Author Solutions

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Author Solutions
Author Solutions logo.png
Bloomington - Liberty Dr - Author Solutions - P1100072.JPG
StatusActive
Founded2007
Country of origin United States
Headquarters location Bloomington, Indiana
Key peopleJahm Najafi - Owner of Najafi Companies, Daniel Shum - Najafi Companies Partner, Bill Elliott - President [1]
Publication types Books, eBooks
Imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, Xlibris, Palibrio, Booktango
Owner(s)Najafi Companies
Official website authorsolutions.com

Author Solutions is the parent company of a number of vanity presses, including AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, Xlibris, Palibrio, and Booktango. [2] The company is headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, and has been owned by Najafi Companies since 2015.

Contents

History

In April 2008, Author Solutions Marketing Director Keith Ogorek said that 1 out of every 17 books published in the United States is from AuthorHouse. [3] In 2009, Author Solutions, acquired two top competitors – Xlibris in January [4] and Trafford Publishing in April. [5] Later that year the company partnered with leading Christian publisher Thomas Nelson to launch a first-of-its-kind self-publishing partnership, WestBow Press. [6] In June 2010 Author Solutions launched its first Spanish-language imprint – Palibrio. [7] [ non-primary source needed ] Palibrio was initially offered only to the U.S. Spanish-speaking market, but later was made available to authors in Spain.

In 2012, Pearson (which also owns Penguin Random House) acquired Author Solutions from Bertram Capital Management for $116 million. [8] [9]

In 2013 Forbes magazine and Publishers Weekly reported that Author Solutions and its associated companies were being sued as part of a potential class action suit alleging deceptive practices. Damages of $5 million were sought. [10] [11] Publishers Weekly reports that the suit has been filed in the Southern District of New York. [12] In July, 2015, the court denied class action certification to the suit, [13] and in August 2015 the lawsuit was "discontinued without prejudice" after a settlement was reached between the parties. [14] A second case was dismissed in September. [15]

On December 31, 2015 Author Solutions, LLC was sold to Najafi Companies, and is no longer associated with Penguin Random House. [16]

In recent years, Author Solutions has formed partnerships with traditional book publishers to offer self-publishing imprints to authors: Simon & Schuster (Archway Publishing), [17] Thomas Nelson (WestBow Press), [18] Hay House (Balboa Press), [19] and Guideposts (Inspiring Voices); [20] as well as with Writer's Digest (Abbott Press). [21]

Criticism

Author Solutions is frequently criticized by author advocacy groups for predatory marketing practices, excessive fees, high-pressure sales, and poor customer service by Author Solutions and its subsidiary companies. These criticisms led to Author Solutions' inclusion in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Thumbs Down Publisher List, [22] multiple Watchdog Advisories from the Alliance of Independent Authors, [23] and alerts from Writer Beware. [24]

Imprints and divisions

Related Research Articles

Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the following decades, a series of acquisitions made it into one of the largest publishers in the United States. In 2013, it was merged with Penguin Group to form Penguin Random House, which is owned by the Germany-based media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Penguin Random House uses its brand for Random House Publishing Group and Random House Children's Books, as well as several imprints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HarperCollins</span> Anglo-American publishing house

HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British-American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. HarperCollins is headquartered in New York City and London and is a subsidiary of News Corp.

Doubleday is an American publishing company. It was founded as the Doubleday & McClure Company in 1897. By 1947, it was the largest book publisher in the United States. It published the work of mostly U.S. authors under a number of imprints and distributed them through its own stores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkley Books</span> Publishing imprint of Penguin Group (USA)

Berkley Books is now an imprint of the Penguin Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon & Schuster</span> American publishing company

Simon & Schuster LLC is an American publishing company owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers. As of 2017, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publisher in the United States, publishing 2,000 titles annually under 35 different imprints.

Macmillan Publishers is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be one of the "Big Five" English language publishers. Founded in London in 1843 by Scottish brothers Daniel and Alexander MacMillan, the firm would soon establish itself as a leading publisher in Britain. It published two of the best-known works of Victorian-era children's literature, Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1894).

Rodale, Inc., was an American publisher of health and wellness magazines, books, and digital properties headquartered in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, with a satellite office in New York City. The company was founded in 1930. In 2017, it was acquired by New York City-based Hearst Communications, a media conglomerate.

Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author Louise Hay, who is known for her books on New Thought. Hay House has its headquarters in Carlsbad, California, and is run by Reid Tracy. Hay House describes itself as a "mind–body–spirit and transformational enterprise". Their target audience is readers interested in self-help, personal growth, and alternative medicine. Hay House was acquired by Penguin Random House in 2023.

Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider, founded in 1997 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In 2000, The New York Times stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The current president is Bill Elliot.

Trafford Publishing is a book publishing company for self-publishing authors. Formerly based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Trafford Publishing is now based in Bloomington, Indiana, US.

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Group. HBG was formed when Hachette Livre purchased the Time Warner Book Group from Time Warner on March 31, 2006. Its headquarters are located at 1290 Avenue of the Americas, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Hachette is considered one of the "big five" publishing companies, along with Holtzbrinck/Macmillan, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Simon & Schuster. In one year, HBG publishes approximately 1400+ adult books, 300 books for young readers, and 450 audiobook titles. In 2017, the company had 167 books on the New York Times bestseller list, 34 of which reached No. 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skyhorse Publishing</span> American book publishing company

Skyhorse Publishing, Inc. is an American independent book publishing company founded in 2006 and headquartered in New York City, with a satellite office in Brattleboro, Vermont.

iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is an American self-publishing company based in Bloomington, Indiana. It has been owned by Author Solutions since 2008.

