I've published 4 books with Authorhouse but its been 4 years since my last project with them. I often found the experience very frustrating and concur with much of what has already been written in the two other posted reviews. One gets the feeling that they play dumb with the revisions process to simply capitalize on any manuscript errors you have (one of the ways they make extra money). I know it's self publishing but you would think a company that puts their name on your work would take an invested interest in your work as well. The royalties are very low. I'm getting ready to publish two books but will not be using authorhouse as the publishing agency. read more

I'm giving Authorhouse a four star review instead of a five star review because I have no other experience with any other company. What I have experienced with Authorhouse was an easy step by step process with a staff of professionals who assisted me through the entirer publication. Before I jumped into the process, I researched Authorhouse along with many other pod companies. There are ups and downs, likes and dislikes with all of them. I knew I wanted to become published and because of a friend of mine, who published three books with Authorhouse, ( George E. Peterson Jr.) I followed suit. I admit at times he was frustrated but with his limited computer knowlege, at the time, caused the issues he was having. George not only once but used Authorhouse three times. I thought, " If it was that bad of an experience, why would he use them over and over again?" What did I have to lose. Personally I had no computer experience but my sister did. Together my sister and I put together my book following the simple steps and requirerments Authorhouse requested. These requests were only to provide the company with the tools to produce the best quality products. I have nothing to gain for writting this review. My book was just published in July of 2011. I don't even know if I sold any books yet. What I do know is: Authorhouse exceeded the end results of my book; The King of Pete's Pond, the title of my book, is all over the web; and the webs sites continue to expand weekly. It is my job to market my work and if I do poorly it's only my fault. My name is Todd M. Kvarnstrom, the author of, The King of Pete's Pond. My e-mail is: toddstrom413@yahoo.com, if you have any questions I might be able to answer for you. I'm more than pleased with the quality of the work Authorhouse provided, and if down the road my experience changes with them I'll let you know. Some how I hope this review helped out. Thankyou... read more

AuthorHouse is an underhanded, cheating organization who won't refund my payment. They told me it is a refund at their discretion. Even when I told them I was an out of work, single parent, they still haven't budged. They stink. Don't use them under any circumstances. No wonder their staff turnover is so high - no one wants to be associated with them. read more

This place is a total rip off, they have enough lawyers to protect them, plus the BBB and the attorney general would not even go against these people. They have solid protection from getting a lawsuit against them, and they are laughing all the way to the bank with everyone's royalties. They change the document that you sign to be in their favor so they get all your royalties. I tried to go against them once, but got a letter from their lawyer to stop lying about their company or I'd be sued for defamation. Oh they are like a stone wall you can't penetrate. I needed the money from my book sales as a suplement to my income, but they took advantage. I paid for editing on my book, and they didn't do a good job. I spent over $2300.00 to get my book published, have a copy right at the Library of COngress (which I've never found, I contacted them and they say they don't have anything like that on my book title and my name. I hope one day that someone brave will take them on and have a class action lawsuit. read more

My 91 year old father has always wanted to write a book and have it published. Terry Johnson, author consultant at AuthorHouse Publishing, helped us to make Dad's dream come true. He guided us through this new adventure: answering our questions, listening to our concerns, and getting us the help we needed throughout this process. All of the other staff we dealt with were friendly and helpful, as well. As with any new endeavor, there are always "bumps along the road", but the people that I dealt with handled everything professionally and courteously. read more

I published an almost 600 pp book with AuthorHouse in 2006. It is the absolute worst company I have ever dealt with. I have not even heard of a worse company. They bungle absolutely everything at every step in production, name it. I can never call them and talk to anybody who knows anything. They can't even cut my royalty checks in the right name I gave them, and you can forget about calling anybody who knows anything who can straighten out anything. I am blind. Before going blind, I owned my own publishing company and manufactured my own books and magazines and I had a mailing list of customers over 6,000 long, and this was back before the internet. I can't seem to talk to the same person twice, and nobody knows anything about anything. The turnover of help there must be daily. Everyone who answers the phone acts like they just completed the same brainwashing employer training. They each even have the same way of "" if you try to get a word in edgewise. No company has ever riled me up more than AuthorHouse, and note that I am saying this after 6 years of "cooling off." The latest thing they did was convert my print book into e format without my permission, and I was not consulted about my royalty regarding same, either. So through the "back door" I find out Amazon is selling my $28 print book less than $10 in kindle format, and I knew about ! I tried to complain, but got the same old, same old, . It is my opinion that AuthorHouse takes advantage of authors' vanity, who enjoy seeing their book with their name on it, even if it doesn't sell. Then they soak you for all you have to "help" you market your book. Fat chance I am about to involve myself even deeper with their complete screwball way of operating. read more

