Author Solutions is the Indiana company behind AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford and a long list of partner imprints. It sells paid publishing packages, from about $999 to $10,999 in the US, and pays most authors a 10% royalty on retail print sales.
It is a real company that produces real books. It suits you if you want a printed book with little effort and treat the fee as a cost, not an investment. If you want the book to earn money, publishing it yourself costs far less and pays far more per copy.
In this Author Solutions review, you’ll learn:
- Every imprint Author Solutions runs, including the ones that carry a big publisher’s name
- What the 2013 and 2015 class actions alleged, and how they actually ended
- What the Cebu, Philippines operation is, and what Author Solutions UK reviews show
- Where Author Solutions genuinely beats Chapter, and who should walk away
Here is the full assessment.
What Is Author Solutions?
Author Solutions — a supported self-publishing company that sells design, printing, distribution and marketing packages to authors who pay up front, under more than a dozen brand names.
It started as AuthorHouse. According to Wikipedia’s AuthorHouse entry, AuthorHouse launched in Bloomington, Indiana, in January 1997 as 1stBooks. Bertram Capital bought it in 2007, created Author Solutions, and acquired iUniverse the same year.
Author Solutions then bought Xlibris and Trafford in 2009. Its own company site now claims more than 260,000 authors and 370,000 titles. We could not verify those figures independently.
It is not a traditional publisher. It pays no advance and does not select books it expects to sell. Its revenue comes from the packages and add-ons you buy. Our explainer on hybrid publishers vs vanity presses covers why that distinction matters.
Who Owns Author Solutions in 2026?
Author Solutions is owned by Center Street Ventures, a private investment firm in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. It bought the company from the Najafi Companies in March 2025, according to a March 7, 2025 press release. Deal terms were not disclosed.
The ownership has changed four times since 2007:
| Year | Owner | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Bertram Capital | Created Author Solutions from AuthorHouse, added iUniverse |
| 2012 | Pearson (Penguin) | Bought it for $116 million, per Publishers Weekly |
| 2015 | Najafi Companies | Penguin Random House sold it; the deal closed December 31, 2015 |
| 2025 | Center Street Ventures | Bought from Najafi in March 2025 |
The company site now describes itself as “under family ownership.” We found no public statement naming the people behind Center Street Ventures, so treat that as unverified.
Which Imprints Does Author Solutions Run?
Author Solutions runs four core imprints: AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse and Trafford. It also operates partner imprints that carry a traditional publisher’s name, plus regional and Spanish-language brands.
The Better Business Bureau profile for Author Solutions, LLC lists these as alternate business names. We checked each partner site’s footer on November 2, 2026.
| Imprint | Type | What the site says |
|---|---|---|
| AuthorHouse | Core | Founded 1997; US and UK sites |
| Xlibris | Core | Signed through “Get Publishing! LLC,” an Author Solutions subsidiary |
| iUniverse | Core | Acquired 2007 |
| Trafford | Core | Claims 17,000 writers since 1995 |
| Archway Publishing | Partner | ”Operated by Author Solutions” with Simon & Schuster |
| WestBow Press | Partner | ”A self-publishing alliance of HarperCollins Christian Publishing” and Author Solutions |
| Balboa Press | Partner | ”A Division of Hay House,” with US, UK and Australia sites |
| LifeRich Publishing | Partner | ”An imprint of Reader’s Digest” |
| Palibrio | Regional | Spanish-language publishing |
| Partridge (Africa, India, Singapore) | Regional | Listed on the BBB profile |
| Abbott Press, Inspiring Voices, Booktango | Older brands | Listed on the BBB profile |
The partner name matters less than you might think. WestBow, Archway and Balboa say strong sellers may be passed to the partner’s acquisition team. The packages, contracts and sales calls come from Author Solutions.
For imprint-level detail, read our AuthorHouse review, our Xlibris review, and the legitimacy checks for AuthorHouse and Xlibris.
How Much Does Author Solutions Charge?
Author Solutions packages cost about $999 to $10,999 in the US, depending on the imprint and tier. Each imprint sets its own plans, and marketing, publicity and extra editing are sold on top.
These are the published prices we checked on November 2, 2026:
| Imprint | Plans | Price range |
|---|---|---|
| Xlibris (US) | Spark to Expert | $999 to $10,999 |
| AuthorHouse (US) | Essentials, Balance, Momentum | $1,499 to $7,589 |
| AuthorHouse UK | Essentials, Balance, Momentum | ÂŁ695 to ÂŁ4,695 |
We could not load current published plans for iUniverse, Trafford, Archway, WestBow or Balboa, so we have left those out rather than guess. Ask for a written quote and the full author agreement before you pay.
What royalty do Author Solutions imprints pay?
The core imprints pay 10% of the retail price on print books sold through retailers such as Amazon, and 25% through their own bookstores. The Xlibris author agreement pays 50% of net on ebooks.
Compare that with publishing directly. Amazon KDP pays 60% of list price minus printing on paperbacks priced $9.99 and up. On a $15 paperback, that is about $4.00 per copy against roughly $1.50 at 10%.
