Yikes. I went to the thread about Authorhouse, which was 1stbooks. Gosh, maybe I am being naive and/or expecting too little from POD. I like my product. I had a literary publicist look at it, and she said it was good for POD. I couldn't hire the publicist at $90.00 an hour. I don't consider a POD the same as a vanity publisher. A local vanity press offered to publish my book for a $15,000! fee for 3,000 copies. When I said to the publisher that I would have to bring my husband into the next meeting before making a decision, the smart alec publisher said, "Did your husband help you write the book." I said, "Yes, he provided the financial and emotional support that enabled me to write." Then the publisher asked if I was a home owner. When I said yes, he suggested that I put a second mortgage on the house to pay the $15,000. That, in my understanding, is a vulture of a vanity press, as stated in one of the posts at the aforementioned site. As for 1stbooks/Authorhouse, I had good experiences with email and phone replies, and they made prompt and competent changes to the material when needed. My regret is in paying for a press release that was written from a synopsis I supplied. The payment for press releases that went to 300 non-responsive media is money down the drain. At least I'm not paying on a second mortgage! If anyone has a copy of my book and thinks it is an inferior product, I wouldn't mind knowing about this. After all, you all, as writers and readers, are the experts I would trust. Love and Luck, Lynn