# Experiences with iUniverse?



## ndmellen (Jun 16, 2014)

Short and sweet: I signed with iUniverse, and am approximately six weeks into the submission process. After reviewing my manuscript, I was told that my novel is worthy of the Editor's Choice...if...wait for it...I have a little bit of editing done by their team (for only a marginal fee, of course.) I'll be the first to admit that I'm cynical by nature, but what have YOUR experiences been? I know that "The Black Directive" is great, but I also know that publishing is a business... I appreciate all feed back; thank you.


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## Terry Greer (Jun 16, 2014)

I don't know iuniverse, or anyone that's used it - but my hackles would rise at that as well. I've been offered innumerable similar packages or services from other companies which on closer inspection (i.e. googling for users) proved to be not worth pursuing.

Doing the same with iuniverse (which no doubt you've already done) generates these:

some okish:
Ditching iUniverse, Going in a New Publishing Direction for “She” Ã‚Â» Shireen Jeejeebhoy, Author

some not good at all:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/806561-has-anyone-tried-publishing-through-iuniverse
iUniverse part deaux
IUniverse Complaints & Reviews

Though they do seem to be at least on a par with other similar companies (not that I would have said any of them score highly).
iUniverse Review 2014 - TopTenREVIEWS

(I've ignored anything from the iuniverse site itself as that would be biased - but there are good reviews on their website - strange that! )

Its hard to know if they are genuinely ok or not - people tend to post bad reviews for all sorts of reasons, not always valid - but there's a lot of negativity for them around.

Self publishing is difficult - and very time consuming and I haven't cracked it yet, but iuniverse doesn't seem to help with much I'd personally want to pay for (but then my partner is a sub-editor so I get free editing). 

I'd suggest something like createspace instead if you think you're ready for publication - but that expects you to handle artwork/formatting yourself - something I'm happy to do but others might not like doing.

The other main disadvantage of self publishing (and presumably the main advantage of iuniverse) is that they supposedly do some promoting for you (you'd have to do your own with createspace). How much this is real and how much just cut and paste emailing i don't know.

I also would be interested in hearing what publishing experiences other have with iuniverse, and the publicity part is something I struggle with.


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## Mythopoet (Jun 16, 2014)

iUniverse is an imprint of Author Solutions which is a vanity publishing scam of the worst sort. Their business model involves getting authors to pay for as many of their "services" as possible. Read more about it here: The Case Against Author Solutions, Part 1: The Numbers | David Gaughran

If you sign with a publisher, you should NOT pay them ANYTHING. It is their JOB to pay for anything the book needs to be published. The only time you should ever pay for anything is when you are SELF PUBLISHING and thus you ARE the publisher of the book yourself. 

If you've already signed a contract with them, you should see if there's anything you can do to get out of it.


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## Philip Overby (Jun 16, 2014)

I moved this to the Publishing section. Hope you find the answers you need. This is the first I've heard of this service.


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## MichaelSullivan (Jun 16, 2014)

Well first things first.  You would have been better off going the DIY route rather than using iUniverse...but that horse has flown so let's not get out a stick to beat it.

No, you should not use them for editing.  They are (a) overpriced and (b) not staffed by the best and brightest.  This is a marketing ploy plain and simple. You won't see any appreciable boost in your sales by being oneof their Editor's choices. To verify this, look at the rankings of iUniverse books that have been designated as Editor's choice.  

Example: Through the door by Malcom Abstan.  Latest on their science fiction list.  It has not had a single Amazon sale since it's release (no ranking).  Same with Jungle Flame by Tope Babalola (released in April).


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## psychotick (Jun 16, 2014)

Hi,

Short and bitter I'm afraid. I don't know these people, had never heard of them. But going to the wiki even before they were taken over by Author solutions they were unsuccessful - iUniverse - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia . And as Mytho says, if they're charging you for anything it's pretty much open and closed - it's vanity publishing.

Cheers, Greg.


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## MichaelSullivan (Jun 17, 2014)

psychotick said:


> Hi,
> 
> Short and bitter I'm afraid. I don't know these people, had never heard of them. But going to the wiki even before they were taken over by Author solutions they were unsuccessful



Actually iuniverse has been VERY successful...if you count success as in making lots of money.  They just aren't particularly good at making any for the authors that use them.


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## ndmellen (Jun 19, 2014)

Thank you. On one hand it breaks my heart, but on the other it's the painful truth that I was quickly realizing. If I can ask: are there any grounds to get my money back?


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## psychotick (Jun 19, 2014)

Hi,

Probably not. I would say the answer to that lies in the contract, but I'm fairly sure that whatever you signed will give them the right to claim all monies - unless there's a get out of Dodge clause somewhere. Most contracts do have a bedding down time period. A matter of time, usually days where either party can cancel the contract without suffering undue penalties. I would read it thoroughly and if you find such a clause consult a lawyer without delay.

However, the more important question for you is when do the rights to publish your book revert to you? It could be two years or more before you can publish your book yourself. And there may also be a thing called a non compete clause in it which prevents you from writing other books in the same setting (or worse even in the same genre) for a period of time.

Cheers, Greg.


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## Devor (Jun 19, 2014)

iUniverse Contract Page said:
			
		

> *What happens if I want to cancel my contract with iUniverse?*
> 
> The author has the right to cancel the contract at anytime with a 30-day advance written notice to the publisher. If the author chooses to cancel, all rights to the work will revert to the author at the end of the 30-day period. You shall remain liable for payment of the balance of any payments due pursuant to any outstanding unpaid service orders.




^ Before psychotick's post freaks you out, this is from their website.  It also states that the rights they claim are a "non-exclusive license."  You can still do whatever you want with your work.

Your concern is, however, that any future publisher may feel that "first publishing" rights have already been taken.  That's a deal breaker for some companies.  Have hey distributed your work yet at all?


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## ndmellen (Jun 20, 2014)

Devor- They have not. I figured I would just have them print the submitted manuscript without any "services"...I didn't know that going through them would present an issue with traditional publishing houses...Suggestions?


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## Mythopoet (Jun 20, 2014)

It shouldn't present any problems. First publication rights are usually only a big deal for short stories submitted to the short story market.


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## Devor (Jun 20, 2014)

ndmellen said:


> Devor- They have not. I figured I would just have them print the submitted manuscript without any "services"...I didn't know that going through them would present an issue with traditional publishing houses...Suggestions?



To be honest I'm not sure if it would at this point or not.  But certainly Mythopoet is right, in that the importance of "first publishing rights" is dwindling when it comes to books.  If they haven't distributed you yet, it might not be an issue for at least most companies.


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## MichaelSullivan (Jul 2, 2014)

I would say that "first publication rights" being "used up" isn't as big of an issue as it has been in the past. In fact, some publishers  are picking up well selling self-pub books.  But even if it wasn't busted by iUniverse if the OP went self-published route through DIY then it would still be used.


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