Reviews

Review Details

• Review fromKira L

  Date: 10/20/2025

  2 stars
  I signed a publishing contract with WestBow Press in February 2025. My book was published in July 2025, and I was told the Proclaim package included The WestBow Press Advantage items $350 marketing credit, a 6-page author website with hosting, and print-ready marketing materials. Package details appear here: REMOVEDFrom the start, I experienced delays and poor inter-department communication. The marketing phase was especially disorganized:Aug 19: REMOVEDasked for my customization details.Aug 20: I submitted all requested info (tagline, blurb, QR codes, event needs).Aug 26 & Sept 2: My account manager acknowledged receipt and said it was sent to marketing.Sept 10: I finally received proofslow-quality, templated, and not aligned with my instructions. I immediately requested a refund for the marketing services and website ($649).My refund was denied on the basis that these services have no monetary value, even though they are marketed and priced as part of the package. Communication continued to lag, important emails were not forwarded, and I still have not received all WestBow Press Advantage items.After reading similar author reviews, I am concerned about REMOVEDability to fulfill its obligations.Summary:Contract signed: Feb 2025 Book published: Jul 2025 Marketing received: Sept 2025 (after delays)Refund request: Sept 10 refused after multiple communications sent Amount disputed: $649 After months of delays, mixed messages, and unprofessional handling of my marketing materials, I am disappointed. When authors invest thousands of dollars, transparency and accountability should be standard.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 10/24/2025

  The reviewers package included an Author Care Manager. This person is the liaison between all other departments in regards to fulfilling services to complete the project. In checking the notes on the account, this person did forward all applicable emails to the appropriate person in a timely fashion. We do have timelines for each process. Marketing materials are designed as they are assigned and sometimes those hit the far end of the timeline. We apologize for any delay on those materials. The printed materials are designed based on the book cover. This means that we use the book cover as the overall design of those materials. We do show that the reviewer submitted corrections to the sell sheet. Those have been completed and a new version will be emailed soon. If there are corrections to the other printed materials, an email can be submitted to make those changes.Unfortunately, we are unable to refund marketing tools as they were both package inclusions and fulfilment has been started/completed on them. Additionally, the bundled value to a service differs from the ala carte value as posted on the website. We REMOVEDnot refund portions of the bundle. We apologize for any inconvenience.

  Kira L

  Date: 10/29/2025

  The companys response is inaccurate and inconsistent with the documented record. My contract was signed in February 2025, and my book was published on July 17, 2025. I submitted my full marketing customization details on August 20, 2025, one day after receiving their request. Confirmation was provided on August 26 and September 2, yet I did not receive any marketing materials until September 10 three weeks later.I requested a refund on September 10 after receiving marketing materials that completely ignored my August 20 instructions and left all questions unanswered. At that time, I still had not received any website information. It was only after multiple follow-ups and contacting corporate management that I received a website email on September 26; over six weeks after publication. The templated website provided was created in less than 24 hours and disregarded the input I had REMOVEDstate that emails were forwarded in a timely manner is false. I have dated emails showing delays and call records from September 15, September 22, and September 24, confirming that my file contained missing notes and incomplete documentation.The company has now firmly denied a refund. My concern at this point is the lack of transparency, poor recordkeeping, and repeated misinformation. I am leaving this response to ensure an accurate public record of what actually occurred.

• Review fromAnjoli A

  Date: 10/15/2025

  2 stars
  I am extremely dissatisfied with my experience with Balboa Press. I spent around $8,000 on a publishing package plus add-ons, and while the team was responsive up until payment was received, the follow-up and overall service afterward have been very poor. I have had to repeatedly message different people just to get updates and meet REMOVEDhas now been almost two years, and I still do not have the author website that I paid for. My main point of contact has not responded to my recent emails, and when I try to reach out to others, I rarely receive a reply or any clear answers. The entire process has felt disorganized and unprofessional.I had high hopes since Balboa Press is a sister company of REMOVED, but unfortunately, the experience has been disappointing. I would not recommend Balboa Press to anyone and will not use them for any future publications. Save your money and your timelook elsewhere for a publisher that values its authors.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 10/17/2025

