"Consumer Reviews on Companies, Products and Services"

authorhouse

5 stars
(0)
4 stars
(0)
3 stars
(0)
2 stars
(0)
1 stars
(33)
Category: Websites

Contact Information
United States

authorhouse Reviews

Dr. Dan P April 27, 2011
Bait and switch
It has taken over 10 months and no book. Hundreds of calls with no answer. Just a message.
It takes weeks to get a single change done. You can never talk to the people who design your book cover
you must go through an intermediary. They charge you for every change $50.oo to $75.00. You cannot publish yourself you have to use them at greatly inflated prices 300% over market prices. They will not give you your book and cover so you can print it yourself even thought they assured me that they would. This is the biggest bait and switch scam I have ever seen.
If you use Authorhouse you need your head examined. The turnaround time was supposed to be 8 to 12 weeks and now I am at 40 weeks with no final product. The design is incompetent, they just photo shopped one picture from istock on top of another and added some text. My 12 year old daughter could have done a better job. Beware.
Daniel Asamota April 25, 2011
Non payment of royalties
I don't know about AuthorHouse filing for bankruptcy but I do know that my book Mound Bayou is being issued by some 'new' company called Lightening Source Inc. I did not give anyone permission to do as such and I still haven't received any payments for books sold yet!
mc11120 March 23, 2011
complaints
Let me start by saying that I am a former employee of Authorhouse. My position was terminated because labor is cheaper elsewhere (not their stance, but it's the reality). Therefore, if anyone has a right to dislike them, it's me.

Many complaints I've read range from royalties to "they want me to buy other services". I read one complaint that was valid and that involved an employee going to a "casual dinner" with a potential author. That's a legitimate complaint. To the rest of you, you have yourselves to blame for any issues you may have. Perhaps you should have asked more questions.

Authorhouse is a business. Do you really expect them to care if your book does well? Granted, there are several employees that actually care. And let's be honest, if your book sells, Authorhouse still gets a portion of that. But, the bottom line is THE BOTTOM LINE.

One of the things you're told is that, unless you pay for editing, Authorhouse will print exactly what you send them. Judging from some of the complaints I've read, you should have paid an editor or Authorhouse to edit your book. I'm no grammatical genius. But, if I was going to have a book out there with my name on it, you can bet I would have had it edited. Authorhouse is not in the business of telling you if your book is any good. They're in the business of giving everyone a chance to be published. Do you really think Sarah Palin teaches English on the side for extra cash? NO! I'm sure she had a whole team of editors go through her book. Having said that, even an english teacher has someone else edit his/her work. If you don't believe me, shop your book around for 6 months. Better yet, make it two years. IF you get someone in the industry to read it, CONGRATULATIONS! They'll be sitting in their office laughing at you because you don't know the difference between two, to and too.

At Authorhouse, we were urged to "sell the dream". Do you know why that is? 2% of authors are successful. 2%! If your book really is that good, you will be in that 2%. It will take A LOT...I'll say it again...It will take A LOT of effort and money on your end to make this happen. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

I know I haven't addressed all of the complaints. That would take forever. And, let's be honest, nobody would read this entire post if I did. If you feel you have a LEGITIMATE complaint, I urge you to comment on my post. I promise I will answer you.

If you are looking to publish a book, please ASK QUESTIONS regardless of how silly you think they are. You don't want to be that guy who gets proven wrong.

In closing, Authorhouse is the best of what's out there. You have no idea how much it pains me to say that given how I was treated. Happy publishing. I wish you nothing but the best.

P.S.
Here is a little sales 101 for you. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gump
loneranger50 February 24, 2011
nothing back from my investments
in 2006 i had a book publish from autorhouse. i pay them about 600 dollars for my book to be publish. i thought i was going to make plenty of money for my book. i got my first check from them and my pay was less then 3 dollars. i only had one book sold. the sell price of the book was about 17 dollars and i only got back less then 3 dollars. i was very disapointed. i had 2 more books sold. i didn't make 10 dollars. last year i invested about 700 dollars for interviews and on line reading. i had only 4 interviews. i haven't seen a cent from them. they told me that i can do an infomercial for 10000 dollars. i was pressure to pay them 1000 dollars. i was to pay them by installments. so i slam on the brakes. i went to the bank to stop the payment to them. now that money is in dispute. they have employees that are better sales people than me. that is if they use that talent the right way. i am not a sales person. for my last place of employment i was sent to work at this place by manpower. i work with them for about 7 months under manpower. then i was hired in. i got my job by my performance not my salesmanship. right now i am retired and don't have the money to waste for these investments and get nothing in return.
AggravatedTexan February 18, 2011
Scam
AuthorHouse is a SCAM.
Bait-and-Switch tactics and downright lies.
Stay away from them!

So a salesperson by the name of Kathryn calls me after filling out an online form, tells me I can get my 1st photography book published by AuthorHouse for $1700 in a POD arrangement - and they'll throw in another book for free. (the standard arrangement these days, it seems)
We discuss the arrangments in detail. # of images, # of pages, etc. No changes in price, no issues.
So I sign up. Pay them 1/3 down & get a confirmation.
Then a call from Jeff. Soon to be my best buddy in getting my book published. Yay!
But wait! Jeff says I only get 50 images set for the package price. Anything over that is $10.00 each. NFW! That almost doubles the price of my book - and no one up till now has made a peep about extra charges.
So days go by. I leave at least 6 messages for Jeff, his boss Steve, Kathryn (the initial liar I spoke with) and Kevin's assistant, Vicky. Every time I call, I'm told whomever I'm calling for is at lunch.
No response to voicemails.
No response to emails.
These people are a complete rip-off and I wish I'd researched them more thoroughly.
I recommend filing a complaint with the Indiana Attorney General if they've screwed you.
Daimon February 17, 2011
Warning!!!
Do not use this self-publishing scam company! They advertise to be the top or best in their field, they offer deals at end of quarters, they offer so much marketing, media promises, and make themselves out to be some sort of dream company. They are not.

