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Xlibris Publishing

Xlibris Publishing review: Scam 105

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9:48 pm EST
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Quite simply, Xlibris is a fraudulent, dishonest and incompetent, disaster zone. Xlibris is nothing more than a quick-buck scam printer, posing as a "print-on-demand publisher", and it has one of the highest complaints percentages for a small business of it's type - with numerous civil legal proceedings for fraud and libel - including one major one that is currently in the Indiana courts and when the judgement is made public in Spring 2011, will likely make the Rebecca Brandewyne/Authorhouse saga look like a walk in the park. (Word is they're going to need to remortgage a few houses to cover the damages on this latest libel case) Xlibris was started in the late 1990s in a parents' basement, and was previously run out of a garage/home office in Philadelphia, but in the last year moved to the Author Solutions call-center with partner frauds, AuthorHouse (which has a long legal history - just Google "Authorhouse Scam" to find out) and Searchforpublishers.com - the quintessential Author trap. As of December 2010, Xlibris owes huge back taxes to the IRS and is currently carrying huge liabilities that Mr Princeton CEO Kevin Weiss has strategized to rescue with disturbingly dubious "publish 2 for 1" / "publish for a buck" coupon deals which any writer, however good or bad, should stay well clear. Their book production is dog[censored] like their customer service. Piers Anthony, one of the website's English owners, one of the swarming flies who still fronts this scam, is a failed British "published author" and part time con-man who lives in Florida, and has a few skeletons of his own - including a 20-year old criminal record in the UK for serious sexual misconduct, fraud and theft. Yes, Random House does still own a percentage - but let's be clear folks, Random House has a sleeping stake much the same way that Microsoft partially owns the adult services site, Ingenio/Niteflirt and don't they keep that very quiet. RH makes VERY CLEAR that Xlibris books have nothing to do with RH. The Xlibris website contains inept, vague material which is more confusing than helpful, and makes wild inconsistent boasts about how the company has "600 staff" on one page, yet, on another page mysteriously has "300 employees". The company actually has 3 full time employees, (including Mr Ivy League Kevin Weiss), and at any one time up to 10 part time workers, most of whom are part-time college students who know virtually nothing about publishing except high school english and how to make a greasy $10/hour. The problems with printing at Xlibris are as long as Authorhouse's scam history, they are a disgusting company and I'm sorry they ever crossed paths with my work.

105 comments
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Maytia Hernandez
Miami, US
Jul 31, 2011 9:51 pm EDT

Where were you when I researched publishing companies and ended up publishing with Xlibris in 2009? After more than a couple thousand dollars, the book still has not taken off the ground. Now I have the sequel to the book, plus a children's book to publish and doubts as where I can turn to. Great, more stress! Nevertheless, I really thank you for you honest warning.

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H.E. Busby
Edison, US
Jul 20, 2011 6:55 pm EDT

I am so happy that I finally decided to do research into Xlibris, before handing over my work, and my money. I am nearing completion of my first novel, and decided to, begin the research into publishing. I thought something strange when I inquired, only to have an agent, constantly hard sell me. Self publishing is an interesting way to go, in that I know writers, who have benefitted from it. Now to find the right company, because now from the information gained through research of Xlibris, it will not be them. Thank you all for your warnings.

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JeffreyM121
, CA
Jul 02, 2011 4:46 am EDT

From what I've read about xlibris, their deal is, "Okay you get a better deal financially than you would with a normal publisher, but we put all of the annoying leg work on you to market this book and make it successful." The chances of any author managing to do this successfully, with large scale production and distribution in mind, is slim to none, seeing as it is POD. They hype self-publishing by citing famous authors, but this has to be taken with a grain of salt, because firstly you aren't a famous author with large publishers begging you to write another book, and I'm doubtful that self-publishing made those authors famous or wealthy at any point.

Amateur authors may not like it, but your chances are better with a regular mainstream publisher, because they at least have a vested interest in making your work a success if they feel it has potential with whatever markets the subject matter touches upon. Xlibris however makes money off of YOU, whether you succeed or fail. So xlibris markets themselves as THE publisher for ambitious amateur authors, but in effect and conclusion they harvest lots of money from people who would have otherwise been rejected by a major publisher (which is free of cost). I would rather be told I suck by professionals who have a vested interest a book's success than be told it doesn't matter by people who have a vested interest in my putting money in their pocket regardless.

Here are a few snippets from Xlibris' website, demonizing major publishers.

"A book is a reflection of the author. Self-publishing gives you complete control on the direction of your book. The decisions are exclusively yours and not limited by third parties with intentions and interests different from your own." -Xlibris

"As a self-publisher, you own all rights to your book. If you use a traditional publishing house, they will own all rights. If they lose interest in your book, you will not be able to print additional copies unless you purchase those rights back." -Xlibris

Another interesting gem taken from Xlibris...

"Each of us has a unique life story to tell, complete with ordinary incidents, moments of brilliance, tragedy and humor. Your book is an expression of yourself and a great legacy to leave behind."

