AuthorHouse Acquires iUniverse

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III

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I just got an email that iUniverse and AuthorHouse are joining together as one company, but will maintain separate brands. I'm not sure if this will have much of an impact, but I've been pretty happy with iUniverse as a POD publisher so far.
 

tombookpub

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AuthorHpuse & IUniverse merger

My editor informed me about a deal between AuthorHouse and iUniverse to merge. Anyone hear anything about this?
 

tombookpub

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Beware: iUniverse Taking a Nosedive

Given the merger of iUniverse and Author House, it's been reported that the iUniverse management and support structure is rapidly sinking. Self pub authors are reporting mix-ups and long delays in publshing - given the transition of staff and responsbilities to Author House. Beware for the next several months. Xlibris may be better option.
 

III

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iUniverse is in the process of relocating their offices to Bloomington, Ind and consolidating their operations with AuthorHouse, effective March 31st. Hopefully they'll be able to smooth things out in Q2 but I agree it might be better to go with another house while they're straightening things out.
 

veinglory

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Given that this is the 'POD Self-Publishing and E-Publishing' forum couldn't we take the existence of alternatives as read and discuss self-publishing per se?
 

victoriastrauss

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I know that iUniverse is moving, and I've heard rumors (and rumors of rumors) of glitches and author dissatisfaction--but I haven't heard directly from any iUniverse author who has experienced problems. I would love for anyone who has had difficulties as a result of the merger and/or the move to contact me at Writer Beware ([email protected] ), because I've been following the merger on my blog and would like to do a followup.

Personally, I think the merger is a shame--in my opinion, iUniverse offered a good mix of quality, service, and price, and they had some decent programs in place for their better-performing authors. AuthorHouse is quite a bit more expensive--especially if you go for its many add-ons, some of which, IMO, are overpriced--and there seem to be more customer service and quality problems.

- Victoria
 

tombookpub

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Alternative to iUniverse

Given that this is the 'POD Self-Publishing and E-Publishing' forum couldn't we take the existence of alternatives as read and discuss self-publishing per se?

Re: your concern, XLibris may be the next best bet.
 

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I am seriously thinking about taking the self publishing route. I've been querying agents since september and have had not much luck- several partials one full, but no takers... is Iuniverse worth it?
 

ResearchGuy

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I am seriously thinking about taking the self publishing route. I've been querying agents since september and have had not much luck- several partials one full, but no takers... is Iuniverse worth it?
Strictly speaking, iUniverse is not self-publishing, but rather subsidy publishing (they own the ISBN, the author does not -- unless they offer an alternative I've not heard about). Sales via subsidy publishers such as iUniverse are almost certain to be tiny and hard to come by, and the publication not held in high regard, irrespective of how good the book itself is. Self-publishing is no picnic, but does not start with the stigma of subsidy/vanity publishing if done right (easier said than done).

BTW, you might want to take a bit longer before giving up on finding an agent/publisher. It can take years (read How I Got Published, Writer's Digest Press, 2007, for lots of examples). If you have been getting nibbles, at least, you might be on the right track.

All IMHO.

--Ken
 

tombookpub

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Bookmasters may be a better bet. Offers both offse printing and POD printing. Highly recommended by the Self-Pub Gurus: Poynter and Bowerman.
 
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