iUniverse has helped more than 35,000 authors publish their books professionally and affordably since our foundation in 1999. iUniverse represents a great alternative to traditional publishing as we offer a full range of affordable professional self-publishing services—including editorial, marketing, and publicity services. And we have no intention of slowing down when it comes to creating new opportunities for self-published authors.
iUniverse (iuniverse.com) has 386 customer reviews on Five Star Index, with an average rating of 3.9 out of 5.
Also known as
iuniverse.com
Website
iuniverse.com
Category
Media & Information
Location
Bloomington, Indiana
Listed on Five Star Index
2026
About these reviews
Replies
The company replied to 5% of reviews.
Latest
Most recent review: September 2026.
Edits
Reviews are shown as their authors wrote them. The company can reply, but cannot edit them.
Score
This company cannot pay to remove reviews or change its score.
I paid for a second revision on a book from 2005 on April 6, 2020. They have not found the 1st revision ( only the original). The revision team does not communicate. I left recent phone messages on 6/10/2020 and sent my recent e-mail on 6/10/2020 and received no response. I called today, 6/16/2020. Again, not one on the revision employee was available. If they lost the first revised copy, just tell me. It has been 2 months and 10 days. Frustrating. The operator said if I want a refund that I could ONLY talk to a revision employee. I asked to speak to the president and the operator would not let me. Just the facts.
EL
Ellen
Do not use this company
I don’t know where to begin. There was such incompetence from start to finish. i’m surprised they are still in business.
JW
Jim W M.
Iuniverse...someone is supposed to get…
Iuniverse...someone is supposed to get back to me on how many of my books you sold over the last nine years.
IRS # 1-800-829-1040 and Revenue Canada # 1-800-959-5525
what Iuniverse has done is a criminal charge of felony.
Everyone who reads this should be aware of what type of company
you are!!!!!!
EASY MONEY SMARTS....by JIM Mathe
SB
Simon B.
Lower Your Expectations
My first and only experience with them unlikely i will use them again.. They only make money from the author (mainly when initially signing on) and then will try to squeeze the author for more money along the way.. They are really only a place to get your work printed - don't expect them to actually market and sell your book - you will do all the selling. They are nothing more so don't expect anything more - in fairness the are only as good/bad as most of the other self-publishing companies out there.
CW
Charles W.
I decided not to publish my book…
I decided not to publish my book through iuniverse because they make it very difficult to be a self publisher. After canceling my association with them, they kept $400.00 from the amount I initially paid them. They owe me a refund of $2,500. One week later I’m still waiting for the refund. They tell me they are “working on the refund”, however, I keep getting excuses as to why I haven’t received my money. I wouldn’t recommend this company to my worst enemy!! If I don’t hear back from them today, I’m probably going to hire an attorney and sue them in Civil Court.
CU
customer
You really dont want to go here...
You better make sure that you know how much money you will be spending before hand so you will not be surprised later on.
Also, the costumer service representatives are very rude and hard to deal with. I would never wish my experience on anyone else
DP
DW P.
I really feel duped using iUniverse
I really feel duped using iUniverse.
Before a skilled sales-lady called me, I had self-published two books. I paid a LOT of money for iuniverse to help with both (even though they were already published-my bad) the sales gal explained they would be re-published, new and improved, new covers, more edits, with new ISBNs etc. She further told me iUniverse knew there was much more to publishing, specifically marketing (they call a lot and every time ask for more money-every time!) The problem was after a year of back an forth with them my first book was republished and it was basically the same. (I got a 'form' email that said, "congratulations, you're a self-published author!" Uuummm I was a self-published author before confirming to me, I was nothing more than a number in their system. Oh... and it's up to me to market, even though this was supposed to be a part of the package, it was more money if I wanted them to do it.
In the mean time, I had published, recorded/audiobook and moved forward with my second book. It won two awards without them doing anything. LONG STORY SHORT-iUniverse did nothing for me I couldn't have done myself. I regret using them as I could have used that money for a massive marketing promotion and it would have been money better spent. If you're considering self-publishing, just do it, these folks aren't going to do anything for you you can't do yourself.
CU
customer
No depth or personalization whatsoever It's about selling not quality to authors
I'm sorry I am not getting personalized help I need, plus I did pay a lot and still have not seen any results. Though I would be delegating more on iUniverse instead of having to be more involved, but if I am not, the branding is not right and I am not getting any marketing support as I thought I would from the intitial package. I am offered extras (a lot and frequently but how can I pay/buy more if I am not yet satisfied with what I have) ... like take the web design it does not follow any kind of guideline of how to use it to sell... I am trying to work out the final stages and make the most out of it though - hope to get more / better help soon.