  Since there are so many steps to the purchasing and production phase of publishing, it is likely that the reviewer did speak to several contacts. However, each employee specializes in a certain area in order to better serve the author. We apologize if the transitions between were not smooth. Sometimes our customer service team steps in to answer questions as well. This happens most of the time after a book goes live. Because there is not an assigned representative after the project is complete (with the exception of a marketing consultant), customer service answers or directs emails and phone calls to the suitable person if they are not able to assist.We do show that we received a sign-off on the author website. This service has been expedited for the reviewer and will be available soon. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. As mentioned previously, customer service can look into or direct questions to the appropriate department. They can be reached at REMOVED

  Anjoli A

  Date: 10/26/2025

  I am still fighting with them about completing my website as paid for, as well as gaining access to my Amazon book, which Balboa claims they have no access to, despite them posting it on REMOVEDand including it in the package I bought. After payment is made, Balboa will not support you and you have to chase down people. I will not use them again and will tell other authors I know not to go through Balboa. It should not be this hard. I did my part by paying thousands and am asking for access to my book on REMOVEDas well as my package to be completed. I have reached out to three different people who were on my "team" who have yet to respond. The project should not be considered complete until the author has received what they paid for. The website is not finished, meaning the project is incomplete, so authors should still have access to the team, and no one should have "signed off" on an incomplete project. Very disorganized company.

• Review fromKelly L

  Date: 09/04/2025

  1 star
  I am almost 2 years in and no closer to publishing. The product they have shown he has been unacceptable, and it looked like a 5th grade computer student created it. My illustrator and I have gone back and forth with them with no resolution. I have paid my illustrator above and beyond for her efforts to do their job. This was a passion project for me, after I received a life changing medical diagnosis, and I am left stressed and saddened by this entire situation. They are incompetent and lack all regard for the authors they agree to represent

• Review fromKisma S

  Date: 08/20/2025

  1 star
  I could not even approve the galley proof they provided me on our book PALETTE OF SEASONS due to 112 errors THEY made (not in my submission pdf), as well as lack of font size consistency and layout errors. To say the least it was a nightmare. I made good on my payments to them but when I filed for an agreement dissolution and full refund, I was given the run around. They held over me the 50% refund clause in the agreement but I pleaded my case that I couldn't approve what they provided, it was shoddy and unprofessional and embarrassing. After two weeks of run around, a "supervisor" waived the 50% and both verbally and in email said we would receive the full refund of $1176.92. Well, I received the refund check yesterday for $362.68. I immediately put in a call and of course am back into the run-around symptom of this company which I originally believed to be American based in REMOVED, IN but everyone seems to live in the REMOVED. I don't feel this company even deserves 1 star but apparently I am forced to leave at least one. They should be investigated as a scam.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 08/26/2025

  The reviewer received a galley proof that did contain many errors introduced by our staff. The refund was calculated in accordance with the signed Services and Distribution Agreement on file that states after the submission of the manuscript but prior to the final sign offs, the refund will be 50% of the purchase price. Despite the fact that the refund was calculated and paid correctly according to the agreement, as a goodwill gesture, we have refund the amount that was held back plus the payment plan fee. The refund will come via check and this has been communicated to the reviewer..

• Review fromLois C

  Date: 08/11/2025

  1 star
  I am very disappointed in the royalties that I never received. My book, "SNATCHED FROM THE FIRE, A MAN OF STAIN" published in 2018 and up to now, 8/11/25, I have not received any royalties. I received phone calls from people who stated that by book showed up at a festival where movie producers and directors was attending looking for books with stories that they can maybe produce as a movies. One contacted me and said they received five copies of my book at the festival and they had ran out and was seeking more. REMOVEDsaid that they had ran out of print. So I contacted Balboa Press and they said the book was not out of print in which I also inquired about my royalties but never got an answer. Finally I contacted customer service and she told me that they were no longer mailing out royalties only through direct deposit in which I was never notified until recently. II filled out the direct deposit form and contacted them again and they said I only earned $9.36 cents since 2018. I couldn't believe it! It's too bad that we as authors can't see the number of sells of their book on the website like REMOVED, REMOVEDand other retailers because otherwise we can only go by what they tell us which is a lot of lies. They should be ashamed of themselves of all the hard work authors put into writing their books. I need this to be investigated! Please help me because I have fell into a great depression and they act as though they could care lest.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 08/14/2025

