THE MILLION $ SOLUTION?
Author Solutions, the self-publishing house, has announced it has started a film development fund with $1 million of seed money to acquire film rights to titles by its authors.
CEO Kevin Weiss said they already have one project “in the works” but didn’t give the name of the book. He also said the author involved has an agent but didn't reveal the agent’s name, either.
Normally a million dollar fund like this would be good news for writers, but there are so many complaints out there about Author Solutions that I have to admit some skepticism.
COMPLAINTS GALORE
I have no personal experience with Author Solutions but Victoria Strauss of the “Writer Beware” site knows what she’s talking about and in 2009 she described Author Solutions as a “dishonest vanity press service, parading as a self-publishing service.”
You will also find a large number of complaints on the web about late payment, lack of attention from their reps, etc.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
In light of those complaints, I was surprised that Writer’s Digest, which used to have a good reputation, in early 2011 entered into an agreement with Author Solutions to establish a self-publishing division named Abbott Press.
I’m guessing the magazine is suffering the same recessionary pressure as many other publications and went for the money. They’ve received revenue from ads for vanity publishers for years; this is one bigger step down that path. It's hard to be impartial or champion your readers when you depend on ad revenue and even are in a partnership with companies against which the readers may have a complaint.
HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF
It’s not only your money but the success or failure of your books that’s at stake, so as usual my advice is do your own research.
Check what people are writing on the web—yes, there are always a few disgruntled souls not matter what, but if the number of complaints is large then there’s a reason.
Get in touch with authors who have used the company's services—not just the ones they may suggest you contact. Ask what their experience was like and if they’ve found it profitable and satisfying to deal with the company in question.
Finally, before you sign up with a self-publishing company for large sums--ranging form $999 to $2999 in the case of Abbott--educate yourself about the alternatives. The veteran expert in this is Dan Poynter—Google him and you’ll find a lot of free material that will clue you in.
A little effort before you sign on the dotted line can save you a lot of time, trouble, and money.
And let's all keep our eyes open for what happens with that million dollar fund.
(For friendly support for taking your book all the way from idea through to publication, get my book, "Your Writing Coach," from Amazon or you other favorite book seller.)