I published with Authorhouse back when they were First Books. They were ok then for a POD, and I published a second book b/c they offered me a good discount as second timer. But I tell you, if I NEVER have to deal w/their customer service department again, it will be TOO SOON. Idiots. I have never in my life dealt with such bloomin' idiots. And you KNOW how bad other customer service is! Every time you call, you speak to a different person-who barely speaks English and will talk over you on and on--and who never knows what the other one said. It's called "NOTES", ppl! Put 'em in my file! AND then 2-3 different ppl email you back and forth w/no continuity at all. It's a nightmare. NIGHTMARE!! If I can EVER get my eBooks removed from there, it'll be a miracle and I will wash my hands of them forever. Hate 'em, hate 'em, hate 'em. HATE 'EM. read more

This company is bad at every phase! Production took forever. They released my book in the wrong genre, without the about the book or the about the author sections. And now it has even disappeared from their website. Save yourself and go elsewhere. Do not buy even a basic package. And definitely do not buy marketing add ons. read more

Incredibly hard to work with, Author House passes accounts around and around so you don't work with the same consultant for long. They don't seem to actually read your emails or instructions but work just by forms and set scripts, treating customers like computer files. Design consultants don't seem to really understand book design, but pass on all the information to the "designers;" as a client you never communicate directly with a designer. This was frustrating for me because design was a huge part of my book. When I finally thought all my final corrections to the last proof were in, they added additional mistakes in the text and design that weren't there in previous proofs. Very odd processes and way too automated, not customized as they'd like to claim. read more

Right now, I'm really wishing I would have taken the times to browse their reviews before I published with them. $500 dollars later, I can say that this was my biggest mistake as far as writing a book goes. So first, you talk to their marketing PR person, who will tell you get %25 royalties if your book is sold on amazon or any other book retail website, and slightly more if purchased from authorhouse directly. Bold face LIE!!! you will get %10 if sold on amazon or any other book retailer, 25% only if purchased from authorhouse. Can you imagine slaving over a project for months, only to reap %10 of the sales??? and do you really think anyone would actually sign up if told this from the get go? NO! Glad I can make someone else rich with my work. And that is just the tip of the ice berg of problems I've had trying to work with authorhouse. In my package I was supposed to be granted with help on my cover art. Well, unless you want to chose from a few generic tablets, you'll wind up doing it yourself, like I did. You would think when you email someone a picture with directions of where you want the letters to go, it would be simple. you'd be wrong. My first cover was so blurry you couldnt even make out the picture. They tried to rush it along, and even threatened to charge me to keep making corrections. Mind you, I provided them with the background picture and the text. It also took months longer than promised to have my ebook available, and I had to send numerous emails to numerous people to have anything done about it. I was even told at one point I could feel free to contact amazon directly on my own behalf, when months after the paperback came out, the ebook was still unavailable. I responded with "thats what I paid you for, to make my book available, remember?" But $500 to publish, and a ridiculous amounts worth of royalties in their pocket, isn't enough for AuthorHouse. They will call you relentlessly trying to get you to buy big ticket advertising packages that you quote "Will not be successful without." They will do anything and say anything to try and bully you into buying your own books to sell yourself (like I can really peddle paperback erotica around my neighborhood) and purchasing their advertisement. If you're contemplating self publishing, do it yourself. Amazon KDP and Create Space are wonderful, user friendly programs. read more

I wish I could give AuthorHouse minus stars I signed a book publication contract with AuthorHouse in 2012. Since then, problems have been dogging the project. Micheal Pyles, who is in charge of sending me free copies, has never responded to my emails when I asked him why I could not have a say on how the copies are sent if I have to pay about $200 for the mailing costs. I filed a complaint with AuthorSupport, which took weeks to respond to my emails. It often took weeks for AuthorSupport to give me a reply. Merly Delicano, my coordinator, took weeks even months to respond to my emails. I pointed out the problem to Author Satisfaction Manager Elaine Headley-Jerome, who said: "We are not sure how we could have acted more appropriately." My new coordinator, May Alvarez, suddenly ignored my emails. I pointed out the problem to Tim Mendoza, production supervisor, who avoids addressing my complaint. AuthorHouse employees are unabashedly shameless. Instead of offering an apology and trying to improve its services, a senior employee, Adrienne Scherschel, senior Author Satisfaction researcher, asked me to not rehash what had happened and to move on. I finally reached the point where I said enough is enough. I took the monetary loss and moved on. The USA has some of the best business schools in the world. The Authorhouse employees do not even have an ounce of business etiquette. They do not even know that before they are businesspeople, they have to be decent people. read more