First, you do not control any price. They give you a minimum that you will have to be above or at---and this will nullify your chances of being in a bookstore. I had no choice but to sell my book at 30.85 hardcover or higher, unless it was throught THEIR site. They did not want to print the price on the book either, why would they? I had to fight to even get that, and they conveniently forgot it on subsequent releases.

Second, their design teams are giong to make lots of errors, mess things up, and you will only get a few free corrections---then you will be paying and paying for future corrections and errors of their own making. They are like the crafty auto shop guy who guarantees your return.

Third, get ready for no spotlight, no images of your book, it won't go to where you want it, it will never be in a big bookstore, and it will take forever. Distributors and bookstore reps do not like authorhouse, its people, or the prices. Their people change "departments" every month, so you or anyone else can not keep up or keep track or stick some blame to anyone. You will not even get placement on their site, the right category, or get any press that you achieve posted. They will sell you on their distribution power and company portfolio, but check and see if any books are truly in a store...good luck.

Fourth, their marketing is all self-owned, phrased falsely, and not what you think or they tell you. They have Radio, Mass Marketing, National Media Plans, 10 Million Email Blasts, and Newswire Plus plans...garbage handled by garbagemen who just took your money to the cleaners. Toginet Radio is not a radio station, its the internet and they pay for the programming that no one will listen to. Ever received and email blast from them? Nope, and I know of no one who has. National Plans? Funny, I paid nearly 6000 dollars and got two local newspaper interviews from people I knew, and all the book sales were local friends and family. Do not market with them, it is a complete scam.

Fifth and lastly, they will inundate you with more marketing, more deals, and give your email to others. It will never stop, and they do not care, you are a number, an author number, a book number---forgotten quickly by people who are hoping to take your money over and over. They will not sell one book, talk to any stores, or make you or the book happen. Go somewhere cheap, buy 5000 copies of your own book, sell them on the corner---you will save money and do better than wasting time and money with AuthorHouse.
Eriksaltman February 4, 2011
Bad service
When I submitted my original manuscript, the first galley came back with many errors. Some mine but a lot that were AuthorHouse's input. Sent back corrections and then received another galley proof which I again reviewed and found more errors. Sent it back got another galley, thought I went through the whole thing and now that the book is out, I see where they have errors that they had made. I guess that it is my fault for not finding the third set of errors but I don't think I should have to spend my time and money correcting AuthorHouse's errors. My advice is, Stay away from AuthorHouse.
Mahmoud Hasaneen January 29, 2011
Theft
They stole more than $2000 from my MasterCard. Though they admitted that they received ALL the money they asked for, the book's material, and a clear statement that they will publish my book; they vanished and never published anything for me.

I WISH I had spent a few minutes to read other victims' comments. Please beware and don't send them any money. I am convinced now that the few positive comments about their so-called credibility are written by their associates. Beware of their many tentacles in London (UK)and in Indiana (USA).
Aven January 25, 2011
Huge scam
Let me tell you something about author house. I am an autor myself and i made the HUGE MISTAKE of believing that Author House were a company of credit, i submitted my details and began my submission process includding giving them my card details. On suspicsions they were a scam i called my publishing consultant and i was polite however on hearing that i had decided that i was going with a different company she hung up on me! I called their finance department and they stated that they could not cancel anything without her approval as she would have to seek aproval from the company. I have rang her several times, left messeges etc and now the phone number is unrecognised. DO NOT PUBLISH WITH THESE PEOPLE!!NEVER!!
DarrenHogan December 17, 2010
FRAUD
AuthorHouse formerly 1st Books, is a notorious vanity publisher. This company is a bogus scam and was found guilty by a US circuit judge in 2006 of committing fraud. Do not give this company your money, they have bad distribution, bad management, bad customer service and, as the Publishers Weekly article shows below, AuthorHouse is completely corrupt.

Publishers Weekly Article:
AuthorHouse Ordered to Pay Up
by Claire Kirch, PW Daily — 8/8/2006

The Kansas district judge presiding over the defamation lawsuit brought by romance writer Rebecca Brandewyne against AuthorHouse ordered Friday that the POD subsidy publisher pay Brandewyne $200, 000 in punitive damages. Brandewyne’s co-plaintiffs in the suit, her parents, also were awarded punitive damages of $20, 000 each.

This past May, a Wichita jury found AuthorHouse guilty of publishing a book, Paperback Poison, in November 2003 by Brandewyne’s ex-husband that libeled her. The jury awarded Brandewyne $230, 000 in actual damages (PW Daily, May 16).

In his 14-page decision, Judge Jeff Goering asserted that AuthorHouse ‘acted towards the plaintiffs with wanton conduct, ’ in publishing Paperback Poison, despite the fact that Gary Brock, the book’s author, had informed AuthorHouse during contract negotiations that iUniverse had rejected the manuscript on the grounds of possible libelous content.

Write a Review for authorhouse

Rate it!
Review Title
You Review
Image
Type the numbers shown

RECENTLY UPDATED REVIEWS

Ritual Duct Care
Lvyuan Water Purification Equipment Co.
The Smoking Club Smoke & Vape Shop
Militia Protection LLC
Actfast Drain Services Ltd
Rusty Dubose State Farm Insurance Agency
Top Dog Kennel
Camelot Fishing Charters Kona Adventures
Golden Jumpers
Alpha Overhead Dock Door Repairs

REQUESTED REVIEWS

REVIEWS BY CATEGORY