Anonymous
Allenton,#2UPDATE Employee
Tue, March 10, 2009
You say the rep you spoke with was rude... my guess is that because of this you were not clearly informed or did not clearly understand what you need to do to make your book unavailable. You mention being told to file a cancellation form (which is absolutely standard if you need to cancel a contract like this), but did not mention whether or not you actually did this. If you have not filed the proper paperwork, then your book has not been properly canceled. A request like this must be submitted in writing for any company like this, not just publishers or AuthorHouse specifically. Lastly, regarding the availability of your book: every contract guarantees that the information for your book is distributed to 25,000 online retailers. Key word: online. If you want your book to be physically available on the shelves at Waterstones, Barnes & Nobles, etc, then you must purchase an additional option for your contract. (Unfortunate, but not uncommon for print-on-demand publishing.) The standard contract does not include "returnability", which is required for physical retailers, in case someone needs to return your book for some reason. In short: if your book is still available, and you did not provide AuthorHouse with the requested and required form to officially cancel your book, then this is why your book is still available. If your book is still available, and you DID provide them with this form, then either an online company is selling used or pre-purchased copies of your book, which can't be helped, or something wasn't processed at AuthorHouse, and will require you to follow up. Hope this helps.