Redemption Press Blog

Crossbooks Closes Doors

We received an alarming phone call yesterday from a Crossbooks author, saying he received an email that the publisher was closing their doors and all their moneys would be refunded.

I had to contact a pastor friend whom I knew was in the process of publishing with them to make sure I was hearing the truth. He confirmed that it is, in fact, the truth.

For the last six years, I’ve been struggling with the fact that so many Christian publishers who’ve established self-publishing arms have outsourced every bit of the work to a secular company.

It turns out CrossBooks only outsourced their editorial and typesetting to Author Solutions, but my guess is they had no idea who they were getting themselves yoked with..

In fact, I have to assume  B&H Publishing/Lifeway and Thomas Nelson didn’t have all the information about who they were dealing with when they partnered with Author Solutions. I’m quite sure Author Solutions didn’t broadcast to these Christian publishers their true history… the fact that they started as 1st Books, gained such a bad reputation that they rebranded themselves as Author House. The same result in reputation gained momentum until they renamed themselves Author Solutions in 2007 when they bought out one of their largest competitors, iUniverse.

Interesting that Wikepedia shows their history as follows…note that they’ve gone in and edited out that they also partnered with Crossbooks and Writer’s Digest, both of whom have cancelled their agreements with Author Solutions.
“In 2009, Author Solutions, acquired two other top competitors – Xlibris in January [12] and Canadian self-publisher Trafford Publishing in April.[3] Later that year the company partnered with leading Christian publisher Thomas Nelson to launch a first-of-its-kind self-publishing partnership, WestBow Press.[13] Expansion to other segments of authors continued in June 2010 when Author Solutions launched its first Spanish-language imprint – Palibrio.[14] Palibrio was initially offered only to the U.S. Spanish-speaking market, but later was made available to authors in Spain.”
For a more realistic review of Author Solutions, read this blog post detailing their awful history.

Redemption Press began as an outreach to the displaced authors who were left hanging when WinePress abruptly closed their doors in January of 2014. Now, we have another opportunity to help these Crossbooks authors find a new home to keep their message alive.

I’ll be posting more as the details come to light. In the meantime, if you are a Crossbooks author or know someone who is, we are here to help. Click here for more info on how.

Comments (4)

June Martin's picture

June Martin

says:

June 30, 2015 – 4:29pm

reply

I have published three books with Cross Books. The last two books are part of a three part series. I was contacted via e-mail and told that they were closing. My final book in the series was with CB for over one year stalling, stalling and stalling. Finally my publishing fee was returned along with my manuscript. I have had many concerns about the royalties which I have voiced over the past five years, so I was not surprised by the “cease” . Today, I am writing to ask how can I purchase my books????? I was told by CBD that they are out of print.

athena's picture

athena

says:

June 30, 2015 – 4:36pm

reply

Hello June, I am so sorry to hear about what you experienced. I’m going to have Michael Fleiss email you to see what we can do to help. Since we are not associated with CrossBooks, we don’t have your files, but have some creative ways to help you get your books back into print, and then purchase author copies at a MUCH lower price per copy than you’ve been offered in the past. Bless you and thanks for your interest in Redemption Press. Athena Dean Holtz Co-Founder / Publisher

June Martin's picture

June Martin

says:

August 4, 2015 – 4:53pm

reply

To this date, August 4, 2015 I have not been contacted by Athena. However, today while I was on Amazon, I was SHOCKED to see my final book available for sale. CrossBooks, did return my manuscript and I was advised to self publish with one of the two choices given me. Please, can someone tell me who has published my book? Exit Volume 3

athena's picture

athena

says:

August 5, 2015 – 12:22pm

reply

Hi June, Gosh, I’m so sorry! We weren’t provided a phone number for you, and as I mentioned when you first contacted us, I had Michael Fleiss follow up with you by email. Here’s what he sent you on the same day you posted here. If you can call into the office and discuss the situation, he’d be happy to help you! Good Afternoon June, We at Redemption Press were so sorry to hear that you and your work have become orphans of the CrossBooks collapse. We’ve already helped a number of other CrossBooks authors get their projects back on track and into publication quickly and easily, including Bound to Be Free (https://redemption-press.com/shop/product/100520) and Leaders, Nations, and God (https://redemption-press.com/shop/product/100519) by Marta Greenman. I’d love to share a plan and strategy for getting your books back on track quickly and easily too. If you’re interested in seeing readers continue to have access to your titles, please give me a call at 888-305-2967 so we can tailor a plan for your unique needs. Blessings, Michael Fleiss Acquistions Director Redemption Press

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I've been around Christian publishing since 1987 when I helped our ministry self-publish an important resource for Vietnam veterans and their families. That book went on to be picked up by a royalty publisher and has since sold over 250,000 copies with a million in print.

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