You’ve likely heard the news by now. AuthorHouse has acquired its rival iUniverse. You can read about these wedding bells here. Many are claiming that this will broaden the options for aspiring authors everywhere.

I wonder.

Actually, I worry about this marriage. To me it’s like seeing a beautiful woman with a stellar reputation marrying the son of a mob boss—he may be a decent, honest man, but it’s likely he’s not. I don’t like to discourage anyone from taking the POD route (no, that’s wrong. I do like to discourage those who aren’t ready for it from even considering the idea. Do your homework first). But we all know that POD had a very shaky start. However, many publishers cleaned up their act and provided a good service to authors. iUniverse was one of those companies. AuthorHouse ahem…still had some trouble. One used a traditional publishing model while the other was more of a printer.

I want to believe that these two cultures can blend. That the reputation of one can—for lack of a better word—“cleanse” the other, but somehow I think not.

AuthorHouse has quite a reputation to overcome. Last year they were found guilty of publishing a book that libeled romance writer Rebecca Brandewyne. You can read about it here.

Note that AuthorHouse decided to print a book that iUniverse rejected. Hmm…iUniverse rejected a book AuthorHouse printed. iUniverse reads the books they print, AuthorHouse doesn’t have the time. Yet now they’re under the same umberella. It’s like watching the preacher’s daughter move into a brothel. “Nothing will change,” she says. And we nod our heads and think, “Yeah, right.”

Susan Driscoll the CEO of iUniverse said she hopes to “define a world where publishing is truly author-centric.” I love her optimism, but let’s be honest. Publishing has never been author-centric. It’s reader centric because readers pay the bills. You have to sell something to make a living. Until we truly understand that authors need to make a living by selling books we’re weaving delusions and asking people to pay for them.

Presently the two companies are still maintaining separate offices, but as we know mergers happen for a reason and one company will eventually disappear. Let’s hope it’s the right one.