When Pearson bought ASI (Author Solutions), the self-publishing goliath and owner of multiple self-publishing imprints like AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris and Trafford, we had the usual gnashing of teeth and countless toys tossed from cots—none more so than from the self-publishing community. Savvy authors don’t like to see their fellow brethren, however naïve, fork out money…
The Future of Publishing 2020: Control, Coker and ASI
This is a pretty thought-provoking post by Smashwords‘ Mark Coker. There are a number of strong arguments he makes for the control and advantage indie authors may hold over traditionally published authors in regards to ebook pricing. “One surprise, however, was that we found $2.99 books, on average, netted the authors more earnings (profit per…
Opinion: Pearson Acquisition of Author Solutions – Change, What Change?
There is certainly nothing out of place with today’s acquisition by Pearson – Penguin’s parent company – of the largest self-publishing service provider, Author Solutions (ASI). While the purchase of ASI might raise a few furrowed brows in the established publishing industry, the sale by ASI’s parent compant, Bertram Capital, has been on the back burner for…
Venture Press – Overview
Readers of The Independent Publishing Magazine will be aware that from time to time I carry out short overviews of author solutions services. Usually the overviews feature companies recently launched or those operating with a very low output of published titles. I’ve even featured several independent presses (non-charging), but generally I don’t as a rule…
Self-Publishing Experiences: Over Streams and Squirrel Woods – Alys Williams
It’s quite a while since we had a post from our self-publishing successes/experiences series. So, today, Alys Williams (pseudonym of author Jenny Thomas) describes her not so good experience with AuthorHouse, and her eventual publication of her beautiful book, Over Streams and Squirrel Woods, a chronicle and memoir of her relationship with her mother during…
RTE Liveline Self-Publishing in Ireland | Analysis and Review
Image via Wikipedia It’s always a very heartening experience for me to hear or meet self-published authors gathered in one place at a particular time, whether that space is face to face, or listening to the experiences of so many Irish self-published authors on Tuesday afternoon on Joe Duffy’s national Livelineprogramme on RTE. You can…
Home or Bust: Shrink or Swim?
About a year and a half ago Author Solutions (ASI), the largest global company offering self-publishing services to authors, decided to pull the plug on their AuthorHouse operation in the UK. It still surprises many authors I speak to when I tell them that AuthorHouse has no staff presence in the UK and all operational…
Bowker Releases Preliminary 2010 Annual Books in Production Report (PDF link included)
R. R. Bowker today released preliminary figures for book production during 2010 based on their Books in Print database. Traditionally produced books rose by 5% while non-traditionally produced books rose by an astonishing 169%. Be aware that the non-traditional sector is made up by a vast majority of print on demand publishers issuing public domain titles. This…
Democratization or Be Damned
Keith Ogorek is the SVP of Marketing for Author Solutions (ASI). And who you might ask are Author Solutions? Well, regular readers here will be familiar with the paid-publishing services offered by companies like AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford and Wordclay. ASI own all these companies and they also operate and provide the publishing engine for…
iUniverse Launch Book Placement and Signing Packages
iUniverse (IUV 232.56) has introduced two new publishing packages offering in-store book placement and in-store book-signing ($3999) in a partnership with Canadian book retailer Indigo. The in-store book placement program ($2999) is similar to the one sister company AuthorHouse (AUH 222.38) has with retailers Borders and Waterstones. From today’s press release: BLOOMINGTON, IN, June 28, 2010…