Inside Draft2Digital's New Author Fees, with Orna Ross and Kris Austin

In this member-first partner webinar at the Alliance of Independent Authors, ALLi Director Orna Ross presses Draft2Digital CEO Kris Austin on the $20 activation fee and $12 annual maintenance fee that landed on indie authors in April with no advance warning. Austin explains what the fees are meant to stop, why authors weren't consulted first, and whether the era of free, open access to publishing platforms is drawing to a close. Find more author advice, tips, and tools at our Self-publishing Author Advice Center, with a huge archive of 2,000+ blog posts, and a handy search box to find key info on the topic you need. We invite you to join our organization and become a self-publishing ally. About the Host Irish author and poet Orna Ross is cofounder and director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and a passionate advocate for self-publishing and author empowerment. Her books are international bestsellers and have won many awards, including the Goethe Grand Prize for Historical Fiction and a Gold Literary Titan Award for poetry. Her work for ALLi has seen her named one of the top 100 people in publishing by The Bookseller. Born and raised in Wexford, in the southeast of Ireland, she now lives in St Leonards-on-Sea, in the southeast of England, within working reach of London. Her motto: "When in doubt, be braver." About the Guest Kris Austin is cofounder and CEO of Draft2Digital, one of the world's largest digital publishing and distribution platforms for self-published authors and independent publishers. Since its founding in 2012, Draft2Digital has grown to support more than 300,000 authors around the globe, who have collectively released more than 1 million titles. More information can be found at https://draft2digital.com.