courtesy Wikihow
I was having a good morning until I read this post on Indies Unlimited. Apparently Lulu – the non-Amazon Print On Demand [POD] company – has teamed up with Author Solutions to offer ridiculously expensive ‘packages’ to new authors.
Be warned! This is a barely legal scam that offers the unwary [read new, inexperienced author] help to get published. Those authors who have been burned by Author Solutions in the past never go back. Unfortunately, the flip side of the indie revolution is that there are always more new hopefuls waiting in the wings to get taken to the cleaners.
Do not be fooled by the fact that Author Solutions has now aligned itself with so many legitimate companies – its business practices are still the same. It’s a shonky business with shoddy ‘products’ aimed at those who need the help the most.
I first heard about Author Solutions on LinkedIn. Since then, the company has gone ‘underground’ by hiding under the skirts of well-known companies. It truly is like a cockroach hiding behind the skirting board of your house. Stomp on it every chance you get!
-wipes foam from teeth-
And in other news… my new article is up on Indies Unlimited. In it I ask the question ‘What is a writer?’
That question was inspired by fellow blogger Alex Laybourne. I believe that anyone who invests time and effort into writing a blog is, by definition a writer… because they write. Defining the difference between a writer and an author is a lot more fuzzy.
My modest little article has had some very passionate responses already so please check it out and join the debate!
cheers
Meeks
Meeka's Mind 
December 11th, 2013 at 4:16 am
IUniverse is definitely part of the Author Solutions / House family. Don’t be fooled, AS has done a massive infestation.
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December 11th, 2013 at 10:53 am
Thanks for the update Judith. Author Solutions is like a hydra – you never know when one of its heads will pop up. 😦
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August 26th, 2013 at 4:03 pm
A great article, and a great discussion in the comments over there too. 🙂
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August 26th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
I know you have no aspirations… yet, but I really believe everyone should be warned away from this crowd.
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August 25th, 2013 at 7:54 am
Loved the ‘What is a writer’ article. Interesting to see what eventuates with Author Solutions.
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August 25th, 2013 at 8:32 am
Thanks. 🙂 I honestly thought that article would be a little too serious to gain much interest. Goes to show how little I know! And yes, the Lulu thing is disturbing. To me it’s like discovering that someone you like has a nasty side. 😦
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August 25th, 2013 at 7:26 am
As far as I know, and of course I won’t bet on anything anymore, iUniverse is NOT affiliated with Author Solutions. I used iUniverse a million years ago, when they were free of charge to all members of the Authors Guild, and I must admit say they did a good job for me. If they are aligned now with Author Solutions, I will seriously consider pulling my book away because Author Solutions borders on the criminal. I knew someone who worked for them for a few months, and she quit very quickly when she saw what they were doing. Be careful.
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August 25th, 2013 at 8:30 am
I’m sorry, I really don’t know whether iUniverse is aligned or not. Author Solutions is behind so many of these companies it’s next to impossible to keep track.
I haven’t had any bad experiences – thank god – but that was simply because I saw the warnings very early on and heeded them.
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August 25th, 2013 at 12:38 pm
I don’t know either, because nothing is clear these days. In my time, they were not. Are they now? Who knows? But I had many, many anecdotes about Author Solutions. They are crooks and you did a very good thing writing about them. They are fantastic in the way they hide and lie. I mean, someone took a job with them! Can you imagine? She was mortified…
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August 25th, 2013 at 6:55 pm
I can understand how she must have felt. 😦 Slimy is the word that comes to mind. I wish I could understand why they get away with it. I mean I know they stay just on the fine side of legal but… 😦
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August 25th, 2013 at 1:35 am
Thanks for the warnind Meeka. I see your new article will stir dissent amongst the ranks.I must see this one…..
xxx Huge Hugs xxx
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August 25th, 2013 at 8:27 am
Not so much dissent as… passion?
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August 25th, 2013 at 12:41 pm
David — if Lulu is now involved with them, be careful. I know plenty of people who dealt with Lulu, I am going to warn all of them. I no longer have any relationship with Lulu, to the best of my knowledge… but I may be wrong and I am going to investigate.
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August 24th, 2013 at 11:34 am
Oh, they irk me so… I have a friend who was seriously burned by iUniverse – much the same modus operandi. Read those contracts!
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August 24th, 2013 at 5:48 pm
iUniverse is one of the Author Solutions satellite companies isn’t it? I’ve lost track of all of them. Sadly I think even reading the contract doesn’t help if they don’t deliver. I’ll be very few authors ever take them to court.
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August 24th, 2013 at 9:27 am
Here we go again!
They keep popping up with new partners, singing the same old song. For me, the worst part is that this colors ALL indie (self-published) authors with the “vanity” label and makes us seem like we’re not serious about putting out good books.
That’s on top of scamming a good number of us.
Bad news…
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August 24th, 2013 at 10:22 am
Yup. 😦 To be honest, I sometimes wonder if that is precisely the reason the trad. publishers have teamed up with Author Solutions in the first place. Then I slap myself and say not even the Big XX would be that… cynical.
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