Loved this! I've been POD self-publishing since 2005 (pre ebooks), novels, non-fiction and comics. Did my research early on, even looked into printing books myself (through a printer). Had a different experience. Print-On-Demand was relatively new, but research showed Lulu.com seemed to have the best, least parasitic terms. I'm still using them. There's been a hiccup or two over time, and now, like others, they offer many paid author services as add-ons. But I've been happy with them. Your mileage may vary. Naturally, I don't have much experience with other companies, so I can't offer comparisons. Although... Lulu can be pricey for comics and color printing. I've had good luck working with Ka-Blam for comic POD, and they have their IndyPlanet web portal where you can sell print copies online. Again, there have been hiccups, but it's a small operation and the Gregorys have been easy to work with... thank you for sharing your stories, Colleen.
Oh god, this takes me back. I used to be a copywriter for Author Solutions (the company that bought iUniverse, Xlibris and a bunch of other “self-publishing” vanity press outfits, as well as the print-for-pay arms of reputable publishers like Harlequin, Hay House and Random House. Everything was about milking the author for everything they had with “marketing packages”. It’s based in the Philippines and the “publishing consultants” have fake American names. I loved the people in the marketing department but everyone was drinking the Koolaid and I had to leave. Working as a bookseller here in London, we turned away so many of the poor authors who tried to get us to sell stuff in the shop without understanding how the book industry worked.
OMG, Hi Mahala, boy I bet you have some stories. For awhile, the Author Solutions people were cold calling authors like me because they got our info from Random House. And I'd have these strangers on the line asking if I'd like help selling AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE STAN LEE. Which was a New York Times bestseller and did six figures. So I'm all, wtf, I don't even own the rights to this thing, and I about blew up on the phone because they wouldn't stop calling me. These self publishing outfits are vampires!
Yeah, they’re rapacious. And they taught their employees bad practices, because after I left several of the call centre agents started their own fraudulent companies by stealing the author information lists. The blog Writer Beware has some wild deep dives into Author Solutions and its clones. Luckily some class action lawsuits and the passage of time toned them down a lot! Sad to hear one of my favourite comic creators got so much harassment from them.
Thank you for this info, I will chase down those articles at Writer Beware! What was amazing is Author Solutions tracked me down to the phone number of a family member, they didn't even have my real number! So that was doubly irritating.
I just realized I had read the Writer Beware articles and I posted about my cold calls from the iUniverse parasitic circle on my Patreon some years ago. I'll repost them here later.
This is horrifying. I started in legacy publishing and my last book (#27) came out before the pandemic. I would hate to wade into the morass now. I'm happy publishing short stories and personal essays and working with writers as an editor and coach. My twin goals in college were to be an author and a teacher and I've achieved them both.
I’m so tempted to go all crypto-Marxist about the parasitism here -- it sucks, right? -- but Colleen made that critique obvious.
And if it’s not obvious, wellllll.......
That said, it has to be stressed that necessary research on how not to get screwed takes little work and time, saving bo-koo $$$.
Thanks for the PSA, Colleen.
Loved this! I've been POD self-publishing since 2005 (pre ebooks), novels, non-fiction and comics. Did my research early on, even looked into printing books myself (through a printer). Had a different experience. Print-On-Demand was relatively new, but research showed Lulu.com seemed to have the best, least parasitic terms. I'm still using them. There's been a hiccup or two over time, and now, like others, they offer many paid author services as add-ons. But I've been happy with them. Your mileage may vary. Naturally, I don't have much experience with other companies, so I can't offer comparisons. Although... Lulu can be pricey for comics and color printing. I've had good luck working with Ka-Blam for comic POD, and they have their IndyPlanet web portal where you can sell print copies online. Again, there have been hiccups, but it's a small operation and the Gregorys have been easy to work with... thank you for sharing your stories, Colleen.
Colleen, your advice is invaluable. You should write a guide book!
Oh god, this takes me back. I used to be a copywriter for Author Solutions (the company that bought iUniverse, Xlibris and a bunch of other “self-publishing” vanity press outfits, as well as the print-for-pay arms of reputable publishers like Harlequin, Hay House and Random House. Everything was about milking the author for everything they had with “marketing packages”. It’s based in the Philippines and the “publishing consultants” have fake American names. I loved the people in the marketing department but everyone was drinking the Koolaid and I had to leave. Working as a bookseller here in London, we turned away so many of the poor authors who tried to get us to sell stuff in the shop without understanding how the book industry worked.
OMG, Hi Mahala, boy I bet you have some stories. For awhile, the Author Solutions people were cold calling authors like me because they got our info from Random House. And I'd have these strangers on the line asking if I'd like help selling AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE STAN LEE. Which was a New York Times bestseller and did six figures. So I'm all, wtf, I don't even own the rights to this thing, and I about blew up on the phone because they wouldn't stop calling me. These self publishing outfits are vampires!
Yeah, they’re rapacious. And they taught their employees bad practices, because after I left several of the call centre agents started their own fraudulent companies by stealing the author information lists. The blog Writer Beware has some wild deep dives into Author Solutions and its clones. Luckily some class action lawsuits and the passage of time toned them down a lot! Sad to hear one of my favourite comic creators got so much harassment from them.
Thank you for this info, I will chase down those articles at Writer Beware! What was amazing is Author Solutions tracked me down to the phone number of a family member, they didn't even have my real number! So that was doubly irritating.
That is a level of shamelessness that is hard to comprehend.
I just realized I had read the Writer Beware articles and I posted about my cold calls from the iUniverse parasitic circle on my Patreon some years ago. I'll repost them here later.
I can’t wait to read them! Have been avidly reading your Very Bad Publishers reposts and other stories.
I think they use those online identity tracking services where they match you with family members to find you. My real number is completely unlisted.
That’s a smart solution to what sounds like barely legal stalking!
This is horrifying. I started in legacy publishing and my last book (#27) came out before the pandemic. I would hate to wade into the morass now. I'm happy publishing short stories and personal essays and working with writers as an editor and coach. My twin goals in college were to be an author and a teacher and I've achieved them both.
Perfect!
Wow, this is a practical guide on how to save your money, really valuable information, thanks.