A nice lady contacted me wanting to exit Xlibris, and by revisiting the contract I discovered they have a new one. This new contract has more meat on its bones, and it’s not good. An already bad contract has only gotten worse. To view the contract click here.
Things have changed a bit since I have done my time within the Evil Galactic Empire which Xlibris is just one member. The contract that I remember was pretty author friendly except for the one clause about them owning the original production files and will not sell them to you no matter what. That one clause is what made the whole thing dirty-rotten aside from all the non contract related nightmares I experienced.
I guess they figured that “heck, we can be even more mean and hawk even more money,” and added in some more deadfalls in the contract. Let’s take a look, shall we?
The Guarantee is Gone
Xlibris used to have a guarantee on their site if you terminated your contract before signing off on the physical proof you would get a full refund. Now that has gone bye-bye. Now they have come up with to decrease the money refunded as the publishing process progresses. In addition to that they pinch off an ADDITIONAL $150 for some arbitrary fee called a “set up fee” which (which is some of the BS fees Mark Levine says keep a watch for) applies to any refund request. When you get to the galley stage, you’re only getting 25% of your original fees back still minus $150. The point of no return appears to be the same after you sign off on the physical proof. Chances of receiving higher percentages of your money back are slim since the contract must be terminated before interior design starts. This is strategic in that most authors that terminate do so here since they notice the problems (or at least the ones I’ve spoken to that have cancelled out before the point of no return). This really sucks given that the package prices have gone up considerably since my time there, and all are filled with smoke-and-mirrors magic tricks that don’t work or grossly inflated stuff you can do on your own for free or low cost.
Are We Getting Our Production Files Back Now?
In the contract there is a clause that you can purchase your print edition files as PDFs for $150 and $50 for your ebook files. Are we getting original files back? Nope. I had sent a copy of the new contract to my esteemed colleague Mark Levine and statement that mentions “files as pdfs” are NOT the Indesign files which are production files–only a publishing professional would know information like that–no new author would. Noticed the statement seems to be worded a little funky? It’s that way for a reason–to be misleading. So you are paying for something you think you’re getting which you are not. The interior is practically useless unless you hired your own editor; if you used Xlibris’ editors your work is probably an editorial train wreck. If you like your cover, maybe you can use it.
The ebook files aren’t a good buy either since chances are they have formatting problems. AS companies including Xlibris are known to have the worst ebook conversion. Chances are you’ll have to have it reformatted.
So they are gouging you for ANOTHER $200, and all the while they still own the stuff you bought. There isn’t much left after they get through. An already bad situation just got worse, and they are still trapping authors by the scores with their “once in a lifetime” deals. Unless people have the lifespan of mosquitoes, this isn’t true. They always have some kind of a deal and they hand them out like candy. It’s candy with a cyanide center. It’s a once in a lifetime miserable experience.
If they come knocking, run the other way!
I know XLibris all too well; and based on my sad experience with that company, I have no doubt that what AK says here is completely factual. This is one of those companies you should run away from just as fast as your little feets will carry you.
Thanks Gary! There are thousands of more stories of woe like ours and probably more to come 🙁
I have a deep and special loathing for predators who feed on creatives.
Yes, Ian, and I am developing mine. As we should!
XXXXXXleeeb appears to be a ruse. Thinking I was dealing with Philadelphia or Indiana, the fact is that the whole operation has been packed up and is in the Filipines. So there is a cultural gap and the language gap to deal with—I hated my experience with them. I had a conunundrum problem and called the Presiden’s office—reply: the President doesn’t speak to authors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stay away from Xlib—from my experience, they suck bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And always hyping you for $1500 marketing packages. They suck!!!!!!
Try Lightning Source Press—in Tennessee—the real deal.
Yes the CEO Kevin Weiss doesn’t speak to authors for the reason he is ripping them off. Yes those expensive packages don’t work–$1500 is one of their middle of the road. They have some that are so exorbitant that they cost as much as a house. Lightning Source is one good place to go but they are just a printer and distributor, not a publisher. You must have print ready files to hand in before you can use them. Xlibris uses Lightning Source as their printer but marks up the printing cost at 150+%, so that’s another way they make money off unsuspecting authors. BE, you experience is just scratching the surface, and I hope things are better for you!
