"The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) is concerned about the email approach being made by Archway Publishing to a number of our advisors and colleagues.
Archway is a new joint venture between publisher Simon & Schuster and Author Solutions (AS) an umbrella company operating self-publishing package brands such as AuthorHouse, Xlibris, and iUniverse. Several of these regularly bring forth serious complaints from writers (see below)...
These promises will remain unfulfilled for the vast majority of authors who, going on past performance, could be falling into the trap of a dubious package model. Complaints that ALLi, and other writers organisations and concerned representatives like Victoria Strauss, David Gaughran and Emily Suess, regularly receive about Author Solutions companies include:
- non-payment of royalties
- inaccurate royalty information
- misappropriation of rights and breach of contract
- harassing sales calls
- not returning phone calls and in other ways ignoring complaints or service issues
- excessive markups on review and promotion services
- selling formerly out-of-print works without author consent
- overcharging for and/or failing to deliver marketing services promised
- overcharging for and/or failing to deliver distribution services promised
- telling customers add-ons will only cost hundreds of dollars and then charging credit cards thousands of dollars
- shaming and banning writers who go public with their stories
- verbally insulting their writers..."
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