Customer ReviewsforAuthor Solutions, LLC

I am an author who published with Author House whose book is ranked in the top 15 best-selling all time in its category. Note that the title of the ranking says best-SELLING. Yet, my royalties from Author House come nowhere close to squaring with this seemingly large success. Author House stated that views can also be counted as sales. Why can't the company just 'fess-up if a mistake was made? They want me to prove the sales exceed those for which they have paid royalties. I put this all back on them to do an internal audit, and I provided multiple reasons to them as to why their royalties estimate might be flawed. I have read the reviews here and see that Author House blames the authors and not themselves for any of it. I believe an EXTERNAL AUDIT is necessary to ensure that Author House is providing what it should to the authors, including international sales as justified. My book was laid out and printed well by the publisher, and I marketed it well myself not via Author House or their partners to achieve the high ranking for books SOLD. I have contacted the company and gave them a second chance to explain this disparity, do an internal audit, and reply accordingly. At this time, I cannot recommend the company, but if they find their errors as I requested (hey, mistakes do happen), stop making excuses, think their excuses are acceptable when they are not, stop to realize that so many negative reviews can sink their entire company, and be fair to the authors - without whom they would not be in business - then I might increase my rating. My three stars consist of 5 stars for book layout and printing, and 1 star as of now for royalty payments which gives Author House some benefit of the doubt. Their response on BBB should not focus on the layout and printing I mentioned, but the royalties audit I am requesting (I guarantee they will not find any more royalties due, for which I will dispute this). There are so many complaints on BBB with 1.33/5.0, so one must wonder

The reviewer says he is ranked in the top 15 best-selling in his category. The reviewer failed to mention that it is on the Book Authority website, not Amazon or another book selling website. Book Authority, according to their website, is a book recommendation website. It is actually an affiliate marketing site, each book with an Amazon link. This means the site makes money for clicks to Amazon. The ranks are based on a proprietary algorithm with no further information than that. There are many articles available that explain that the ranks on Book Authority are not based on sales. The reviewers current rank on Amazon is ********* in Books and the best ranking in the travel categories is 12,597.An audit was done on the reviewers sales and all sales reported to AuthorHouse have been reported and paid to the reviewer. The reviewer claims more sales than what has been reported but has not shown proof otherwise.

They are thieves! They keep taking money from my bank!! They dont send emails they dont send receipts they just steal my money!

The reviewers complaint is in regards to the Author Learning Center (ALC). This is an online program offered when a publishing package is purchased. Once an author signs up for the **** there is a one month free trial period. Per the Terms of Use, once the trial period ends, the credit card on file will be charged for a monthly fee. There was no correspondence from the reviewer that they wanted to cancel until last month. At that time, the subscription was cancelled and the reviewer was refunded in full.

I am very pleased as an Author/Illustrator with the services of ******* Press and Author Solutions. I published two books last year, 2023. Both are non fiction. The first is called Rainbow Children and the second Banners for the ***** One of the biggest challenges as a Christian artist and author is the opportunity to share my story and faith incorporating all my skills. The challenge is that most publishers will pair an authors story with an illustrator or an Illustrators story with an author. Another publishing challenge is finding those willing to invest in an author/Illustrator who does not have millions of followers and no promise of return on investment. I am nearly in my 70s. I have spent decades attending workshops, conferences, meeting with editors and publishers, participating in writing and art groups. Since I have joined ******* Press and Author Solutions and worked with the multiple departments I have learned what I needed to know to get my books published with quality and affordability. I have many more books in the future that I will be producing. ******* Press and Author Solutions has given me an opportunity to publish as an Author/Illustrator that I did not have elsewhere.

******* Press is pleased to hear that the reviewer had a great experience publishing their two books. We strive to ensure a smooth publishing process that makes the authors aspirations become a reality. We look forward to publishing any future projects.

I have two books published with Xlibris and another one paid for and in preparation. I generally find them good to work with. Today I received a call from someone calling himself ****** to discuss marketing for my existing books. I took time to explain that I write books for my own satisfaction, to give me some credibility in retirement academic activity and that I wasn't really concerned about sales.****** was very pushy. He constantly interrupted, refused to believe what I told him. In the end after he refused to stop interrupting I terminated the call.I have goodwill towards Xlibris but I do not wish to hear from ****** ever again. Always willing to take time to talk to someone who is polite and constructive and will listen. ****** needs some counselling or to be moved to a non-customer facing role.

