The publisher Penguin Random House has sold its self-publishing division, Author Solutions.
Author Solutions was acquired in 2012 for integration into Penguin and was sold to an Arizona-based private investment firm on 31 December.
Penguin CEO John Makinson had said at the time of the acquisition that it would allow Penguin to participate fully in what he described as the “fastest-growing area of the publishing economy”. The company was run as a separate business.
Author Solutions was the subject of a lawsuit in the US which was eventually settled out of court in August. The business had faced accusations from authors that it was trying to make money from them, rather than for them.
In an article on the website The Bookseller, analysts said they thought Author Solutions hadn’t been seen as a “good fit” for the brand Penguin Random House. (Penguin and Random House merged in July 2013 after the acquisition of Author Solutions.)
Author Solutions was acquired in 2012 for integration into Penguin and was sold to an Arizona-based private investment firm on 31 December.
Penguin CEO John Makinson had said at the time of the acquisition that it would allow Penguin to participate fully in what he described as the “fastest-growing area of the publishing economy”. The company was run as a separate business.
Author Solutions was the subject of a lawsuit in the US which was eventually settled out of court in August. The business had faced accusations from authors that it was trying to make money from them, rather than for them.
In an article on the website The Bookseller, analysts said they thought Author Solutions hadn’t been seen as a “good fit” for the brand Penguin Random House. (Penguin and Random House merged in July 2013 after the acquisition of Author Solutions.)
