I occasionally get an email from a writer asking how I “made it”.
I never really know how I’m supposed to answer that, as I’m still not really sure myself. I get up, I lie into a computer for a few hours, when the lies add up to a certain amount I publish it. So far people like it enough that I get to keep doing it. It’s a mystery.
What I can do is warn them about things to stay away from. One of those is Authors Solutions.
If you’re an aspiring author and you’re not familiar with David Guaghran then you should be. David is not only an excellent writer of historical fiction and several self-publishing how-to books, he’s a watchdog when it comes to the shenanigans of the publishing industry. The biggest of which is a little company in Indiana known as Author Solutions.
Author Solutions (and its hundreds of shell companies) is owned by Penguin/Random House, and their business model centers around exploiting the naïve authors of the world. Their latest effort involves a partnership with Barnes and Noble, offering “services” to aspiring writers which amount to nothing and basically fleece the author of up to several thousand dollars. Their sins are too numerous to list here, but David has done an excellent job of rooting out their “services”.
Let’s just say that there’s a difference between service and servicing. Authors Solutions is definitely in the latter.
If you are a new author looking for a way to self-publish your work please read David’s blog first. Educate yourself about whats out there. Arm yourself with Knowledge. It could save you thousands of dollars, hours of your time, and most importantly, keep your story from falling into the wrong hands.