We are pleased to hear that the reviewer has had good experiences with Xlibris with their past books. In an effort to serve our authors, sales representatives sometimes reach out to offer services for books that have been available for sale and are not newly published. We apologize that the reviewer had a poor experience with their assigned representative. We have added a do not call notation on the reviewers account, which will stop calls from sales representatives. We would like to thank the reviewer for bringing this matter to our attention.

I called to inquire about a publishing package. I received so many texts and calls pressuring me to pay now if I want a discount. It was like speaking to a car salesman. Messages like, I sent you the detailsgo ahead and pay so we can get started I finally bent because this book is important to me. I didnt know this ***************** would turn around and deceive me.

We apologize that the reviewer felt pressured or for any misunderstanding. It was not our intention to mislead the reviewer. We appreciate his feedback and will address accordingly internally. The reviewer spoke ***************************, Global Director of Author Experience on December 1, 2023. The reviewer has decided to move forward with the publishing package.

I spent nearly ten thousand dollars on a publishing package from this company. They owe me money from unfulfilled contracts like turning my book into two because of cost issues.. When the last of my moneys were paid I received no more correspondence from the company. It does no good to try and contact anyone from here because they don't respond. It has been 5 years since my book has come out and have not received any notices or royalities. This company had the nerve to send it to ****** Books where it is now there for anyone to read for free. There are many more contracts that have not been fulfilled and I have not received any reinbursement for. If you are self publishing a book I recommend you check with ***************************************************************************************

The reviewer purchased a publishing package on July 6, 2016. After submitting the manuscript, it was found that the document had many bad breaks within the document. This happens when the enter key is used instead of letting the words wrap to the next line. The reviewer was given instructions on how to resolve this issue. Around this same time a new publishing package was purchased (April 2018). The reviewer told the assigned representative that the old project was being put on hold for now. The manuscript was going to be used for the new publishing package. The representative told the reviewer that we could not refund the previous publishing package but since the manuscript had not went through any of the process, a different manuscript could be used any time in the future. The second publishing package went through the publishing process and is now available for purchase. The reviewer also purchased a third publishing package. Therefore, there are currently two open packages for the submittal of materials. The reviewer should contact customer support at **************** so a representative can be in touch. After many months of no contact, we usually stop reaching out until we hear from the author. We are unable to refund the publishing packages because they are over 90 days old. Royalties can be tracked through the author center on the Xlibris website. There has been one check issued for Q2 2019 royalties. We will inquire with the finance team to see if it is outstanding. Please email any address changes to ************************************ so the account can be up to date. As of last year, Xlibris is no longer issuing check payments for royalties. Direct deposit information can be added through the author center under the account information section. In checking the ****** Books site, there is a partial viewing of the pages of the reviewers book. It is not the full book but instead what we would call a preview.

This was a mistake that I made by choosing a self-publishing company that was only concerned about the money and not the way that they published my work. I could've sat at my kitchen table and critique my work better than this. I can't tell you how many grammatical errors, and mispunctuations that were left visible in my book. When I tried to inform **** about it, she tells me that you've already paid for it and its going to be published.Here's the misleading part, if I had already signed the contract like she said, why would she be re-sending me another contract to sign after they called themselves doing corrections this last time. Stay away from these people, they are only concerned about your money not the way that they present your work to the public!!

The reviewer purchased their publishing package on April 28, ************************** automatic monthly installments. They signed the Services and Distribution Agreement and Installment Payment Plan Agreement on April 29, 2023. Copies of these agreements are available to the reviewer at any time upon request. The initial electronic proof files were sent to the reviewer on May 12, ********************************************************************* corrections necessary before approval. On May 17, 2023, we received the signed interior and pricing forms. The signed cover approval form was received the next day after a round of corrections was done (copies of these forms are available to the reviewer upon request). These forms clearly state that once signed, they act as final approval for publication and any further changes will incur fees. On June 23, 2023, the reviewer sent a message to their representative that they had found errors in the ************* of the book and denied seeing the electronic proof files. Our representative stated that we had received the signed approval forms already and sent the interior files once more. As a courtesy, the representative offered one more free round of corrections, waiving the fee due for changes after approval forms are signed. On June 29, 2023, the reviewer responded stating that they were still finding errors and that they had expected an editor to make corrections; however, the publishing package they purchased did not include an editing service. Unless an editing service has been purchased, it is the responsibility of the author to make any revisions/corrections to their work before signing the approval forms. As stated by our representative to the reviewer, we will be happy to make any revisions requested, but there will be fees incurred since final approval has been completed.