At $1.50 to $2.00 per retail copy, a $999 plan needs around 500 sales to break even. A $7,589 plan needs several thousand. Our guide to how book royalties work shows typical rates by format.
What Did the Author Solutions Lawsuits Decide?
The Author Solutions lawsuits ended in private settlements, with no finding of wrongdoing. A New York class action was denied class status in 2015 and then discontinued after a settlement. A second, Indiana case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice in September 2015.
Here is the sequence, from the court reporting:
- April 2013: Authors filed a proposed class action against Author Solutions and Penguin Group in the Southern District of New York, seeking more than $5 million, according to Writer Beware.
- The allegations: Heavy upselling of marketing packages, poor-quality production, inaccurate royalty reporting, and charges to fix errors the company introduced. These were allegations, not findings.
- March 2015: A second class action was filed in Indiana, alleging fraud and deceptive practices, and was later consolidated with another case.
- July 1, 2015: Judge Denise Cote denied class certification in the New York case, as Writer Beware reported.
- August 12, 2015: The New York case was discontinued after a private settlement with the final two plaintiffs.
- September 14, 2015: The Indiana case was “voluntarily dismissed, with prejudice,” with each side paying its own costs, per Publishers Weekly.
Both actions settled “without any finding or admission of wrongdoing,” on confidential terms. The fair summary is that the claims were never proven and never disproven in court.
The cases still matter because the depositions became public. Writer Beware later documented markups on Author Solutions marketing services, including a film-coverage service that cost authors $859 while the freelance reader was paid $110.
Is Author Solutions on any watchdog lists?
Yes. Author Solutions appears on the SFWA “Thumbs Down Publisher” list, and the Alliance of Independent Authors keeps a watchdog file on the company. Our checklist of vanity press warning signs explains what those advocates look for.
What Is Author Solutions in Cebu?
Author Solutions Philippines, Inc. is the company’s operation in Cebu City, in the Philippines. Its JobStreet profile lists an office in Cebu I.T. Park and a company size of 1,001 to 5,000 employees.
Job listings for the Cebu office cover customer service, sales consultant, billing and illustration roles. If you have spoken to an Author Solutions “publishing consultant,” there is a good chance the call came from Cebu.
The Cebu operation drew criticism during the lawsuits. Author David Gaughran wrote in 2015 that about 78% of staff worked in Cebu, including sales and marketing. He gave no source for that number, so treat it as unverified.
What do Author Solutions Cebu reviews say?
Author Solutions Cebu reviews are mostly employee reviews, not author reviews. On JobStreet, the Philippines company holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating from 44 reviews as of November 2, 2026. The reviews come from agents, billing staff and illustrators.
Those numbers tell you about the workplace, not about what you get as an author. For author experience, look at the imprint reviews below.
What Do Author Solutions UK Reviews Show?
Author Solutions operates in the UK mainly through AuthorHouse UK, which has sold packages there since opening a Milton Keynes office in May 2004. Balboa Press also runs a UK site. The current AuthorHouse UK plans run from ÂŁ695 to ÂŁ4,695.
The AuthorHouse UK site lists a London phone number and a “©2026 Copyright AuthorHouse UK” footer, but no UK street address. We found no Companies House record for a UK entity under the Author Solutions name, so the UK contracting party is something to confirm in writing before you sign.
Is Authors Solution UK the same company?
No evidence links them. “Authors Solution UK” at authorssolution.co.uk is a separately branded publishing service with a Glasgow address. Its Trustpilot page shows about 141 reviews and makes no mention of Author Solutions LLC or AuthorHouse.
That near-identical name confuses a lot of UK searches. Check the exact web address before you read reviews or pay anyone.
What Author Solutions Does Well
Author Solutions delivers a finished, printed, listed book without asking you to learn any publishing software. For an author who will never open a KDP dashboard, that has real value.
The core prices are public. Xlibris and AuthorHouse list every plan online in the US, and AuthorHouse lists UK prices in pounds. Many paid publishers quote only after a sales call.
The contracts are downloadable. The Xlibris author agreement is a free PDF. It confirms you keep the copyright and can terminate at any time with written notice.
The BBB record is strong. The shared profile holds an A+ rating, accredited since 2010, with 70 complaints in three years across more than 20 brand names. That is a modest count for a company of this size.
Some imprints get good reviews. AuthorHouse holds a 3.6 TrustScore on Trustpilot, with 44% five-star reviews praising polite staff and print quality, as we found when reviewing AuthorHouse.
What Author Solutions Does Not Do Well
The core problem is price against return. You pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for services you can buy for much less, and a 10% print royalty makes the fee very hard to earn back.
The upselling is the most consistent complaint. It appears in the 2013 lawsuit, in Trustpilot reviews of AuthorHouse and Xlibris, and in Writer Beware’s reporting. Expect calls offering publicity, advertising and film packages after you sign.
Review scores vary widely by imprint. Xlibris holds a 2.1 TrustScore on Trustpilot, with complaints about tiny royalties, typos and unanswered emails, as covered in our Xlibris review.
You often do not control your price. On entry plans, the imprint sets the retail price unless you buy an add-on. A high print price can sink a first book.
