Xlibris is an American company that was founded in 1997. They publish hardcover, trade paperback, and multiple e-book formats.
The company was purchased by Author Solutions in 2009, and expanded into the United Kingdom and Australia. Their business model has drawn criticism from authors who have not been paid royalties.
Xlibris Publishing
Xlibris is a self-publishing and on-demand printing company based in Bloomington, Indiana. It was founded in 1997 and named after a Latin term, ex libris, which means from the library of. It was acquired by Author Solutions Inc in 2009 and expanded into the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand markets.
The company also offers services for pre-publishing, publishing, and marketing books. These services include a paper to eBook conversion, image manipulation, and cover design. These services can help authors publish their manuscripts quickly and easily.
Another advantage of Xlibris is its 100% Royalty Program, which gives authors the power to set a competitive retail price and reap all the benefits that come with it. It also helps them to increase their chances of selling their book, which is essential in today’s market.
In addition, Xlibris’s support staff is available for writers and publishers who are struggling to write and publish their work. They can provide assistance with formatting, editing, and marketing, and they offer a free online tutorial on self-publishing.
Xlibris’s website is very informative and well-organized, making it easy for authors to learn about its services. It includes an extensive bookstore, which showcases different books by different authors. It also offers a search button and an advanced search option for readers who are looking for a specific title.
Its Author Center is an online resource that allows authors to track their sales and receive royalties. It also includes an author blog and an author forum, and it allows readers to leave feedback on their books.
Unfortunately, many Xlibris-published authors have complained about not receiving their royalty payments from the company. Some have claimed that they were told that their books were being sold by other distributors, but Xlibris did not pay them any money for the sale. Others have described cases where their books were sold to a bookstore as used, and Xlibris did not pay them for the sale.
Some disgruntled Xlibris authors have filed class-action suits against the company, and these suits are still being considered by courts. These lawsuits allege that Xlibris breached its contracts and that they illegally owed authors money.
Xlibris Bookstore
Xlibris offers an online Bookstore that features New Releases, Featured Books, Trending Books, and Palibrio Books. The Bookstore also provides an Advanced Search button for a more detailed look at the titles available. You can also input the author’s name to access more options.
If you want to promote your book, Xlibris can help you reach out to the public through its publicity marketing services. This will increase your chances of gaining exposure and a greater audience. It also ensures that the media knows about your book, which is essential for a successful launch.
The company offers several publishing packages that include everything you need to turn your manuscript into a book. Among them is the Basic plan that costs $999, which includes services such as a professional editor, cover images, interior and cover templates, and a hardback copy option. The Premium plan is $4499 and offers more services, including a starter website service.
Specialty Publishing Packages offer a range of services that are tailored to your unique needs and genre. These include full-color publishing for children’s books, cookbooks, family photo albums, and corporate materials. The company also offers special editions, such as a coffee table book and a calendar.
Xlibris also has a Retail Focus program that helps authors gain exposure to independent bookstores across the country. This program features a strategic combination of print ads on two publications well-known to bookstores and a targeted pitch to bookstores to encourage them to stock a test copy of your book.
However, it’s important to note that Xlibris does not have control over whether a bookstore will order and stock your book. This means that it will not guarantee that your book will sell well in any particular store.
One way to check if your book is selling is to use the sales report from your Author Center. Here, you can see how many copies of your book have been sold through Xlibris and other distributors.
Xlibris also has a royalty report that will show you how much money is owed to you after each sale. This is the information that you need to submit quarterly so that Xlibris can make payments to you. Unfortunately, there are delays in getting these reports to Xlibris, which can lead to payment delays as well.
Xlibris Author Center
The Xlibris Author Center is an online publishing site that provides a number of services for authors. It offers editorial and marketing support for books of all genres, and it also features an Author Store for promoting and selling your work.
The main purpose of the Xlibris Author Center is to help authors make the most of their self-publishing experience. This includes offering superior publishing, editing and marketing services as well as a free publishing guide.
Xlibris was founded by authors for authors, and its guiding principle is that authors should have control over their work from the beginning. Since 1997, Xlibris has helped hundreds of authors each month publish their books in the way they want.
One of the first steps in the publishing process is to create an attractive book cover. Xlibris offers a variety of cover options, including flat covers and folded covers. These can be personalized to your book's theme and style.
You may also add a custom photo or illustration to your book cover to provide an even more professional look. Adding these images can be an easy and affordable way to make your book stand out from the competition.
All images for your book should be submitted in TIFF or JPEG file formats, in CMYK color mode, with a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Xlibris will print all graphics in black and white or full-color depending on the type of publishing package you select.
Xlibris can also create cover designs for your book, including a book jacket or a slipcase. These cover design options can be customized to your unique needs and are a great way to promote your book.
In addition to cover designs, Xlibris can also create interior color illustrations or layouts for your book. These can be useful for attracting more readers and improving the overall design of your book.
The Xlibris Author Center allows authors to track the sales of their books in real time, and it provides access to their royalty reports. In addition, the Author Center provides an Advanced Search button that allows for different search mechanisms by author, title, ISBN/SKU, genre and print type.
Xlibris Pricing
Xlibris offers a range of publishing and marketing packages, including the Basic plan at $999. The plan includes cover design, editing, copywriting, eBook formatting and distribution, as well as a starter website service. The Premium plan is $4499 and adds more paperback copies, a marketing website service, and Xlibris Bookshop access.
In addition to Xlibris' publishing and marketing services, the company also offers a Set Your Own Price option, which allows you to control the retail price of your book while setting a dollar amount for royalties. However, this is one of the more expensive self-publishing programs, and it may not be the right option for you.
The company's customer support is available via email, and most of the reviews on Trustpilot are positive. There are also a few negative reviews, but they're generally from people who were misled into signing up with Xlibris' services.
Some customers who used Xlibris's services have complained that they were not paid for their books. While the company does claim to pay its authors for the sales they make through distributors, some authors have been unpaid by Xlibris for years. The reason for this is because many of these distributors employ virtual stock, which means they're not actually selling the books they're displaying on their Xlibris Author Center.
Moreover, some of these distributors sell to retailers who are not Xlibris members. This can lead to delays in your payment, as Xlibris does not yet have a direct relationship with the retailer.
If you do decide to use Xlibris's distribution services, be aware that the company keeps 50% of the retail price on ebooks and as much as 90% when sold through distributors. You can check how much you should receive in royalties by using the PDF report in your Xlibris Author Center.
Xlibris’s prices are significantly higher than many of their competitors, and they also have more complicated pricing schemes than their competitors. This can be a problem if you're looking to self-publish multiple books. This is especially true if you want to sell your books through both wholesale and retail distributors.