Author Solutions, LLC is the parent company of a number of

vanity press A vanity press or vanity publisher, sometimes also subsidy publisher, is a book printer that is paid by authors to Self-published, self-publish their books. A vanity press charges fees in advance and does not contribute to the development of the ...

es, including AuthorHouse,

iUniverse iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is an American self-publishing company based in Bloomington, Indiana.Kevin Abourezk"iUniverse to move to Indiana" incoln Journal Star, January 22, 2008 It has been owned by Author Solutions since 2008 (which ...

, Trafford Publishing,

Xlibris Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing services provider, founded in 1997 and based in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. In 2000, ''The New York Times'' stated it to be the foremost on-demand publisher. The current president i ...

, Palibrio, and Booktango. The company is headquartered in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in Monroe County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. The population was 79,168 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-most populous city in Indiana and ...

, and has been owned by Najafi Companies since 2015.

History

In April 2008, Author Solutions Marketing Director Keith Ogorek said that 1 out of every 17 books published in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

is from AuthorHouse. In 2009, Author Solutions, acquired two top competitors –

in January and Trafford Publishing in April. Later that year the company partnered with leading Christian publisher Thomas Nelson to launch a first-of-its-kind self-publishing partnership, WestBow Press. In June 2010 Author Solutions launched its first

Spanish-language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

imprint – Palibrio. Palibrio was initially offered only to the U.S. Spanish-speaking market, but later was made available to authors in Spain. In 2012, Pearson (which also owns

Penguin Random House Penguin Random House Limited is a British-American multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, with the merger of Penguin Books and Random House. Penguin Books was or ...

) acquired Author Solutions from Bertram Capital Management for $116 million. 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 were sought. ''Publishers Weekly'' reports that the suit has been filed in the Southern District of New York. In July, 2015, the court denied class action certification to the suit, and in August 2015 the lawsuit was "discontinued without prejudice" after a settlement was reached between the parties. A second case was dismissed in September. On December 31, 2015 Author Solutions, LLC was sold to Najafi Companies, and is no longer associated with Penguin Random House. In recent years, Author Solutions has formed partnerships with traditional book publishers to offer self-publishing imprints to authors:

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

(Archway Publishing), Thomas Nelson (WestBow Press),

Hay House Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author Louise Hay, who is known for her books on New Thought. ''The New York Times'' dubbed Hay "The Queen of the New Age," noting that she became "one of the bestselling authors in ...

(Balboa Press), and

Guideposts ''Guideposts'' is a spiritual non-profit organization publishing inspirational magazines, books and online material. Founded in 1945 by Norman Vincent Peale, Raymond Thornburg, and Peale's wife, Ruth Stafford Peale with just one inaugural magaz ...

(Inspiring Voices); as well as with

Writer's Digest ''Writer's Digest'' is an American magazine aimed at beginning and established writers. It contains interviews, market listings, calls for manuscripts, and how-to articles. History ''Writer's Digest'' was first published in December 1920 und ...

(Abbott Press).

Criticism

Author Solutions is frequently criticized by author advocacy groups for predatory marketing practices, excessive fees, high-pressure sales, and poor customer service by Author Solutions and its subsidiary companies. These criticisms led to Author Solutions' inclusion in the

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. Whi ...

's Thumbs Down Publisher List, multiple Watchdog Advisories from the Alliance of Independent Authors, and alerts from

Writer Beware The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, trade name, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association and commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a Non-profit organization, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional sci ...

Imprints and divisions

* Archway Publishing * Author Learning Center * AuthorHouse * AuthorHouse UK * AuthorHive * Balboa Press * Balboa Press UK * Booktango * GABAL Global Editions *

* LifeRich Publishing * megustaescribir * Palibrio * Partridge Publishing * Partridge Africa * Partridge India * Partridge Singapore * Trafford Publishing * WestBow Press * Wordclay *

References

{{Reflist

External links

Author Solutions
- official site. Book publishing companies based in Indiana Companies based in Bloomington, Indiana American companies established in 2007 Publishing companies established in 2007 2007 establishments in Indiana Self-publishing companies