  The reviewer was issued one check payment in the year 2022 for royalties earned in 2021. That check has been deemed outstanding so it will be voided and the balance due will be placed back on the account. REMOVEDstopped issuing check payments for royalties in late 2022. Balboa Press sent an email to all authors the email address on file alerting them of this change. We now offer direct deposit payments for royalties. Royalties are paid quarterly approximately two months after each quarter ends as long as we have direct deposit information on file. The reviewer added bank information to the account in July so they will be paid during our next quarterly payout in late August/early September for any outstanding royalties. The current amount owed for royalties is $7.56. This does not include the outstanding check, as it will not be voided before the payout occurs. As mentioned in previous correspondence, all reported sales through Q1 2025 are listed on the quarterly report. This includes both retail sales and Balboa website sales. Because the reviewers book was published via print on demand, books are printed as they are ordered. Therefore, the book is available to be ordered as long as it is active in the system, which it currently is. Most retailers use Lightning Source as their printer so that will show as the order source on quarterly reports. We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause.

• Review fromDawn S

  Date: 07/30/2025

  2 stars
  The Publishing process was fine. It was the second part, in which I purchased a marketing package to submit to literacy contests for $3500 that was horrible. I asked very specifically if my book would be submitted to a contest every week and was told yes. This is a lie... it's once a month. You do get an email every week with contests listed that you can pay additional money to enter. There was also a website included, which has gone down several times, most recently, I has been down for two days. I'm trying to sell a book for max profit, but at three book events now I've had potential buyers say the website doesn't work. Even if they bother to then go over to REMOVED, my profit becomes almost nonexistent. Lastly, both the website and the 'Award Finder' program took months to launch after my book became available. Many contests state that after your book has been published for 6 months, it is considered 'back listed', and won't really be considered to win an award. So, since Archway took nearly 4 months to start submitting, most of the contest submissions were just performative. Unless you are buying something, they don't really respond to you.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 08/06/2025

  The Literary Achiever Bundle purchased by the reviewer has both weekly and monthly targets. A description of the service can be found here: REMOVED. Because of this, there may have been some confusion or misunderstanding between the reviewer and sales person. It was explained to the reviewer that the author websites were changing host sites and could be down for REMOVEDhours. However, as a goodwill gesture, the reviewer has been given two free years of the author website. A staff member attempted to phone the reviewer to explain this on July 30, 2025 but was unable to reach the reviewer. Marketing services fulfillment can take several months to complete. The fulfillment begins once the book is available for purchase. Then there are forms that may need to be filled out and returned, templates to create, and queue time with the vendor.

• Review fromNina F

  Date: 04/11/2025

  1 star
  If I could give negative stars I would. This company stole over 1400 of my books valued at over $24,000. This problem started in August of 2024 and I have finally given up in April of 2025. Everyone there is insincere, promising to help but just lie until they finally ghost you. I have tons of emails and many names of people who I contacted to recover my books. I, and another company, REMOVED, can vouch for what I am saying. Stay clear of this company as they will stomp on your hopes and rip you off.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 04/23/2025

  The reviewer requested to have offset books that were stored in a warehouse shipped to her home in REMOVEDfrom REMOVED. When the books arrived in REMOVED, customs wanted the reviewer to pay an additional fee. Because that fee was not paid, the books were shipped back to REMOVED.
  

  At that time, they were sent back to REMOVED.  After moving between facilities at REMOVED,they were processed though the returns department in mid-April.  
  

  Because international trade laws have changed, iUniverse must have a REMOVEDnumber in order to properly ship to REMOVED. This is something we are actively working on.
  

