AuthorHouse / WordClay / Words of Belief / Author Solutions, Inc.

AnneMarble said:

Ironically, the article includes a quote from AuthorHouse's president & CEO, where he says "Traditionally published authors are coming to AuthorHouse to regain control over their work.

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"Traditionally published." PA-published authors? Yeah, I could see that.

These authors understand the importance of owning their copyrights and maintaining editorial control.

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PA also spouts that line about keeping ownership of your copyright and not letting those Evil Editors change Your Unique Vision.

Ah, crap.

PA also spouts that line about keeping ownership of your copyright and not letting those Evil Editors change Your Unique Vision.

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At least PA doesn't charge upfront. And unless AuthorHouse has radically altered its pricing...

Waterstone's/AuthorHouse: What do you make of this?

[size=-1]From Publisher's Lunch Deluxe:[/size]

[size=-1]Waterstone's Experiments with Carrying AuthorHouse Self-Published Books
[/size][size=-1]POD self-publisher Author House has announced an exclusive promotional relationship with the UK's Waterstone's that offers participants a guarantee that a single Oxford Street location of the bookseller will stock three copies of participants' books for "up to eight weeks." The service costs "only 700 pounds" and the site declares, "placement on bookseller shelves is something even the biggest publishing houses can not guarantee a new author."[/size]

[size=-1]The announcement says that Waterstone's will display the books in a new self-published section and will promote with posters and point-of-purchase displays. The partners "plan to extend this service to other Waterstone's storefronts throughout Britain, England, and Ireland within the year."
Release[/size]
[size=-1]AH site description[/size]

I think my eyes crossed when I read "700 pounds"! I went back and read it three times to make sure that was what it really said.

I can't imagine how that could possible be a good deal in any way, shape, or form for the author. Am I missing something?

Not being in the UK, I have to ask: is Waterstone's a reputable bookseller? (At this point I've already made the assumption AuthorHouse is not a reputable publisher.)

Kris (who is evidently full of questions today )

Yes, Waterstones is basically the Big One over here. Sadly.

Richard said:

Yes, Waterstones is basically the Big One over here. Sadly.

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That IS sad.

I don't have much experience; I'm hoping one of the board regulars who's seen these things come and go will have some insight.

I did wonder if it might be something like PA's "partnership" with the NY Times, which basically boiled down to them buying advertising space. Could AuthorHouse simply be buying vendor space in the store? (I have no idea if bookstores do that, but it's marginally less horrifying than any other thought I've come up with).

Kris

It's unusual. I really can't think of much of a benefit for Waterstones as a bookseller - even if it's a kickback, it's one store, and they've got one in just about every town. Either way, having a dedicated section for self-publishing doesn't sound like it'll lead to that many sales for them.

As for the author, holy ferking schnitt, £700?!?!?! There's no way in any Hell you happen to know about that selling three copies of any boook is going to recoup that, nor is three copies going to do much for viral marketing or any other such nonsense. You give me £700 and I'LL sell three copies of your damn book...

Roger J Carlson said:

[size=-1]The partners "plan to extend this service to other Waterstone's storefronts throughout Britain, England, and Ireland within the year."
[/size]

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Woah, Britain and England? They must be serious!

Wow. That's the equivalent of $1,323.12!

For thirteen hundred bucks I coiuld fly to London, take the bookstore manager to lunch, hand him three copies of my book, and say "Be a sport -- put these on your shelf for two months, eh?"

Wow. Just wow. I'm in the wrong line of work.

Wow.

I reckon there could be some mileage in this. Am formulating some spam as we speak...

Just think, in a few short days there could be a thread in this forum all about me!

1st Books Library / AuthorHouse

This is yet another vanity POD. Under certain very specialized circumstances they might be a reasonable choice for you. If, however, your goals include bookstore stocking and wide readership try to go the commercial trade publisher route instead.

Regarding 1st Books lawsuit

Hello everyone,

Today I received an e-mail from a writer regarding the 1st Books lawsuit that was being taken on by a law firm in Indiana last June:

"I am writing you in the hopes of finding out the current status of the class action lawsuit that was pending against 1st Books Library (now AuthorHouse) in June 2004. Just over a year ago, I received an unsolicited letter from the offices of Robert L. Lewis & Associates, a law firm located in Gary, Indiana. The letter stated that the firm had been retained by clients who were looking to procure damages resulting from breach of contract and other potential liabilities related to misrepresentation, fraud and deception. At the time, although I was very frustrated with 1st Books for many things that they had done poorly doing the course of publishing my book, I did not feel as though they had been quite so bad as to merit filing a lawsuit against them. Thus I took no action. More recently, however, I discovered yet another serious blunder on their part concerning the marketing of my book (of which I had previously been unaware), which for me was the last straw. Earlier today I called the Lewis firm and was told that Lewis & Associates were no longer handling the case; it had been handed over to someone else. Strangely, however, the secretary did not know what firm was presently handling the case. Do you know who, if anyone, is now handling this case, or if it is even a live issue at this point? If not, do you know of anyone I could contact so as to find out this information?"

