AuthorHouse Beware Author House

REASON: Setup and deposit fees; fees for some aspect of the publication process other than printing/binding; pre-purchase costs, buy-back costs to put your book in a store; promises of finding a screenwriter (for more fees); and other expensive fees.

WHY THE HORROR ZINE IS INVOLVED: An author contacted The Horror Zine asking for a book review. When I asked him about the publisher, he told me it was AuthorHouse. I asked him how was the experience for him.

AuthorHouse cut me a bit of a deal, and it only cost $500 to publish my book instead of $750.

For how it worked for me, I'm still not sure yet. I mean I'm published, and some people know about NAME OF BOOK REMOVED. But, everything comes with a price tag at AuthorHouse. I had no editorial services (would have cost about $720 more bucks). They basically told me to go to website X to buy stock photos to design my own cover. (Ended up taking my own picture and sending it in).

The marketing guy basically said: "This would be a great movie. For $750 we can get it to someone to make a screen play out of it and market it through our partner company." Again, everything has a price.

Since I didn't go that route, they basically told me to join goodreads.com and make a facebook page for the book. Oh, they didn't mention at first that if I want to be on store shelves I'd need to be on a buy-back program. Price tag: another $250.

I guess I didn't know what to expect, and have no idea how traditional publishers deal with some of these issues. I also have a wife that says Book number 2 is dead in the water until Book number 1 returns its investment.

I hope I don't sound too negative. It's just a little frustrating working a full time job, paying all this money, writing another book, and trying to learn how to market a book by myself.

Thanks,
AUTHOR NAME REMOVED

The idea that a company can get someone to write a screenplay for $750 and market it—is ludicrous.

First of all, no screenwriter worth their salt would write a 120 page screenplay for $750 bucks.

And I predict that by "market it," they mean put the screenplay's premise (or worse, entire screenplay) on some website with countless others that producers alledgedly scour for their next big movie. There are many scam sites that make this same kind of promise. It's totally bogus.

My advice is that your friend should not pay one more cent to AuthorHouse for ANYTHING.

The only way production companies, studios or producers will genuinely consider a screenplay is if it comes from a proven source (a known agent or manager) or, if the writer is lucky, through a friend. There are also contests, but I think most of those are a waste of time (and money) too.

If your friend has a desire to have a screenplay written based on their novel, they should either:

a). Write it on their own.
b). Hire someone professional.
c). If they can't afford a professional, go to a writer's board or even CraigsList and say they're looking for a screenwriting partner to share the risk.

I am currently still in the process of self publishing my book with Author House Publishing and it has been a horrific experience. I am a television producer and writer but this is my first book and I found the process difficult and most of all costly. They hide cost from you that you required to pay and at the end of the process they then tell you that it will take an additional two weeks before you can receive an actual copy of your book and another additional 6 weeks before your book can be purchased from "other channel". It feels very seedy and dishonest and their bottom line is the "money" and not the author's hard work and personal project. I would try anyone else first before them. Please do not use my name.


HOME ABOUT FICTION POETRY ART SUBMIT NEWS ZINES BEWARE CONTACT PLAGUE FRIGHTS BOOKS FILMS	The Horror Zine Beware
AuthorHouse Book Publishing How much money can they extract from you?
WHO: AuthorHouse Book Publishing (includes AuthorSolutions and Xlibris) REASON: Setup and deposit fees; fees for some aspect of the publication process other than printing/binding; pre-purchase costs, buy-back costs to put your book in a store; promises of finding a screenwriter (for more fees); and other expensive fees. See the list of outrageously high AuthorHouse fees HERE . Don't pay any of it! WHY THE HORROR ZINE IS INVOLVED: An author contacted The Horror Zine asking for a book review. When I asked him about the publisher, he told me it was AuthorHouse. I asked him how was the experience for him. This is what the author told me about his experience with AuthorHouse: date: Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 11:31 AM to: Jeani Rector <thehorrorzine@gmail.com> AuthorHouse cut me a bit of a deal, and it only cost $500 to publish my book instead of $750. For how it worked for me, I'm still not sure yet. I mean I'm published, and some people know about NAME OF BOOK REMOVED. But, everything comes with a price tag at AuthorHouse. I had no editorial services (would have cost about $720 more bucks). They basically told me to go to website X to buy stock photos to design my own cover. (Ended up taking my own picture and sending it in). The marketing guy basically said: "This would be a great movie. For $750 we can get it to someone to make a screen play out of it and market it through our partner company." Again, everything has a price. Since I didn't go that route, they basically told me to join goodreads.com and make a facebook page for the book. Oh, they didn't mention at first that if I want to be on store shelves I'd need to be on a buy-back program. Price tag: another $250. I guess I didn't know what to expect, and have no idea how traditional publishers deal with some of these issues. I also have a wife that says Book number 2 is dead in the water until Book number 1 returns its investment. I hope I don't sound too negative. It's just a little frustrating working a full time job, paying all this money, writing another book, and trying to learn how to market a book by myself. Thanks, AUTHOR NAME REMOVED I contacted a Los Angeles filmmaker who responded about the above email: date: Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 3:14 PM to: Jeani Rector <thehorrorzine@gmail.com> The idea that a company can get someone to write a screenplay for $750 and market it—is ludicrous. First of all, no screenwriter worth their salt would write a 120 page screenplay for $750 bucks. And I predict that by "market it," they mean put the screenplay's premise (or worse, entire screenplay) on some website with countless others that producers alledgedly scour for their next big movie. There are many scam sites that make this same kind of promise. It's totally bogus. My advice is that your friend should not pay one more cent to AuthorHouse for ANYTHING. The only way production companies, studios or producers will genuinely consider a screenplay is if it comes from a proven source (a known agent or manager) or, if the writer is lucky, through a friend. There are also contests, but I think most of those are a waste of time (and money) too. If your friend has a desire to have a screenplay written based on their novel, they should either: a). Write it on their own. b). Hire someone professional. c). If they can't afford a professional, go to a writer's board or even CraigsList and say they're looking for a screenwriting partner to share the risk. Hope this helps, NAME REMOVED Newest complaint received August 24, 2016 via email: Dear Ms. Rector: I am currently still in the process of self publishing my book with Author House Publishing and it has been a horrific experience. I am a television producer and writer but this is my first book and I found the process difficult and most of all costly. They hide cost from you that you required to pay and at the end of the process they then tell you that it will take an additional two weeks before you can receive an actual copy of your book and another additional 6 weeks before your book can be purchased from "other channel". It feels very seedy and dishonest and their bottom line is the "money" and not the author's hard work and personal project. I would try anyone else first before them. Please do not use my name.	NEW: see Xlibris warnings HERE Xlibris is now owned by AuthorSolutions - the same company that owns AuthorHouse, iUniverse and Trafford. Xlibris allows you to choose the price you will charge for your book...but ONLY if you pay Xlibris $249!! If you have had a bad experience with AuthorHouse, AuthorSolutions, or Xlibris, please email Jeani Rector at thehorrorzine@gmail.com See HERE for the AuthorHouse lawsuit Read how an author got scammed for a lot of money by AuthorHouse HERE See what the Ripoff Report says about Author House HERE Let's Get Visible says: "Author Solutions is the umbrella for (and owner of) several self-publishing service companies (or vanity presses, if you prefer) – such as AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, and Trafford." See the article HERE HOW CAN YOU SPOT A BAD PUBLISHER? See an article in the SFWA HERE