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

Freedom of speech and of the press doesn't force anyone to listen to you or read your words.

If you choose to self-publish or go with a vanity press, that's your decision. But be aware on the way in the door that most likely you already know by name everyone who will ever buy a copy of your book, and in those cases where you don't know their names right now, you will be looking the person in the eye when money changes hands.

Self-publication makes sense when you have:

a) Specialized non-fiction,
b) Niche fiction, or
c) Poetry.

Vanity publication never makes sense, since you will have to do all the same promotion-and-marketing work you would do if you self-published, you will have to pay all the same costs that you would have to pay if you self-published, but you will only get a fraction of the monetary return.

E.H.Mansfield said:

I merely suggested AuthorHouse or other vanity presses as a last resort when all else fails. What are you willing to do for yourself when no one else will do it for you? Of coarse it is better to set your sights as high as you can in searching for the best agents and publishers. I will never dispute that, and everyone seeking to be published should do exactly that. But what do you do when you've exhausted all your high expectations and can't get your foot in the door anywhere? If you cannot sell your own product (and not everyone can) then you have no choice but to rely on agents and publishers to do all the work you are not willing to do yourself. If so, then vanity presses are not even an option, and yes you will be wasting your time and money. If you are capable of selling and marketing your own product, then it may be worth your while after you've exhausted all your other options. If you don't have the money or time to sell your own product, well then all you can do is continue to seach for an agent who may not be as well known. You just have to be a bit more cautious.

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For the record, I didn't think you came in here guns blazing. I do think that you do not understand the publishing industry as well as you think you do. You made a good point in your earlier post that writing is a craft, and one needs to work on their craft. So why would I take time away from working on my craft to try and sell something to the public, without the support of a publisher, that may very well not be saleable? It's foolhardy. No writer should be doing that. That's what PA authors are unfortunately doing, and look how well it's working out for them. If you look through the PA threads here on AW, you'll see there is no evidence of any PA book doing well by commercial standards nor any record of anyone ever making back their money spent on their marketing efforts. None. True, their publisher doesn't make it easy by any means but ignoring that and things are still against them. The average person simply doesn't have the money to shell out. Heck, even small publishers staffed by people who know what they're doing find it difficult. So what would I do if I exhausted all avenues? Write another book. Hone my craft. That is what writers who are serious about publication should be doing. Not wasting time and effort on one book after it's been rejected everywhere (and that's assuming it wasn't all rejected based on a query alone. If someone requests a partial or full, you better believe they'll read it).

E.H.Mansfield said:

I'm sure you could see how suggesting anyone as being unfit for publishing because an agent or publisher rejects their work without explanation could be construed as a blatent insult. Of coarse agents and publishers are looking for the best writers they can find, but from what I've read and heard most of the well known agents receive a thousand or more queries per month when they can only devote their time and effort to a fraction of that. Most likely there are more writers than there are agents to represent them, but that doesn't mean any of them are inadequate. Many get rejected without ever having their manuscript read.

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I could see it, but that doesn't necessarily make it so. It seems that opinion isn't too uncommon, so if someone chooses to be insulted that's not really my issue. Rejections happen for a multitude of reasons. Most, if not all, agents today don't read unsolicited manuscripts. So if you send one to an agent yes it's not going to be read. They don't have time to read something they didn't ask for. Plus it's a display that you can't follow guidelines so why should they bother with you? So I'm sure that takes out a fair number from the slushpile. Then there's those manuscripts with 'tests' in them to see if they're getting read. Agents and publishers hate those, and will toss them aside without reading them. It's petty. So there goes a bit more. Then there's poor queries, poorly written stories, and storylines that have been overdone that aren't being given a new twist. Really cuts down on the slushpile, so in fact the amount of true competition is actually quite low. The problem with these vanities is the illusion they create that anyone can be a writer. It's simply not true. It's a talent like any other, and like talents it needs to be honed. Not everyone can be a painter. Not everyone can be an actor. Not everyone can be a writer.

Author Solutions Inc. (parent of AuthorHouse) just bought Canadian vanity press Trafford.

They're just rolling 'em up, aren't they?

AuthorHouse - problems, problems - help please!

I signed a contract with AuthorHouse in January this year (a big mistake!). Their service was exceptional - that is, for the time before I signed the contract....

After submitting my manuscript and instructions on layout for the cover and galley, the 'work' they sent back to me left both myself and 2 professional designers in shock.

The 2 front cover sketches they had done were extremely tacky, with some glaring errors. They were so slow about sending me something new that I worked together with my own designer and sent them my cover - how I would like it to be. They then changed it, adding a few errors! We modified it again, and resent it. Frustrating, amateurish, but possible to overlook.