Impersonators use the brand. AuthorHouse and Xlibris both publish fraud warnings about callers posing as their staff or as film producers. Verify any caller through the official site before paying.
Disputes go to arbitration. The current Xlibris agreement sends claims to binding individual arbitration unless you opt out in writing within 30 days of signing.
Where Author Solutions Beats Chapter
We make Chapter, and Author Solutions does several things Chapter does not do at all. If these are what you need, an Author Solutions imprint offers something we cannot.
It produces physical books. Plans include free paperback copies, and hardback on higher tiers. Chapter produces a manuscript, not printed copies.
It handles print distribution. The imprints list your book with Amazon, other retailers and their own bookstores, with bookstore returnability on higher plans. With Chapter, you upload the finished book yourself.
It designs the cover and interior. A designer builds both from your files, and illustration is available for picture books. Chapter writes text; it does not lay out a print-ready interior or illustrate.
It sells done-for-you packages. Registrations, press releases, author websites and marketing come bundled in one purchase. Chapter offers none of these services.
It gives you a person on the phone. You get a named consultant, and that matters if you are not comfortable with software.
It offers faith and wellness imprints. WestBow and Balboa carry the HarperCollins Christian and Hay House names, which some authors value for a church or coaching audience.
If your manuscript is finished and edited and you only want it printed and listed with no learning curve, Chapter is the wrong tool and these differences are decisive.
Who Should Use Author Solutions
An Author Solutions imprint fits a narrow group of authors well:
- You have a finished, proofread manuscript and no wish to learn KDP or IngramSpark
- You want printed copies for family, a congregation or a local audience, and profit is not the goal
- You want design, illustration and printing under one roof
- You have read the full author agreement, including refunds, pricing control and arbitration
Who Should Not Use Author Solutions
Walk away if any of these describe you:
- You want the book to earn money. A 10% print royalty sets a break-even bar most first books never clear.
- You expect the partner publisher to discover you. WestBow, Archway and Balboa offer consideration, not a contract.
- You dislike sales calls. Upselling is the most persistent theme across a decade of complaints.
- You are on a tight budget. Self-publishing for free on KDP puts the same book on Amazon for nothing, and IngramSpark covers bookstore distribution.
- Your manuscript is not finished. A publishing package does nothing until the book exists.
Comparing paid services? Our reviews of Page Publishing, Dorrance Publishing and Christian Faith Publishing cover similar models. Our best self-publishing platforms roundup lists lower-cost routes.
The Alternative We Built
Author Solutions solves the problem after the book is written. Many authors who price out its packages are stuck one step earlier: the manuscript is not done.
Our Pick — Chapter
Chapter is AI book writing software that takes you from an idea to a complete, structured manuscript in your voice. More than 10,000 authors have used it, and it has been featured in USA Today and the New York Times. You keep 100% of the rights, then publish wherever you choose, including free on Amazon KDP.
Best for: Authors who have not finished their manuscript, or who want to publish without a four-figure fee Pricing: $97 one time, 2 books included (fiction or nonfiction), 30-day money-back guarantee Why we built it: A publishing package is worthless without a finished book, and writing it is where most authors stall.
Chapter has honest limits. There is no free tier or trial, it does not print, design or distribute your book, and you still review and edit what it drafts. Our Chapter review covers what it does and does not do.
The total cost is the difference. Chapter plus free publishing on KDP costs $97, against $999 for the cheapest Xlibris plan. You set your own price, see every sale and keep the full KDP royalty. Our step-by-step guide on how to self-publish a book covers the rest.
If your book is still unwritten, Chapter for nonfiction and Chapter for fiction write the complete manuscript for $97 one time, with no subscription and a 30-day money-back guarantee.
FAQ
Is Author Solutions legit?
Author Solutions is a legitimate company that delivers real printed books, holds an A+ BBB rating, and has operated since 2007. The criticism is about value: high package prices, a 10% print royalty and persistent upselling, which were the subject of lawsuits that settled in 2015.
Who owns Author Solutions now?
Center Street Ventures owns Author Solutions. The Ohio investment firm bought it from the Najafi Companies in March 2025. Najafi had bought it from Penguin Random House at the end of 2015, three years after Pearson paid $116 million for the company in 2012.
What imprints does Author Solutions own?
Author Solutions runs AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse and Trafford as core imprints. It also operates partner imprints including Archway (Simon & Schuster), WestBow Press (HarperCollins Christian), Balboa Press (Hay House) and LifeRich (Reader’s Digest), plus Palibrio and the Partridge brands.
Did Author Solutions lose its class action lawsuit?
No, Author Solutions did not lose its class action. A New York court denied class certification in July 2015, and the case was discontinued after a private settlement. A second Indiana case was voluntarily dismissed with prejudice in September 2015. Neither produced a finding of wrongdoing.
Is AuthorHouse UK part of Author Solutions?
Yes, AuthorHouse UK is an Author Solutions imprint. It has operated in the UK since May 2004 and currently sells plans from £695 to £4,695. “Authors Solution UK,” a similarly named Glasgow service, is a separate brand with no link we could verify.