BiblioBazaar is, with Nabu Press, an imprint of the historical reprints publisher BiblioLife, which is based in Charleston, South Carolina and owned by BiblioLabs LLC.

Sourcebooks LLC is an American book publisher located in Naperville, Illinois. The company publishes books, ebooks, and digital products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Penguin Random House</span> British-American multinational conglomerate publishing company

Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was originally founded in 1935 and Random House was founded in 1927. It has more than 300 publishing imprints. Along with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House is considered one of the 'Big Five' English language publishers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open Road Integrated Media</span> American digital media company

Open Road Integrated Media or ORIM is a digital media company in New York City that was created by Jane Friedman and Jeffrey Sharp in 2009 with a focus on publishing ebook editions of older works of literature and nonfiction. In addition to its ebook publishing business, Open Road Integrated Media is the parent company of book publisher Open Road Media and content brands Early Bird Books, The Lineup, The Archive, Murder & Mayhem, A Love So True, and The Portalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atria Publishing Group</span> General interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster

Atria Publishing Group is a general interest publisher and a division of Simon & Schuster. The publishing group launched as Atria Books in 2002. The Atria Publishing Group was later created internally at Simon & Schuster to house a number of imprints including Atria Books, Atria Trade Paperbacks, Atria Books Espanol, Atria Unbound, Washington Square Press, Emily Bestler Books, Atria/Beyond Words, Cash Money Content, Howard Books, Marble Arch Press, Strebor Books, 37 Ink, Keywords Press and Enliven Books. Atria is also known for creating innovative imprints and co-publishing deals with African-American writers as well as known for experimenting with digital or non-traditional print formats and authors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jahm Najafi</span> Iranian-American businessman (born 1963)

Jamshid Jahm Najafi is an Iranian-American billionaire businessman. He manages The Najafi Companies, a private equity firm, is vice chairman of the NBA's Phoenix Suns and McLaren Racing.

David Gaughran is an Irish indie publishing advocate and for his workshops, blog, and books: Let’s Get Digital, Let’s Get Visible, Amazon Decoded, Strangers to Superfans, BookBub Ads Expert, and Following. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America President Mary Robinette Kowal said, “David Gaughran has been doing yeoman’s work for years, alerting indie writers about predatory schemes and warning them about changes in independent publishing.”

References

  1. ↑ http://www.authorsolutions.com/Our-Story/Leadership-Team/m.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ "Our Services". authorsolutions.com.
  3. ↑ Kaelbe, Steve (April 2008). "Publishing for the people: Bloomington is home to the no. 1 company in self-publishing". Entrepreneur .
  4. ↑ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey (January 8, 2009). "Print-on-Demand Publishers Marry As Author Solutions Buys Xlibris". The Wall Street Journal .
  5. ↑ Kaufman, Rachel (April 7, 2009). "Author Solutions Buys Yet Another Rival". Media Bistro - Media Jobs Daily .
  6. ↑ "Thomas Nelson and Author Solutions Launch Christian Self-Publishing Imprint". Book Business Magazine . October 2009.
  7. ↑ "Author Solutions, Inc. Launches Spanish-Language Self-Publishing Imprint Palibrio" (Press release). Author Solutions, Inc. 3 June 2010 – via PR Newswire.
  8. ↑ Reid, Calvin (July 19, 2012). "Pearson Acquires Self-Publishing Vendor Author Solutions For $116 Million". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
  9. ↑ Gaughran, David (2013-07-16). "Penguin Random House Merger Boosts Giant Scam". David Gaughran. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
  10. ↑ Suw Charman-Anderson (7 May 2013). "Penguin And Author Solutions Sued For Deceptive Practices". Forbes.
  11. ↑ "Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Author Solutions Inc. - SFWA". SFWA. 2 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Authors Sue Self-Publishing Service Author Solutions". PublishersWeekly.com.
  13. ↑ Albanese, Andrew. (July 6, 2015). "Court Denies Class Action in Author Solutions Case". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  14. ↑ Albanese, Andrew. (August 24, 2015) "Second Case Against Author Solutions Is Dismissed". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  15. ↑ Albanese, Andrew. (September 14, 2015) "Author Solutions Case Ends With Settlement". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  16. ↑ Milliot, Jim. (January 5, 2016). "Author Solutions Sold to Private Equity Firm". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
  17. ↑ Kaufman, Leslie (November 27, 2012). "Simon & Schuster Steps Into Self-Publishing". The New York Times .
  18. ↑ Trachtenberg, Jeffrey (October 13, 2009). "Nelson Adds Self-Publishing Line". The Wall Street Journal .
  19. ↑ Nelson, Marcia (May 14, 2010). "Author Solutions Creates Imprint with Hay House". Publishers Weekly .
  20. ↑ "Guideposts Announces Launch of Inspiring Voices, a New Publishing Service". PRWeb. 18 April 2011. Archived from the original on October 25, 2013.
  21. ↑ Reid, Calvin (January 31, 2011). "Writer's Digest, Author Solutions Launch Abbott Press". Publishers Weekly .
  22. ↑ "Thumbs Down Publishers List". SFWA. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Best and Worst Self-Publishing Services". The Alliance of Independent Authors. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  24. ↑ "More Warnings: Spectacular Productions;Balboa Press/Author Solutions". Writer Beware. August 30, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
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