[Publisher] iUniverse

[Ergo]

Oops! My thread has been moved.

Sorry, not my intention to create redundancy. Just getting used to navigating this site.

[James D. Macdonald]

Originally Posted by PVish

IUniverse does the Authors Guild "Back in Print" program for commercially published books that have gone out of print.

They do, or they did?

Is that still true since they've been bought by Author Solutions?

[PVish]

Originally Posted by James D. Macdonald

They do, or they did?
Is that still true since they've been bought by Author Solutions?

Yes, a friend of mine just had her 1989 novel originally from Harcourt republished through them this spring.

[Ergo]

Received a curious email today...


Dear , iUniverse prides itself on putting its authors at the forefront of not only its operations, but also of the publishing landscape. For this reason, we are addressing the demand for e-books by converting your published book, Nursing the Corn, at absolutely no cost to you. In the last few years, e-book sales have increased exponentially, catapulting digital publishing into a multibillion dollar industry with no signs of stopping. iUniverse recognizes that this surge into the e-publishing era will allow authors to reach wider audiences and sell more books if they embrace the change. We are opening more avenues so you can tap into the continuously growing market of digital readers. Welcome to a bright new day of publishing. Realize your dreams, and e-dreams today. Click here for more information



The 'click here' merely took me to IU's FAQ page for e-books.

Sooooo... that's it? It's been 7 years since I worked with them. I just find it odd that they would do this for nothing.

[ResearchGuy]

Originally Posted by Ergo

. . . I just find it odd that they would do this for nothing.

Perhaps odder that they would do it without permission or advance notice. But then, Lulu has done the same sort of thing, with the result that one book I published now sells an occasional copy on iPad. Maybe the permission is implicit or explicit in the details of the user agreement.

--Ken

[J. Tanner]

They aren't doing it for nothing.

They are taking 50% of the proceeds in royalties forever.

That is frighteningly high for an hour's work.

They know ebooks can sell.

If you'd like to do an ebook edition learn it yourself and do it for free (there's tons of guidance available) or pay someone a one-time flat fee (typically under $100 for a text novel). But I really recommend doing it yourself to start, both to learn the process for yourself, and to see if sales justify paying someone to do it in the future for other books you've written.

[Ergo]

Agreed. This has curious written all over it.

I checked their site and my soft cover is priced ar $8.95. The E-book is $6. Sakes! It hardly qualifies as a 99 cent-er.

Makes me wonder if IU is looking for a quick buck or using it as a loss-leader to drum up conversation/referals.

[J. Tanner]

Not a loss leader. It's a subsidy publishing house for print because they do not believe they can actually make money selling print books. So they make money off of authors.

But by going for a royalties grab on ebooks instead, that means they believe they CAN make money on selling ebooks.

They could end up being wrong, in which case they'll start charging exhorbitant up-front fees for ebook creation just like they do for print book creation.

What I do find curious, is why are they offering to convert a book that they already sell an ebook version of? Seems converted to me...

[Deb Kinnard]

Erg, do they have the right to publish your OOP book in any form whatever?

[Billtrumpet25]

I apologize if there is already a thread for this, but I didn't see one, and because I'm generally a guarded person, I wanted to make sure of this company's legitimacy.

I've always been told to be very wary over any company that calls you for publishing opportunities. Earlier this afternoon, I got a call from IUniverse asking if I would be interested in publishing my WIP with them. Being wary, I Googled the company, and it turns out they are a self-publishing vanity company (some of their packages are quite expensive...).

I don't think I'll go with them, yet there's a certain curiosity I have on how "professional" they really are, opposed to how "professional" they claim they are.

Has anyone had any dealings with IUniverse?

[Unimportant]

They're a standard vanity press: they publish anything, good or bad, if the author is willing to pay.

If your goal is to sell books to readers, stick with publishers whose business model is to sell books to readers. iUniverse will sell your book to you, not to the public.

[waylander]

Got space in your garage or basement? You'll need it to store the books

[Terie]

The iUniverse thread is here, and I'm sure a mod will be along shortly to merge this one with that one.

The easiest way to see if there's an existing thread on a publisher is to check the Index.