Does anyone have any updates, or do you know where this writer can find more information? Thanks so much for your help. He is incredibly distraught about his book's turnout; I would like to help him find some sort of justice.

AuthorHouse

AuthorHouse is using a new marketing strategy - see below. I think I'd rather have my (POD) book marketed this way in lieu of what the other POD's are doing with the online stores. Of course, I have yet to read the fine print.

AuthorHouse has partnered with Joseph-Beth Booksellers, one of the nation's largest independent book stores, to offer you a new publishing program called Fresh Voices in Print</STRONG>. The new program is designed to help aspiring writers become published authors and have books featured in Joseph-Beth stores.
The Fresh Voices in Print Joseph-Beth Publishing Packages include: custom book design, advance copies to the author, guaranteed bookshelf placement and an in-store book signing event for every author in the program.

One of the largest independent booksellers in the nation... they have a whopping EIGHT stores total (in Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.) You could probably call them yourself and get placed there for less than $50 in phone charges, instead of dealing with a shoddy company like AuthorHouse. Here's a recent press release about the opening of J-B's eighth store:


http://news.bookweb.org/m-bin/printer_friendly?article_id=3364

That looks like a really bad deal. You pretty much pay $900 to get your book printed and stocked at your closest Joseph Beth and an in-store signing!

For $1,800 you get your book in a month and 17 author's copies. This even includes the ISBN. BUT still stocked in exactly one store. Five copies.

Wow, PA is a better deal than this. At least with PA, you might be able to get your book in several stores. You'd even wind up paying about the same amount.

The only positive thing I can say is this. Joseph Beth is a great bookstore, on par with the best mega B&Ns. A drawback is that they are not as prevalent as B&N. Cincinnati has several B&Ns, and one JB. The only closest other JB is in Lexington, almost two hours away. At least the book won't be in competition with other POD books: the CRM at my local JB told me that as a rule they do not stock POD books. No returns, unknown authors, high prices.

That means with this program, you'll have guaranteed stocking in one store amidst a sea of B&Ns.

"Pretty lame, Milhouse."

Allen

The only positive thing I can say is this. Joseph Beth is a great bookstore, on par with the best mega B&Ns. A drawback is that they are not as prevalent as B&N.

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They did this with Waterstones over here - although only one branch IIRC.

At least the book won't be in competition with other POD books: the CRM at my local JB told me that as a rule they do not stock POD books. No returns, unknown authors, high prices.

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It'll be on its own shelf, apparently, and not I'm guessing the same one with Tom Clancy and JK Rowling proudly displayed. Look more closely at the details. What you'll get stocked is five copies in one store. For $899.

Yay! Another 'Let's Play At Authors' routine!

I offer this counter deal to anyone on this forum: you pay me just $800 up front and I will ensure that you sell 5 copies of your $20 POD book. You don't even have to send me the books - once your cheque clears, there'll be a nice $20 one floating its way back to you! Welcome to the wonderful world of publishing!

Help! Newbie, looking for publisher (AuthorHouse)

I am just finishing a book about my life with animals. I have contacted AuthorHouse and received their info packet. Am looking for anyone with info about them or other publishing houses that they have used and liked. Do you recommend self publishing versus "regular" publishing. One reason is obvious..self publishing will publish, other has to be submitted and accepted, but beyond that? Seems self publishing is fine if you know who to use. Appreciate any help, mostly at this point with finding a good Self Publishing Co. AuthorHouse does not edit totally, just spelling, punctuation, not sentence structure. I have heard their prices for books is high, so less people will buy. I did see that you have a say in pricing your book, so don't see how that is a problem unless you pick a high price.

Another question is lenght of book. Mine is approx 120 pages at the present. I am at a point where I can stop and then continue my experiences in another book. I have been told 120 pages is a good size by several people.

At this point, the more I am learning is getting me more confused. More input from actual authors who have published will help, I hope!

Thanks

AuthorHouse is a pay-to-play vanity POD. Forget them.

120 pages -- what's that in words?

Okay, here's what to do: Go to a bookstore. Find books similar to yours.

Those are the publishers you're interested in. Get those publishers' guidelines. Follow them to the letter.

Best of luck.

There's a long discussion of the pros and cons (to be honest, mostly the cons) of self-publishing here.

There's a detailed discussion of print-on-demand self-publishing services like AuthorHouse at the Print on Demand page of Writer Beware.

Very briefly: self-publishing can work for nonfiction books that appeal to a niche market the author has a means of reaching directly, or for writers who can utilize back-of-the-room sales opportunities--a lecturer who can sell books to her audiences, for instance. For most general nonfiction, and just about all fiction, self-publishing isn't a good choice. Based on AuthorHouse's own statistics, its books sell just over 100 copies on average.

- Victoria

AW also has a forum for animal writers with very friendly and helpful members.

Thanks, will check it out!

Rose, use the word counting function in your word processor to determine the length of what you've written.

Publishers use word count because it's not affected by type size like page count is.

More on AuthorHouse here:

http://www.anvilpub.com/Southern_Review.htm

and here:

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