Is iUniverse a Reputable Publisher?*

The short answer to the question above is no. The longer, more descriptive answer is hell no.

In the last five days, search traffic on my blog has pretty much been all iUniverse all the time. There are, of course, a few instances of people searching for images of Keith Ogorek or people searching for iUniverse’s parent company, Author Solutions. But for the most part people are looking for the dirt on iUniverse. And I guess that makes sense; everything I’ve read points to that name having the most brand recognition and the most unhappy customers.

iuniverse complaints search

A sampling of search results leading readers to my series on Author Solutions and iUniverse Complaints. (Click to enlarge)

I compiled a few screen shots of the stats for this blog in the image you see on the left. I’ve taken out locations, IP addresses and Host Names here and there. They aren’t relevant for one, but I also don’t want to risk giving away anything that would be an identifier for someone who just wants to browse the web in peace.

It’s not a complete list of search terms, and they’re not all in order. (Sorry, I got a little lazy with the cutting and pasting.) But I think it’s a representative sampling of what goes on in the minds of iUniverse customers. And, if you happen to be someone considering giving iUniverse your money, I think it gives you more than a little perspective. I think it tells you just about everything you need to know.

The following headers are actual search terms that lead people here to Suess’s Pieces. I’ve added a few notes (and links where appropriate) for those wanting more information.

Breach of Contract iUniverse

Earlier, we discussed the fact that parent company Author Solutions was not reporting royalties according to the terms of its contracts. Reports are repeatedly published late, and we have proof that royalty checks were backdated in an attempt to cover up that they were not disbursed on time. This is a breach of the iUniverse contract.

Who Can I Contact at iUniverse to Complain?

No one. You can call and talk to a different person every time, or you can email employees until your fingers fall off, but you’ll get no answer. Here’s the thing: the people of Author Solutions will tell you anything you want to hear on the phone, but they won’t stand by it. So odds are you’ll get fed up and switch to emailing them in order to resolve your issue. However, they’ll stop communicating with you when you do, because they don’t want you to have anything in writing.

When they tell you that you need to speak to Eugene Hopkins about your problem? That’s the kiss of death. That pretty much means you’ve been blacklisted as a customer and you’ll never hear a peep out of anyone again. Oh, he might make a half-hearted attempt to contact you, but he’ll pretend he doesn’t know anything about your situation. Still if you just want some email addresses, here you go:

kweiss@authorsolutions.com (Kevin Weiss, President and CEO)
kogorek@authorsolutions.com (Keith Ogorek, Marketing VP)
ehopkins@authorsolutions.com (Eugene Hopkins, Client Services Manager)

If you’re looking for more information about customer service at iUniverse and Author Solutions, I suggest reading all of the interviews on the Author Solutions & iUniverse Index page.

Why Does iUniverse Change Its Staff?

For an answer to this question, I point you to two articles: Author Solutions, Inc. Employee Cries ‘Scam’ and Even Employees Don’t Like iUniverse & Author Solutions. This gist of it is that turnover rates are always high at places where people don’t want to work. But it’s probably about more than just sheer turnover rate if you can’t get in touch with the same contact twice. iUniverse and Author Solutions toss you from one person to the next by design in the hopes you’ll get so confused and so frustrated you just give up.

Is Author Solutions Going Out of Business?

author solutions bloomington indiana

This picture was taken in May 2012 at ASI headquarters in Bloomington, IN. You can still see where the AuthorHouse name and logo had once been.

Not soon enough, in my opinion. Though I have a feeling companies like these don’t ever die, they just change their name(s) and start over. Just to be safe, I’d steer clear of anything associated with Bertram Capital (ASI’s holding company) and Kevin Weiss.

Others have suggested that the big guys running iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, et al. don’t know what their minions are up to. That people like Kevin Weiss, Keith Ogorek and Eugene Hopkins can only be guilty of hiring the incompetent.

Whatever. These people aren’t chancing the company’s future by unwittingly hiring college students that may or may not run the entire business into the ground. They know exactly who they’re using.

*For the sake of clarity: I am not and never will be an iUniverse customer. All information I have collected comes from continued research and the first-hand accounts of actual iUniverse customers. 

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0 thoughts on “Is iUniverse a Reputable Publisher?*

  1. Lisbethj says:

    I came across your post thanks to G+ thanks for sharing this information! I think you are providing people who are thinking about publishing with very important information. To often in the excitement of writing a book people don’t realize that unfortunately there are people waiting to prey upon the dreams of others. Keep posting and keep the truth!

    • Don’t worry, I don’t have any plans to quit writing about what Author Solutions and iUniverse are doing to writers!

      When they stop ignoring customer complaints, provide honest and accurate royalty reports, and get rid of predatory sales tactics, maybe then I’ll consider it. Maybe. 

      Thanks for stopping by and thanks for taking the time to comment, Lisbeth. 

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