[MEPurfield]

I naivly(sp) used iuniverse more than 10 years ago. Back when it cost 99 bucks. Yeah, there are cheaper ways now. Like createspace.

The good thing is they dont give you a hard time to break a contract, at least for me.

[Jennifer Robins]

I have two books with them and they have called me twice now asking me to pay several thousand dollars and they will promote my books. I told them no and not to call me again. I'm going to send in my cancelation letters and try these two books elsewhere, and not with a vanity.

Jennifer Robins
www.jenniferrobins.com

[Maryn]

Our daughter, then a high school student, got in on an offer from iUniverse where they covered all the costs for kids in her gifted program who wrote a novel by a certain date, which she and a few other kids did. iUniverse never contacted her or us seeking any additional payment for promotion or anything else.

As an adult, she cringes when the first page of hits for her name always includes a novel she wrote when she was 14.

Maryn, who didn't buy a copy

[Filigree]

One of my co-workers, who knows I write, said "I just met a local author today. He's one of our shipping company drivers, and he even has a postcard advertising his book!"

"Did he have a copy of his book with him?" I asked, heart sinking when my co-worker nodded. "May I see the card?"

Sure enough, it was through iUniverse. The poor guy is trying to sell his novel for $19 to all comers. I had to explain to my dazzled co-worker that
*where* you publish can be more important than *if* you're published.

[Robert Detroit]

I have dealt with iUniverse and found them to be very helpful in the process of publishing my memoir, under my real name, and the professionalism was outstanding. Everyone knows how difficult it is to have a memoir published unless the author is famous. This is why I went this route. The only complaint I had was really my own fault, it had to do with the financial department. I had some unexpected expenses and was on iUniverse's payment plan. They couldn't move my payment schedule one week later when I get paid. That's okay though, I do understand. If I had another memoir to publish, I wouldn't hesitate to use them again. As for now, I'll stick to my novels and go the traditional route.

[ResearchGuy]

Originally Posted by Robert Detroit

?.. Everyone knows how difficult it is to have a memoir published unless the author is famous ....

Maybe, but I have published three so far, with a fourth (memoir/self-help) in process. I pay the authors and pay ALL costs of publishing. And the best memoir I know was commercially published, then republished in a new edition from a much larger commercial publisher. Author far from famous. But if a subsidy press worked for you, best wishes for your success.

--Ken

[ellisshuman]

Just posted this on my blog:

Why I Left iUniverse
http://ellisshuman.blogspot.com/2012...iuniverse.html

[mayqueen]

Originally Posted by Maryn

Our daughter, then a high school student, got in on an offer from iUniverse where they covered all the costs for kids in her gifted program who wrote a novel by a certain date, which she and a few other kids did. iUniverse never contacted her or us seeking any additional payment for promotion or anything else.

As an adult, she cringes when the first page of hits for her name always includes a novel she wrote when she was 14.

Maryn, who didn't buy a copy

Here's a question. I'm in a similar boat, in that my (real) name is associated with some fun Google hits for a collection of poems I put together in college. Because it was a collective effort and I wanted other people who contributed to get copies, I went with iUniverse. (I was 20. I was new to the internet. I should have known better.) I've since severed my contract with iUniverse.

Here's the thing: my book (and samples of it) are still available on Google Books. I never explicitly agreed to that and I really, really don't want my colleagues to be able to Google me and find it. Am I totally screwed, or can I ask iUniverse to take my book out of Google Books?

[veinglory]

Googlebooks and other archives take the position that if the book ever existed they can list it.

[Ravenheart]

Does anyone have any information about this company? I had a sales rep call me today. He sent me a lot of links of course but I wanted to know if anyone had experience with this company and also what the percentage of their take is. I asked this and was told it was in the email sent to me but after re-reading all the information twice I couldn't locate it. The standard is 15% I believe. Any information would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Filigree]

Read this thread, then assess your options. I'm inclined to be dubious about anyone trying to pitch publication over the phone.

[Ravenheart]

Sorry I posted my question again before finding this thread. I read your blog post. Thank you for sharing.

Originally Posted by ellisshuman

Just posted this on my blog:

Why I Left iUniverse
http://ellisshuman.blogspot.com/2012...iuniverse.html