Author Solutions

StatusActive
Founded2007
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationBloomington, Indiana
Key peopleJahm Najafi - Owner of Najafi Companies, Daniel Shum - Najafi Companies Partner, Bill Elliott - President [1]
Publication typesBooks, eBooks
ImprintsAuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, Xlibris, Palibrio, Booktango
Owner(s)Najafi Companies
Official websiteauthorsolutions.com

Author Solutions is the parent company of the self publishing companies/imprints AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford Publishing, Xlibris, Palibrio, and Booktango.[2] Author Solutions also maintains partnerships with traditional book publishers Simon & Schuster (Archway Publishing),[3] Thomas Nelson (WestBow Press),[4] Hay House (Balboa Press),[5] and Guideposts (Inspiring Voices);[6] as well as with Writer's Digest (Abbott Press).[7]

Author Solutions is headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, and has been owned by Najafi Companies since 2015.

Founded in 2007, Author Solutions reports publishing 190,000 titles written by 150,000 authors.[8] In 2012, Pearson acquired Author Solutions from Bertram Capital Management for $116 million.[9] It also offers a suite of "book-to-screen" services intended to provide authors with Hollywood access.

History

Self-publishing has experienced rapid growth since 2006, with annual title output increasing 287 percent according to R.R. Bowker, the agency that issues ISBNs in the United States.[10] 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.[11] In 2009, Author Solutions, acquired two other top competitors – Xlibris in January [12] and Canadian self-publisher Trafford Publishing in April.[13] Later that year the company partnered with leading Christian publisher Thomas Nelson to launch a first-of-its-kind self-publishing partnership, WestBow Press.[14] Expansion to other segments of authors continued in June 2010 when Author Solutions launched its first Spanish-language imprint – Palibrio.[15] Palibrio was initially offered only to the U.S. Spanish-speaking market, but later was made available to authors in Spain.

On May 3, 2013, Penguin announced that on July 1 Andrew Phillips would be assuming the position of Author Solutions CEO, replacing longtime CEO Kevin Weiss who was leaving to take another position.

On July 1, 2013, Author Solutions' parent company Penguin Group completed a merger with Random House to form Penguin Random House.[16]

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 dollars were sought.[17][18] Publishers Weekly reports that the suit has been filed in the Southern District of New York.[19] In July, 2015, the court denied class action certification to the suit,[20] and in August 2015 the lawsuit was "discontinued without prejudice" after a settlement was reached between the parties.[21] A second case was dismissed in September.[22]

On December 31, 2015 Author Solutions, LLC was sold to Najafi Companies after talks.[23]

Criticism

Author Solutions is frequently criticized by author advocacy groups for predatory marketing practices, excessive fees, high-pressure sales, and poor customer service. Author Solutions (aka Trafford Publishing) cancel even long term contracts for any reason and they do not return original fees, they never include extra percentage caused by inflation and change of currency rate as was with top 2013 boxing Jan's Trilogy book. These criticisms led to Author Solutions' inclusion in the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Thumbs Down Publisher List,[24] multiple Watchdog Advisories from the Alliance of Independent Authors,[25] and alerts from Writer Beware.[26]

Imprints and divisions

References

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