My father quit rather than continue to pay when he signed it had the money back guarentee. They told him he would get his money but it would be a long slow process. They refused to give it to him anyway except by check to his home address, refusing to send it to a Post Office box. That was a year ago. He never got it. They blocked his phone number and mine from their office. They only say “oh what did you do with the check did you lose it?” “Oh well we will look into it.” They kept Nearly $4000 for nothing and they always intended to. I knew they would never give him the refund I knew they are theives pure and simple. I wanted him to not pay the next payment because he was paying them $1789 a month for a book that had not been produced and they were emailing him and ringing him daily asking him for more money for this and more money for that.
Yep! That is exactly the way it is with this company and other ASI companies. Thanks for sharing!
Xlibris are a bunch of bandits! I had such a horrible experience with them! DON’T USE THEM…YOU WILL BE SORRY!
Ditto! 🙂
I’ve had the worst experience of my life with these people. Please, has anyone been able to cancel their contract AFTER their books were published in unsalable condition? I’m 80 year old in Utah and they took my life savings…and two books.
Hi Peggy,
Yes you can terminate your contract with Xlibris after the completion of the book. You won’t get your money back, and getting your book into salable condition can be a bear, and it depends on a lot of factors. I will contact you soon.
At least I know I’m not alone now.
I went with them in 2010 to pub my poetry. I only wanted to have a printed book with my name on it, filled with my words. They have it priced at $15 for soft cover, and $25 for hard cover. It’s a good thing I didn’t really expect any to sell, though I did get money (mostly from family) for most of the Authors copies.
Now, I want to get it from them, have it edited, maybe add a couple more. I can upload it to Amazon or CreateSpace and price it near a dollar, maybe give some away just to increase my numbers.
So, my question is; Will this new contract interfere with me getting my book off of their site? I don’t care if they send me any files, I can reproduce all the poems. I just don’t want to hear from them anymore.
Thanks in advance!
— John
http://www.johntmherres.com
Hi John,
This new contract shouldn’t mess you up with you republishing the book–they just are trying to get more out of people who want their files. Anyway, before you do anything, terminate your contract with them in writing via certified letter and keep yourself a copy. In a few days they will send a form email, but go to the Xlibris Bookstore to make sure the book is removed.
If you have a word doc of the original book, that’s all you need for editing and republishing the interior. You will need a new cover. You can use the paid services through CreateSpace or you can hire a formatter to format the book and upload to the CS free platform. The file for the Kindle will have to be formatted differently since print books and ebooks don’t behave the same way.
As for pricing, you can price the kindle book at 99 cents at launch and then go to $1.99 after a couple weeks. Use the 99 cent price point for deals and discounts. You can’t price the print at a dollar since you will lose money. The print cost will depend on the length of the book, but you can still strategically price the book to where you won’t lose money but the reader still gets it at a good price.
Hope that helps!
I have a lady from the Philippines, apparently a rep of Xlibris, calling me every day or every 2 days. She doesn’t listen to me and only tries to hard-sell different packages. Every time she calls me, even though she is clearly abroad, her number appears as a local Thai mobile phone number, and the number changes with every call. I asked the mobile phone service provider about this, and they said that I should beware and if I wish, inform the Police. I don’t answer her calls or emails anymore.
I have done Google searches about Xlibris and Author Solutions together with the words “rip-off”, “fraud”, and “scam”, and it is shocking how many websites appear.
Hi Artemis,
Yes, that is exactly what they do to a T. The whole thing about them appearing as a local number in Thailand is interesting since I live in the US. Their number appears as a number from Indiana when clearly they are from the Philippines. Not to reflect badly on any Filipinos, but this company is a scam to be sure!
Can you terminate the contract before the book is published, but it is really close?