My nightmare began in 2009, when I decided to self-publish my first book. I went online and found what I thought was a new self-publishing company that offered everything an eager new writer such as myself wanted. I hate to even mention the name Xlibris. Just saying the name gives me a physical reaction in the pit of my stomach. I chose their Premium Package, which at the time was approximately $4000, and offered everything from editing to marketing the book. I was later told this package included basic word editing and if I wanted a more in-depth proofreading and editing that I needed to pay an additional $1500. I agreed to pay for the upgrade because I wanted my book to look professional as possible. I felt so good when I received an email from them saying they loved my story and told me that my writing style was called Flash Fiction. I had no clue what Flash Fiction was but as a new author I felt empowered that my writing had a name. I was praised all along the way to include the books cover choice. We exchanged several emails with regards to the interior of the book and the back of the book blurb and authors information. I approved the final revision of the interior and exterior layouts and I couldn’t wait to receive the first copy of my book. I was overjoyed when I received the postcards, bookmarks, business cards, and posters as promised with the Premium Package. Once I received the first copy of my book which was now for sale on Amazon, Borders Book Store and Barnes and Noble Bookstore websites, I noticed a few misspelled words and missing punctuation on the back of the book. I began to scan through the interior of the book and found several other misspelled word and missing punctuation. All these issues were corrected on the final revisions that I approved however, Xlibris published one of the many prior revisions of the book. I was hopeful that this was an honest mistake and Xlibris would own their mistake and make right a wrong. Boy was I wrong. Not only did they not attempt to correct their mistake, they told me it was my fault and if I wanted them to correct the problem, I would have to pay an additional $1500. I refused to pay for their mistake and now my name is attached to this body of work that I am totally ashamed of. I decided I would file a claim with the Better Business Bureau and that is when I learned that Xlibris is known for doing shady business like this. Several other authors wrote about the identical experience I had with Xlibris. I also learned that they were not a new self-publishing company. They are a subsidiary of Author Solutions Inc. and have been around for years taking advantage of eager new self-publishing authors doing business under different names. I wanted to see if anything I purchased in that Premium Package was worth the cost and just as I thought I was hoodwinked and bamboozled. The press release they created and supposedly sent out to a list of major book distributor in which they supplied me with a copy, were mostly of number that were no longer in service or a fax number that was linked back to them. My advice to new self-publishing authors would be to do your research because all that glitters ain’t gold.
I must be grateful for that horrible experience for me to recognize that working with the team from 1106 Design has been the self-publishing experience that I hoped for all those years ago. They have made me feel like a prize-winning author and they are not just selling packages. I believe the staff at 1106 Design, take pride in their work and would not want their name attached to anything other than great work. I am finally excited to have my name attached to something that I can be proud of.