Wow I feel warm and fuzzy now that I've read that essentially meaningless drivel.

If you're STILL not convinced, look at it this way.

You'll be paid by a publishing company for your work if they like it, and you'll have a better chance at success than trying to broker deals with major business entities by yourself ("Hi I'm Joe from Wisconsin, I'd like to have a meeting to convince you why you should sell my self-published book!" "Lolno thats okay thxbye").

OR

You can pay Xlibris INSTEAD while they sit back and do much less work than a traditional publishing house would do on your behalf. Hmm.

Their main selling point is that you will retain all rights to your work, but that is nothing more than bait which puts the idea into your head that selling your work IS BAD. Don't fall for it. As an amateur author you can't expect to hammer out a deal with a publishing house that is exceptionally in your favour, but that is to be expected, and if your work is successful then you'll have more leverage when dealing with them in the future. You're the one going to them, not the other way around, and they'll be taking a financial risk by investing in your work.

Moral of the story; if you suck, you suck, and don't let Xlibris tell you otherwise.

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Brainsie
, ZA
Jun 24, 2011 9:00 am EDT

Do not give them credit card details over the phone. It is something I would never normally do but they told me that it was the only way that the could process payment. Reluctantly I did so and then found that, in addition to the book publishing fee, they had used my credit card to transfer money to a personal account. My bank reversed it but there are people at Xlibris who are thives. If they want to sue me for this remark, I would be delighted to meet them in court with my evidence. DO NOT GIVE CREDIR CARD DETAILS

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Gary Wayne Thomas
Santa Rosa, US
Jun 07, 2011 5:24 pm EDT

Recently, I had my first book, REDEMPTION, published by xlibris. I would not recommend this company's "services" to any writer. It became obvious to me (after they had my money) that the staff knows less than nothing about the art of writing and even less about the English language. The twenty-four phone calls that occurred between me and company representatives during the publishing process were torturous exercises in excruciating futility. I could not understand what they were saying as they fumbled about with both my language and the script from which they were reading. If I had a dollar for each time I had to say, "I'm sorry, I didn't understand what you said", I would now have back the money that I naively handed over to them. Whenever I tried to explain my work conceptually or attempted to express my desires for my book's appearance, I received a "That's great." from my representative, and the whole time I was thinking that it was not great because you do not have a clue about what I just said. I thought I was going to develop a working relationship with a company that cares about artists and their works, but am sadly disappointed. I guess I should have known better than to try to mix art with capitalism. I don't have a recommendation for fellow writers about how to pursue your dreams, professionally. I can only definitively tell you not to waste your hard-earned money on xlibris. However, I'm not going to give up on my dream and you shouldn't either. Keep exercising your craft. Write something every day even if you don't think it's any good. Express how you feel and at the end of the day I promise it will make you feel better. There has to be someone out there who still cares about art - even in America. Write on.
Gary Wayne Thomas - Santa Rosa, California

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DisplayNameAlreadyTaken
Surbiton, GB
Apr 26, 2011 2:19 pm EDT

I was so proud when Xlibris published my first book, and it all seemed fine, so I proceeded to get my second book published. Unfortunately, I have not heard anything about royalties, I've been waiting almost four months for my author copies, and I have also noticed you cannot use their 'contact us' section on the website since as soon as you try sending anything you receive an email saying that your message cannot be delivered. I would not recommend these publishers in the slightest.

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missdivasweet
Bronx, US
Mar 20, 2011 3:00 am EDT
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I am a new writer and right now i'm working on getting my book published and xlibris was the company that i was going for. i havn spoken to a lady named Karen Tiller who's suppose to be my publishing consultant and i'm looking for aome advice on who i could turn to for self-publishing my book. Can anybody help direct me in the right path. i refuse to get scammed.

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sylva
England, GB
Feb 13, 2017 1:11 pm EST

I never met such a twisted group at Xlibris
what a good luck I had with all the groups ...
after publishing 11 poetry books with them ...
I became in contact with the 12th group
That was my bad luck ...
They don't care for their customers,
They throw their opinion away ...
Bad luck for Xlibris
I have few paintings in my book ...
and there is law if the painter died 70- years ago
no need for permission...

I asked one question
I said, why the other group at Xlibris accepted to publish Gorky's painting in my book?
and they have refused to answer...Till now no answer ...?
They are isolated group no contacts with each other ...
This is what I understood ...
and I'm correct and their base is not U.K.
They are cheating their customers ...
They don't have any lawyers to speak with them...
Just wasting our time ...
"Who cheat others ...Thee cheats himself ...not others."
They make excuses not to publish my book...
And I tried many sites but no one helps you there ...
Sylva Portoian, MD

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Magics
St Petersburg, US
Jan 06, 2011 12:50 am EST

I thank you for this information it is very good and as I am getting ready this year to have my book published this is a great site to come to and check things out. I am sorry you had to go through all that at an exciting time in a writers life and then to deal with this is unacceptable