Then there was the galley... it was sent back to me with over 200 errors - some amazing things that were not present in the original document sent to Author House. When I called them (I was passed around between 3 different people), I was told that I would have to pay extra to have Author House correct their own mistakes!!

This was the final straw. So I quoted AuthorHouse in breach of contract. Sent them a registered letter requesting my money back and a cancellation of contract. Emailed them with the same request. Called them (I've spoken with around 8 - 9 members of their staff about this).

But all to no avail. Every time I email them asking for an update on my refund, they say that they will get back to me. They never do.

Firstly, a piece of advice if you are considering publishing with AuthorHouse: Don't. Use Lulu or Createspace instead.

And secondly: From what I understand I am far from alone in my predicament. Author House have in effect stolen £952 of my money, and I would like it back. Of course I can issue them with a summons to a small claims court, which should probably get their attention. But does anyone else have any other suggestions before I take legal action against them?

Check the contract to see if there's an arbitration clause, but basically, I don't think you do have any other option than to take them to a small claims court if you want to try and get the money back.

You could try making reports to Which?, the Troubleshooter section of The Sunday Times (which has been involved in another vanity press case) and Watchdg but ultimately you're not deemed to be a consumer in relation to AuthorHouse so it will be difficult to get them involved.

MM

You might also try these guys at below link. They have a successful track record in hounding Author service companies. They also have plenty of advice on getting out of contracts, refunds, small claims etc.

Also, do exactly what you have done. Post to writer sites like AW and report your experience. While it will not solve your issues with AuthorHouse, it will highlight the situation and act as a warning for other self-publishing authors.

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2008/09/final-chapter-for-vanity-publi.html

Ultimately, you may find that you have to lodge your case in the small claims court.

Also, feel free to post to my website under the review link for AuthorHouse.co.uk and record your experience there. Unfortunately your experience is not uncommon and underlines the fact that authors considering this publishing path need to fully research the reputability of services before they pay out for them.

AuthorHouse have a particularly unfriendly contract for authors and it seems it is more about protecting them than the author. I may stand corrected, but the US contract has a clause about actions having to be taken against them in a court in their home US state where their offices are registered. Not sure if this is also the case in the UK contract. You should re-read this fully on the terms of action and arbitration, particularly where the action is to be lodged.

I actually have a "Dear Abby" type of question. I have a beloved uncle, a senior citizen, who is actually a very fine writer and the loveliest human being imaginable. Problem: he is legally blind so his manuscripts are filled with typos. He is also very naive and that naivete is evident in his prose.

Recently, I read his second novel, a novelized memoir of growing up in the depression. The ms was amazing, and in these uncertain times, very timely. I tried to encourage him to try and find an agent. Told him I'd help him with the search/query letter and that he should consider pitching the novel as YA as it is told from the viewpoint of a pre-adolescent boy who views grinding poverty through the prism of the magical thinking of a ten year old boy. To this young boy, everything, including hunger, the cold of a Cape Cod Winter, a fatherless family with seven children having to "live off the town," even hunger, is seen as another exciting adventure akin to riding a tiger through snake infested jungles. Believe me, the story is that good.

The problem: I just received an exuberant email from this dear, dear man with a link to Author House, his choice of a "publisher."

Although I was crushed, I assume the only thing I can do is respond with bubbly enthusiasm.

I really, really believe his story, and his charmng telling of that story, deserved better.

Please help me say the right thing.

Be kind but honest. Tell him you looked into his publisher and what you found. Tell him that you really believe in his book (which is true, given your post) but this company isn't going to help it in any way, shape or form. Make sure he knows you're not trying to squash his attempts at being published, you just don't want him to get screwed out of his hard-earned money. Which he will, with Authorhouse and likely have nothing to show for it. There are much better publishers and agents out there, and if you're willing help him connect with those people. As long as you come from the angle of concern and not blame or anything, I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm actually kind of curious to read this story.

You could also provide some other publishing options. There are a lot out there, including some which don't take a setup fee, such as Lulu or Createspace. If he is going to part with cash, it is much better to hire a good freelance designer with a solid reputation. At least then you get a good finished result. Quite unlike AH, where IF you get a result, it's likely to be far from satisfactory. Judging from what other authors have told me, the marketing options you can pay for with AH create negligible results. You can ask the AH staff how many copies of their author's books they actually sell. My agent was very adept at avoiding this question!

My advice is to inform him of other people's problems with AuthorHouse, and advise him to avoid AH like the plague!

If only the design staff at AuthorHouse were as good as their marketing staff!!

Thank you M.R. J and jongorrie. But the problem isn't that he might use AH. The dirty deed is already done. He sent me a link to AH where his book is for sale.

