Yesterday afternoon, I learned (along with everyone else) that All Romance eBooks is closing as of December 31st. It’s very sad to see a portal close, especially one that always had such a good relationship with their readers. I’ve always found them very helpful and easy to work with.

As a result, I’m very disappointed that ARe has decided to offer discounted payments to indie authors for sales made in fourth quarter of 2017 – instead of paying full royalties owed, ARe is offering to pay 10% of the owed amount. It’s unclear what will happen if the offer isn’t accepted by a given author – maybe there won’t be a payment at all. Theoretically, royalties collected on behalf of another party should be in an escrow account to guard against this very situation, but that apparently hasn’t happened. The issue is complicated by the fact that they’re choosing to close down instead of entering insolvency.

It is surprising that they were actively selling promotions and advertising for the new year as late as last week and, as many of you know, that they organized a Boxing Day sale in which I (and many other authors) participated. They must have known that this was the plan for some time in advance. I’m also disappointed that ARe will continue selling books through the 31st, even after presenting this offer.

Like many indie authors, I’ve removed my books from sale at ARe.