iUniverse

iUniverse
Parent companyAuthor Solutions
Founded1999
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationBloomington, Indiana
Publication typesBooks
ImprintsWriters Club Press
Official websiteiuniverse.com

iUniverse, founded in October 1999, is an American self-publishing company based in Bloomington, Indiana.[1] It has been owned by Author Solutions since 2008 (which has been owned by Najafi Companies since 2015).

History

iUniverse focuses on print-on-demand self-publishing and a service the company refers to as "assisted self-publishing" which critics say is indicative of vanity press[2][3] since authors are asked to pay from US$400[4] to $15,000 for additional services.[5] Soon after they were founded, Barnes & Noble purchased a 49% stake in the company. As part of the agreement, Barnes & Noble offered select iUniverse titles both in their online bookstore and at their physical stores.[6]

In 2004, Amy Fisher's memoir, If I Knew Then, about serving seven years in prison on first-degree aggravated assault charges for shooting Mary Jo Buttafuoco, became the best-selling book in iUniverse's history, selling more than 32,000 copies up to 2004.[7] According to a 2005 Publishers Weekly article, out of the more than 18,000 titles published by iUniverse until 2004, only 83 had sold at least 500 copies and only 14 titles had been sold through physical Barnes & Noble stores.[7]

In September 2007, iUniverse was purchased by Author Solutions, the parent company of hedge fund-owned rival AuthorHouse.[8] In 2008, iUniverse operations moved from Lincoln, Nebraska to Bloomington, Indiana where Author Solution's headquarters are located.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Kevin Abourezk, "iUniverse to move to Indiana"Lincoln Journal Star, January 22, 2008
  2. ^ Shey, Brittanie (October 12, 2011), Oprah of the Piney Woods, retrieved November 30, 2016
  3. ^ Coker, Mark (January 7, 2015), "2014 Book Publishing Industry Predictions — Increased Competition Between Traditional Publishers and Indie Authors", Huffington Post, retrieved November 30, 2016
  4. ^ Sarkar, Samita (2016), "On Vanity Presses, True Self-Publishing, and One Author's Tenacity", Huffington Post, retrieved November 30, 2016
  5. ^ Tugend, Alina (July 29, 2011), "Proliferate, Easing the Bar to Entry", The New York Times, retrieved November 30, 2016
  6. ^ Clampet, Elizabeth (November 2, 1999). "Barnes & Noble Takes Stake in iUniverse". internetnews.com. Retrieved February 22, 2010.
  7. ^ a b "iUniverse by the Numbers". Publishers Weekly. May 16, 2005. Archived from the original on April 12, 2009.
  8. ^ Milliot, Jim (September 9, 2007), "AuthorHouse acquires iUniverse", Publishers Weekly, archived from the original on May 4, 2009
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