Honestly, in the right hands, with some editing help (his visual issues have caused some formatting problems in the copy of the ms I read a while back), his book would be a great read for young adults and adults alike.

BTW: I didn't mention that he published a previous novel with AH. Not nearly as good as his current work and in a completely different genre.

I guess what I'm wondering is if he can still look for an agent - not mention the AH mistake?

Sure. He can still look.

I'd exhaust every legitimate avenue before turning to AH. And I'd publish the book on my web page before turning to AH. Let's just say that I wouldn't turn to AH.

I can't help but harp back to the notion the publisher pockets 85% of cover price. Producing, distributing and marketing a book is not free. Once costs and overheads are deducted the publisher generally makes less clear profit from each book than the authors does. And then they take most of that money and reinvest it in their business, for example covering losses from under-perfomring books where the author gets paid but the press actually takes a loss. The real profit margin is somewhere in the realm of 2%.

MickRooney said:

You might also try these guys at below link. They have a successful track record in hounding Author service companies. They also have plenty of advice on getting out of contracts, refunds, small claims etc.

Also, do exactly what you have done. Post to writer sites like AW and report your experience. While it will not solve your issues with AuthorHouse, it will highlight the situation and act as a warning for other self-publishing authors.

http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/investigations/2008/09/final-chapter-for-vanity-publi.html

Ultimately, you may find that you have to lodge your case in the small claims court.

Also, feel free to post to my website under the review link for AuthorHouse.co.uk and record your experience there. Unfortunately your experience is not uncommon and underlines the fact that authors considering this publishing path need to fully research the reputability of services before they pay out for them.

AuthorHouse have a particularly unfriendly contract for authors and it seems it is more about protecting them than the author. I may stand corrected, but the US contract has a clause about actions having to be taken against them in a court in their home US state where their offices are registered. Not sure if this is also the case in the UK contract. You should re-read this fully on the terms of action and arbitration, particularly where the action is to be lodged.

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Thanks for the links. I'm looking into them. I've also seen a couple of posts by ex-Author House employees on other forums. They confirmed that AH doesn't care about their authors as soon as they have pocketed their money. And the designers simply use copy and paste techniques into some pretty rough and ready templates to prepare the galleys. It's amazing to think that authors are spending months and years on preparing manuscripts, and AH are pocketing authors money, and at best delivering a sub-standard product (if the product is delivered at all). Don't they get a guilty conscience about it all???

jongorrie said:

It's amazing to think that authors are spending months and years on preparing manuscripts, and AH are pocketing authors money, and at best delivering a sub-standard product (if the product is delivered at all). Don't they get a guilty conscience about it all???

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Sadly, no. The worst of them have no semblance of conscience whatsoever.

And here are some words from Angela Hoy's Writersweekly this week. Very apt in light of the above author's poor experience.

"The reason so many large POD publishers have bad reputations, and the reason they rarely respond to public criticism, is because they don't care. They really don't. Their business model is to cram as many authors through their doors as they can, and to squeeze as much money out of each author as they can. That's it. If this was not the truth, they would screen submissions, they would reject bad manuscripts, and they would teach authors how to market their own books for free (instead of selling them garbage that doesn't sell books)... So, it's to that POD publisher's financial best interest to squeeze the author for even more money than to help them market their books for free."

The full article on 'POD Best Practices' can be found here.

http://writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/005325_04222009.html

Never a truer word been spoken! I just wish I'd known about that business model a few months ago. Well, in the worst case I hope that my experience is enough of a deterrent for other authors, and that they look elsewhere for publishing options. All I can say to prospective first-timers is, if a vanity publishing house seems so keen to get you on their books, be suspicious. Don't be in a hurry to sign that contract. And furthermore, do a LOT of independent research on your prospective publisher before signing the contract. (In other words, take everything your prosepective publisher says with a bucket of salt!)

An addition: Here are the sections of the contract that I believe AuthorHouse has breached:

2.1. We shall use our reasonable endeavours to provide the Services to you within the Timetable using our reasonable care and skill subject to the Contract which shall to the fullest extent permitted by law govern the provision of the Services to the exclusion of any other terms and conditions.

7.1. We shall provide the Services using reasonable care and skill and, as far as reasonably possible, in accordance with your instructions accepted by us in writing on the Services Order Form.

According to two 3rd party professional designers, the work provided by AuthorHouse was far below that of "reasonable care and skill". What's more, I was told on the phone by one worker that I would have to pay to have AuthorHouse correct their own mistakes!

Also, I am now wondering if AH have breached the following section of our contract, by not giving me an answer to my refund request, originally made on the 11th of March.