Nearly ten years ago, I made the horrible mistake of looking up self-publishing companies out of curiosity. Xlibris call center workers began calling me up to four times in ten minutes harassing me to sell my manuscript to them. It began to interrupt my work and school life. Being young, I didn't think to threaten legal action. Instead, I shelled out thousands of dollars to them, naively thinking they would leave me alone then. Now, even so many years later, I'm still receiving calls several times a day from several numbers. I moved and changed my name and email and they still find me. I can't change my number for personal reasons, but I'm beginning to think I should do it anyway. I'm so tired of hearing people with thick accents clearly reading from a prompt on a screen calling me so often just to ask for more money that I can't get any peace. I didn't even care about that manuscript or book at the time. I wrote it in the span of five days while trying to escape my bad living situation at the time. It was just curious ambition. And it's a bunch of different companies! Probably all under Author Solutions, but still. This is just straight-up harassment and I'm sick of it. If they call me one more time in the next ten minutes, I'm finally contacting a lawyer.

The reviewer is currently on the do not contact list and has been since at least March 2020. This includes both phone and email communications. Our records indicate that there have been no outgoing calls from our representatives for at least the last year. This includes all publishing brands under Author Solutions umbrella.

I have self-published five books with Trafford Publishing and four books with Xlibris. I started in **************************** 2022. They both are under Author Solutions.My books with Trafford are: Ill Wait; How to Survive on a Little; (Poetry) Thoughts Feelings Visions Memories;**** Most Dangerous Mission (Sequel to Ill Wait) and (Poetry) Thoughts of Mind.My books with Xlibris are: Love Has No Color; A Girl Named *****(A Miracle for *****); who Did It?(Mystery);The Pirates Who Found ***********I am very satisfied with all of my books. They were printed relatively fast. They printed them the way I instructed and I am very happy. The only problem is I believed they were priced too high which has hindered sales but I have sold quite a few. The written reviews are off the wall. Most people (strangers) have bought at least two of my books and one lady bought six. I am HAPPY!

We thank the reviewer for the feedback. The book price is determined by the type of book it is (black and white or color), the page count, and the format (paperback or hardcover). If the reviewer would like to lower the price of the Xlibris book, the Retail Royalty Price program can be purchased. This was already explained to the reviewer via phone call on May 17, 2023. The reviewer was referred to the appropriate person and the reviewer was transferred to that persons voicemail. We will have the representative follow up on the purchase of the service.This service is not available for Trafford at this time.

I was scammed $2000 plus keep telling me they paid me royalties too and they didnt. Im so angry that theyre profiting off of my work on top of taking $2000 from me to publish the book. Pubish your book for free with Amazon and dont give into this its so sad and wrong.

The reviewer’s book was published on April 18, 2022. During the second quarter of 2022, six softcovers and one e-book were sold amounting to $8.75 earned in royalties. The amount of $6.65 ($8.75 less $2.10 tax withholding) was paid to the reviewer via electronic transfer on August 31, 2022 to the bank account they provided. No further royalty earning sales have been reported to us from distributors. Section three of the Services and Distribution Agreement, signed by the reviewer on January 6, 2022, explains royalty percentages and payment schedule. Royalty reports are updated quarterly and are available to view at any time by logging into the author account on the Archway website. If the reviewer believes there are royalty-earning sales that have not been reported to us, they would need to submit documentary evidence in the form of dated sales receipts and we would be happy to investigate further. If they have any further questions regarding royalties, they may contact our customer service team who would be happy to assist.

I feel like they shouldn’t be allowed to publish private information. They just keep lying and saying what they want people to believe. Several reviews and articles say author solutions is a scam.