and authors no longer have to work alone.

What does this look like practically? For Alonili Press, it means ditching the traditional submissions-based model and creating an associated organization known as “Alonili Council.” Alonili Council is a community of authors, not unlike other author circles that may already exist in your town. The authors have a community who reads their stories, pushes them when they feel like giving up, and helps them hone their skills. What sets the Council apart from other authors circles is what happens after a book is properly polished. Because the Council is associated with Alonili Press, a book can be presented to Alonili Press with a request for publishing at the time when the Council deems it ready to see the light of day. 

The result? 

– Authors can write their stories in the context of a community who is pouring into them.

– Authors already have an “in” with a publisher who will not try to rip them off. 

– Newly published authors don’t have to start marketing from scratch, because Alonili Press advertises them alongside the other authors it has already published. 

– The publisher can give proper attention to each manuscript it receives, because the Council has already done the bulk of the editing that the book needs.   

– The general public can pick up any book with the Alonili Press logo on it and trust that, whatever its particular genre or plot, it is a book that has been revised and refined by a community that cares about quality of work on not simply popularity of genre. 

Is this going to be the model for everyone? Maybe not. But what Alonili Press offers is an alternative to the mainstream every-man-for-himself model. As we grow, our Council will branch into multiple sub-councils all working toward the same ultimate goal:

We want to change the face of publishing, one book at a time, one author at a time. 

Will it be easy? No. Will it be worth it? 

Absolutely.   

-Katherine Munson