13. Both parties shall act in good faith at all times and shall use their reasonable endeavours to work together to resolve all issues and disputes relating to Services before seeking any other remedy.

I have been trying to work together with them by providing correspondence via phone, email, and registered mail. But still no answer.

Anyone have any thoughts about this?

Didn't know if this belongs in a separate thread, but it's on Wordclay's blog, so...

Found This on my WordPress Tag Surfer. Sounds like BS.

The blog post AZ_Dawn linked to says that self-publishing is up 132% and "traditional" publishing is down by 3%.

Here's the story from Bowker.

They're talking about the number of titles.

I believe AuthorSolutions claims their average title sells 150 copies. (Reference here.) Compare that to one midlist book from a mainstream publisher.

AZ_Dawn said:

Didn't know if this belongs in a separate thread, but it's on Wordclay's blog, so...

Found This on my WordPress Tag Surfer. Sounds like BS.

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Yes and no. The article makes a real point about the kinds of people for which self-publishing is the right choice: speakers, teachers, churches, and companies. Self-publishing with print on demand technologies are a good fit for them.

Unfortunately, that's not what most of us think of when we think of publishing.

Titles-in-print is pretty meaningless. Copies sold is the real indicator, and until copies sold comes close to commercial publishing, self-publishing will remain a niche.

Yep, that's what was bugging me. It sounded like a strange mixture of facts and misrepresented statistics.

author house

why does Timothy Murphy email everyone that he sees that might had a book printed with PA. Just asking? I couldnt find a sticky, on this but its probablythere. If so, just merge this with the first one. I read about these prople and they charge alot of money just like all the rest does. i am guesing that there victims out there of these people also just like the rest of the scammers.

wanda45451964 said:

why does Timothy Murphy email everyone that he sees that might had a book printed with PA. Just asking? I couldnt find a sticky, on this but its probablythere. If so, just merge this with the first one. I read about these prople and they charge alot of money just like all the rest does. i am guesing that there victims out there of these people also just like the rest of the scammers.

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I'm glad you read up on AuthorHouse and noticed that they charged fees, Wanda. That's great.

If the AuthorHouse staff are specifically contacting you because of your PublishAmerica book, I suspect they think you're an amateur - you didn't know any better than go to with PublishAmerica, so you might not know any better than to go with AuthorHouse. Clearly, you do know better now.

They also assume that PublishAmerica authors are dissatisfied with PA, and PublishAmerica authors think that it's standard practice to pay to publish.

Thats what I sort of figured also. I just delete and go on. I dont write to pay money, i write to get money and for the enjoyment of it. I am supposed to go and take a test this morning if no one shows up, to get a work placement diploma. Dont know if I can pass the math section or not.

Regarding Authorhouse and any other vamity publisher...

I teach 7th grade, and when our librarian informed me an actually young adult author was coming to speak to kids, I was naturally excited. He author sent a few books in his fantasy series in advance. I checked it out and was largely unimpressed, with the writing as well as the several typos I found in only the first few pages. Being a young adult author myself, I was curious about the publisher. There it was on the back...AuthorHouse. The guy paid to have it published. Not just one book, but all four in the series, at roughly $5000 a pop.

Anyway, this guy shows up with a big power point presentation, free bookmarks and a long-winded speech about achieving your dreams. Funny, as an author, my dream was always to get someone to buy my work. This author, a former teacher, traveled from California to tour, and had lots of copies for sale to kids at around fifteen bucks each.

Then one kid asked a great question: "How did you get published?" To this author's credit, he admitted he paid to have it done. And here's where I make my point...after all his long-winded, self-congradulatory crap about what it takes to be a writer, he basically passed on the message that in you want to play, you have to pay. He also said he was tired of two-years of dealing with rejection. Two years? Are you kidding? Two years of submission efforts is a drop in the bucket for most good writers, let alone one whose ego outweighs their talent.

I noticed he immediately lost the interest of a lot of the kids, who were no longer impressed with the man. Yeah, a few bought his book, though I doubt he recouped the thouseands of dollars in publishing expenses, bookmarks and travel expenses to justify the effort. Plus, other than some admittedly cool covers (which the author also paid to have done) the books sucked...that's the overall opinion of the few kids who tried reading them. Even a young adult audience is going to see through the charade and know a lousy writer when they read one.

I'm sorry but, if after four books, you're still paying to get them published, you can't freaking write. And no amount of discretionary income you throw at your efforts is going to change that.

I cannot begin to fathom the enormous expenses this author shelled out to hawk his work, and I was especially offend how he suggested to these kids this was how real publishing is done.

And if a bunch of middle school kids aren't going to be impressed with your self-publishing efforts, who else will be?