All the one star reviews you read are true! Is there a way to not award any stars...or negative stars? My experience was disastrous from start to finish. I experienced many of the same frustrations that others have referenced. I was surprised when they sent a survey for feedback but I can only assume they don't read the responses. As I told them. " I knew this was my first attempt at publishing a book but I did not realize it was your first time." My first draft came back with images on one page and the captions on the next, the artwork on the cover extended onto the spine and there response was that it "was within publishers tolerances". They completely forgot to include the "about the author" section in first edition. As another review states, they don't seem to follow instructions when you send back changes to the manuscript. It appears that they have unskilled typists making changes who only do as they are told without regard to even a rudimentary sense of design or ounce of common sense. It just gets worse as you continue through the process. They recently changed their computer and accounting systems so long-time customers who were given 30 days to pay (and paid promptly) are asked for credit card or payment in advance and have to complete a new customer application plus credit application before they are shipped merchandise. Independent customers are placed "on hold" for thirty or forty minutes without explanation. I finally resorted to offering to place orders for one customer, use my credit card and then invoice him so as to allow him to avoid the frustrations he was forced to endure in dealing with AuthorHouse. This is my first negative review of any enterprise - EVER. They are simply awful! read more

I have heard and read a lot about this company, and in my review, I do not wish to refute anyone' s experiences with them. However, I must write of my own experiences honestly. I am known within my family circle as being irritatingly methodical in all my projects, both past and present. So far I have published six books with AuthorHouse; the publishing process, on average, taking six to eight weeks from start to finish. I can offer no criticism in their methods, finding them attentive and responsive in all I have asked of them. My first book I submitted to an on-spec publisher, but found it was criticized to the point that to have rewritten it, it would no longer have been the story I had created. The search for an alternative method ended up with Authorhouse, and at present, I have no intention of looking elsewhere while they provide me with the service they do. Like any business they are in it to make money. I limit any corrections to my work by creating my own graphics as I want them, acquiring my own proofreaders, and then thoroughly formatting and editing my work before submitting it. This method has proved kind to my pocket, and I feel, simplified the workload for my publishing consultant when negotiating editor incompatibilities. On each release, my work was rapidly displayed all over the web, and feel this seems to be the future venue for the reading populace. I have published all my books in soft/hard back and ebook, formats all facilities of which were collectively offered by Authorhouse under one price. This publishing method has proved to be the solution for me, allowing me to keep all the rights to my work, as well as tell the stories how I want them to impact on my readers. I feel, in these modern times, there has never been a better opportunity for the individual to offer their story. In stating this, I don't wish to demean the conventional publishing route, but it has been said there is a story in us all. I have found the self-publishing solution to no longer be classed as a dirty word, and have received modest royalties and compliments for, and on my work respectively. I would recommend Authorhouse, but add that before the submission of a manuscript, it is wise and cheaper to ensure all the groundwork has been achieved as far as possible...CJB. read more

My experience with AuthorHouse was a costly nightmare. As a matter of policy, AuthorHouse won't disclose the royalty rate it will pay authors or the estimated publication cost of a book, even when asked directly. Royalty rates can't be found on their website and employees wouldn't disclose them when I asked. I was told by AuthorHouse that this type of basic information cannot be provided until after your book is formatted. HERE IS THE CATCH: buried in Schedule A of the AuthorHouse contract is a cancellation policy that says the author is responsible for 75% of the publishing package you signed up for once formatting STARTS! Only after the formatting began was I told the royalty rate was LESS than 10% (for comparison, this is not even half of what CreateSpace offers) and the book's price (which AuthorHouse sets) was so much higher than its competitors it made the book unmarketable. Other publishing companies will provide you an estimated price and an estimated royalty BEFORE you sign up. AuthorHouse, on the other hand. requires you commit to 75% of the deal before telling you the bad--and costly--news. read more

I was contacted in the first instance by a pleasant , articulate person who seemed likely to make it a positive experience. Subsequently, I was allocated a 'publishing advisor' ie a call-centre operative, a very inarticulate non-native-English speaker, who in addition to linguistic handicaps, repeatedly called from what sounded like an underwater phone. I know nothing about publishing, but it's still more than he did. He gave me a quote via e-mail re payment by instalments, but when I went to pay for this, he claimed they couldn't do that particular plan via instalments and why don't I go for this hugely more expensive package (despite already being informed via phone and e-mail that I didn't want that), which was only available for 24 hours etc. Altogether, a seriously annoying waste of time. I think he did me a favour by being so inept before I handed the cash over. Definitely not recommended, at least until they can get their own staff training package together. read more