  The reviewer has a few options at this time and can contact us directly with how she would like to proceed.  The first option would be to print and ship the 1467 Print On Demand copies directly from a Canadian print partner.  The second option would be to wait until we get the REMOVEDnumber and ship the current books that are located in the REMOVEDto her.  The third option would be a refund in the amount of $5,603.94.  This would be the amount paid per copy of the book ($3.82 x REMOVED).

• Review fromRicardo R

  Date: 03/28/2025

  1 star
  do not do business with these people, they are a scam, they stole money from me
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 04/02/2025

  The reviewer purchased the Exalt publishing package through Westbow Press on December 31, 2024. Upon receiving the manuscript, it was submitted to the content evaluation team. We allow a few weeks to review the manuscript and images before moving forward. In addition, Westbow Press holds authors to a higher editorial standard due to our partnership with REMOVED. The content team reviewed the manuscript three times finding issues throughout. The reviewer was provided explanations along with examples in order to fix these. The last evaluation results were returned on February 25, 2025. On March 18, 2025 the reviewer requested a refund of the publishing package stating that we had not moved forward. We had not moved forward because we didnt have a revised manuscript. At that time, a refund was logged for review by upper management. A refund in the total amount of $4,064.20 was paid on April 1, 2025. This was refunded in four separate credits to the reviewers REMOVEDcard. This is the amount paid less $400 per the Services and Distribution Agreement (Section 4. Termination and Refunds; Content Guidelines) and less $75 for the payment plan processing fee.

• Review fromLeon M

  Date: 12/19/2024

  1 star
  I have been disrespected with high pressure sales and ignored by production staff!Horrible experience! I paid $11,000 for empty promises and b s.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 01/06/2025

  Upon reviewing the account, we show that the book production process was all within the standard timelines. The marketing materials are still in process. The remaining services will be ordered/launched this month. In addition, we have opted the reviewer out of sales emails and calls.

• Review fromKerry L

  Date: 10/10/2024

  1 star
  DO NOT do business with this company. I have published two books with them and they STOLE all of my book sale profits that I made from REMOVED, Kindle and barns and Noble. They said that I had no sale from any of these organizations, but when I confronted them with the actual sales from these companies they said that they would put them in the next sales quarter, by passing the fact that they told me that I had no sales. I ask them to see the REMOVEDreports so that I can verify the sale that I have proof of. They refused to show me. I have the actual email of them refusing to show me my own sales from REMOVED. However when the second quarter came and went, they still had not given me my money from the sales. I had thousands of sales from radio and podcast interviews. I have the proof and they ignored it. So Im filing CRIMINAL CHARGES against this company for FRAUD,THEIFT AND EMBEZZLEMENT. Im contacting the local DISTRICT ATTORNEY, The STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL and THE REMOVED. This company is committed CRIMES. So if there are other authors who has not received any payments you need to join me in my filing of CRIMINAL CHARGES against this company so that we can shut them down for the FRAUD,THEIFT AND EMBEZZLEMENT that they are doing on the authors. They are fraudulent people stealing authors profits. So for people interested in publishing with this company you have been WARNED NOT TO DO SO! Author who have been scammed out of your money you need to join me in the prosecution of this crime ridden company.
  

  Author Solutions, LLC

  Date: 10/14/2024

  The reviewer was asked to provide proof of sales from Amazon so that we could verify if sales had been missed. The screen shots that were provided to us showed that the print book sale would reflect in the second quarter 2024, not the first quarter 2024, based on the order date and the two month lag time in reporting by our printer. We do not provide the reports from retailers or our printer to authors. Those reports include other author’s book information, which is proprietary information. Also, in this case, the order from Amazon was not printed by Amazon and therefore would not reflect on a report from Amazon, meaning even if we did provide reports to authors, the reviewer’s orders would not be on an Amazon report. The orders for which the reviewer provided screen shots are reported on his royalty report. Again, the print book was not printed by Amazon; it was printed by Lightning Source, which is how the order will reflect on the royalty statement. The 2024 royalties were directly deposited into the reviewer’s bank account that was provided so those sales have been both reported on the royalty statement and paid.