[Publisher] iUniverse

I think it is unrealistic to expect a printing company to work from a hardcopy for the same price as a pre-existing electronic file. The amount of extra work involved is high even if the text is scannable (immense if not).

you can type posts in a forum but can't type out your novel into electronic format?



seriously, if you don't want to do it yourself spend a few bucks and get it done by someone who CAN do it - many publishers are accepting manuscripts electronically and you really don't want to lose your ONLY copy due to a house fire or some awful happening.

Yo, Schoolmarm !!

I never said that AuthorHouse was top of the heap, and I could write a long
letter about what's not so great about 'em.

Anyway, thanks for your lengthy response and GOOD LUCK!!

Kim Possible could do it but...

Get a primitive like me to do what you sensibly suggest--IM-POSS-IBLE!!

A "primitive", eh?

Well, you're a talented writer--obvious from your posts--and I wish you well. I didn't mean my post as criticism, only as a cautionary tale.

As for Word, if my SO--a mechanic who until recently thought the 'net was the devil's own work--can overcome his primitive nature and learn Word, so can you.

You brought back a submerged memory that made me giggle. I used to be addicted to a manual typewriter. I got into the romantic notion that if I couldn't manage to write all my work longhand (my handwriting became illegible midway through the first page), then my trusty Smith-Corona would take me to the halls of erudition on its crumbling blue back. I still have a big box of manuscripts from that era, mostly faded and unreadable. I spent days retyping the best of them into my computer last year and burned them on CD. Now, even if no one else ever sees them, at least I can read them without dragging out the CSI kit to reconstruct the type.

I really do wish you would think about trying something other than POD. You've got something going on, fella. Share it!

Joanne

iUniverse?

Is there any reason I should or should not go with this company?

A local author (around my own age I might add, dunno if this is relevant but it's still pretty cool) got published through iUniverse.

What advance can I expect from them?

Once you finish paying them to publish your book, you'll start out several hundred dollars in the hole. Have you checked their website and publishing packages?

As vanity/self-publishing types go, iUniverse isn't too bad. Personally, I'd probably go with Lulu.com if I was going to self-publish, but that's me.

If you're looking for advance-paying publishers though, iUniverse definitely isn't where you want to be.

IUniverse, as far as I'm aware is a pay to play vanity POD publisher. If you're looking for advances and readership, they're not ones to have on your list.

Here is a thread about them:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=983

(Also, it's best to use the index at the top of the Bewares and Background Checks board to find previous threads about the publisher or agent you want to ask about, and add your question to that thread. The thread pops to the top, and it keeps all the pertinant information in one place.)

Egads, my bad.

For some reason I'm still thinking of the purge.......

Also, I found her book at B&N, as well as on Amazon....

Should I get into contact with her to see what her experiences were?

Could it be that iUniverse is SOMEWHAT reputable, but not entirely?

nachonaco_Grippers said:

Could it be that iUniverse is SOMEWHAT reputable, but not entirely?

Click to expand...

I think for what it is, IUniverse is reputable. But that's if you want a vanity POD. I certainly wouldn't call it a scam, IIRC they're pretty upfront about what they do. And if the author's experiences were positive, I can see why they'd recommend them. But what is suitable for one writer may not be suitable for another.

Getting into the online stores is normal with POD presses, but not very helpful. PublishAmerica is a terrible vanity POD, and even though the books show up on online stores the authors sell on average about 75 copies. It's just not as helpful or important as it sounds.

nachonaco_Grippers said:

Could it be that iUniverse is SOMEWHAT reputable, but not entirely?

Click to expand...

What Tilly said. iUniverse has never struck me as a scam the way PA and certain others do. But it is a vanity publisher.

Getting on to B&N.com and Amazon only means the book has an ISBN. But pick any 10 iUniverse recent releases, then try to find any of them in your local bookstores. Best of luck...

Well, I know that she has a book in my Barnes and Nobles', so I'm assuming she paid and passed the editor's choice....

My parents think it sounds like an okay deal, like, I should aim for something else but it'll do.

It's entirely possible for a local author to talk a local B&N into carrying a copy or two of an iU title (or a book that he printed in his basement, for that matter). What would be impressive would be finding a copy on the shelf in a B&N that's outside of the author's driving range.

Why shoot low? Why start off with a vanity press? They'll take a good book as fast as they'll take a bad one. If your book is good (i.e. a book that lots of people want to read) you can get it published by a commercial press. If it isn't going with a vanity won't help.

Don't bet against yourself. Start with the publishers that will pay you, and will get your book on the shelf in every B&N in the country.

nachonaco_Grippers said:

Is there any reason I should or should not go with this company?

A local author (around my own age I might add, dunno if this is relevant but it's still pretty cool) got published through iUniverse.

What advance can I expect from them?

Click to expand...

Anyone who pays the set-up fee can get published by iUniverse. If you want to use a POD publisher successfully (meaning you earn your investment back within a few months and eventually make a modest profit), you need to have a readership already in place and you need to target a definite niche that is too small to interest a commercial publisher or university press.

You also need a way to market your books. If you do lots of speaking engagements about your subject, you have a good chance to come out ahead. Otherwise, how will you sell your book?

It's listed on Amazon as well....

nachonaco_Grippers said:

It's listed on Amazon as well....

Click to expand...

People buy very differently from online sites than they do from a bookstore. They usually have a specific title in mind, and don't often browse. Also, there's a huge number of titles, the chances of a reader stumbling across the title of a new author are really low. The chances of them buying the book, even lower.

That's why so many POD books have no Amazon ranking. No copy of the book has been sold. Many more have an Amazon ranking in the millions, meaning one person bought the book (that's likely to be someone they knew). Even when they have an Amazon ranking better than that, their sales aren't great.

In a bookshop, people browse and pick up new authors.

This is why, even though POD books are available from most online retailers, their sales are tiny.

I think it comes down to what your goals are in getting your work published. There is no real substitute for commercial publishing houses, and they take on new authors all the time.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck .

It's still a vanity publisher. Nothing's changed.

Still a pay-to-play vanity POD. Still a bad idea for any writer.

I believe IUniverse offers different packages and I think they name their packages after jewels. They sent one to me last month unsolicited, and called it a special offer. I don't recall if it was the emerald package or ruby package or whatever, but I do remember the cost was $999.00.

Nah, the Jewels packages are from some other pay-to-play vanity POD. iU does have various imprints, though ... Writers Club and so forth.