Writer Beware
I'm glad to see that Susan Driscoll, who was given an oleaginous interview by blogger Poddy Mouth when Driscoll became iUniverse’s CEO, is now taking her lead from PublishAmerica. Almost a year ago today, PublishAmerica CEO Willem Meiners’s How To Upset a Goliath Book Biz: PublishAmerica: The Inside Story of an Underdog with a Bite was published. That book was a laughable attempt to counteract the bad publicity PublishAmerica had been getting in a series of stories in major periodicals such as the Washington Post.
Now Driscoll, together with Diane Gedymin, editorial director of iUniverse, have published a book extolling the virtues of using iUniverse. Despite the title, their book is not a guide to getting published through a reputable trade publisher. For $9.95, you get a sales tool promoting iUniverse put between covers. You lucky dog! You can get whatever this book contains on the iUniverse web site for free.
I'm betting that Driscoll and Gedymin will sell more than a few copies of their book thanks its generic title, which will show up in Google searches ("how can I get published?"), as well as the intentionally vague bullet points on the book's Amazon product page, which only once mention that this is a guide to using iUniverse without also mentioning that iUniverse is a subsidy publisher.
Now Driscoll, together with Diane Gedymin, editorial director of iUniverse, have published a book extolling the virtues of using iUniverse. Despite the title, their book is not a guide to getting published through a reputable trade publisher. For $9.95, you get a sales tool promoting iUniverse put between covers. You lucky dog! You can get whatever this book contains on the iUniverse web site for free.
I'm betting that Driscoll and Gedymin will sell more than a few copies of their book thanks its generic title, which will show up in Google searches ("how can I get published?"), as well as the intentionally vague bullet points on the book's Amazon product page, which only once mention that this is a guide to using iUniverse without also mentioning that iUniverse is a subsidy publisher.
posted by Peter L. Winkler | 12:07 AM
2 Comments:
I don't have any particular bones to pick with iUniverse, but do find it a bit shameless that they market their wares like this. They get plenty of business from folks who come to them well aware that it's a self-publishing outfit. They don't need to resort to this kind of silliness.
Right you are. iUniverse and Lulu are minting money, particularly iUniverse with its high setup fees and all the phony extras they lure some writers into purchasing.
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