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iUniverse
iUniverse is partially owned by Barnes and Noble. This is a strength in that the
company is certainly well-funded. Anyone who can lose over 9 million dollars and
still be in business must be doing something right. iUniverse is big and people
know it.
But you may not know that even though these people have access to a huge chain
of book stores, when you sign on with them you become just another writer lost
in the system. And worse: Barnes & Noble does not generally stock books published by iUniverse. They work with a non-exclusive
contract, which is good for writers. However, while they allow you to terminate
your contract at any time, there is a clause in there that gives them the right
to include your work (or part of it) in a compilation. They do not specify what
would happen to such a compilation if you terminate your contract. They also
reserve the right to keep on distributing your book for up to a year if the
contract is terminated at the author's request, something that effectively
closes the door to a deal with a traditional publisher.
In addition, royalties are based on net and
are very low--a meager 20% of net with a 20% discount to bookstores, or 10% of
net with a 40% discount. They do, however, edit your back cover copy for an
additional fee on the Premier Package ($799) or as part of the Premier Plus
Package ($1099).
In Summary:
On the plus side:
-Competitively priced.
-Non-exclusive contract.
-Edits back cover copy
On the negative side:
-Publishes anything.
-Low royalties (10% - 20% of NET, not list).
-Low author discounts.
-Little flexibility.
CC
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