Author Incubator Review: Is The Author Incubator a Scam? [Full Review]

On the hunt for reviews on The Author Incubator?

Maybe you saw a social media ad for Angela Lauria’s Author Incubator as you scrolled through your Facebook or Instagram feed. 

The message stood out to you: “Write a book that makes a difference.” 

You want to write an impactful bookSelf-Publishing School’s author education programs that help you build or expand your business. Maybe you need clients on demand, a bigger following, more money, or more exposure. Or all of that!

But can Angela Lauria’s The Author Incubator really help you achieve those results?  

After scouring the internet and other resources to discover what exactly The Author Incubator does to help people self-publish and if it can actually help you reach your goals, let’s reveal what we found. 

In this Author Incubator review, we’ll cover: 

1. What is The Author Incubator?
2. Author Incubator Programs & Cost
3. Is The Author Incubator For You? 
4. Author Incubator Review: The Pros & Cons
5. Other Author Incubator Reviews
6. Author Incubator Scams
7. Alternatives to Author Incubator
8. Final Rating

What is The Author Incubator?

Author Incubator is a book coaching program to help business owners and entrepreneurs in the “healing” industry become authors of a nonfiction book. The company works mainly with aspiring authors in the self-development, coaching, and/or alternative medicine practice.

Related: How To Write a Nonfiction Book

The Author Incubator brand rings in a message of exclusivity by making it clear that you need to apply to work with them, then be accepted if “you’re a good fit.”

According to the website, you must have a business, even if it’s just starting out, in order to work with The Author Incubator.

Related: How A Book Funnel Can Grow Your Business

If you are a fiction author looking to write a novel, memoir writer, children’s book author, or do not have a business (with no intention of starting one), the Author Incubator is NOT for you (the CEO makes this clear).  

What the company is NOT: 

1. Author Incubator is NOT a publishing company, but it is affiliated with Difference Publishing. However, it appears that this is not an actual publishing company (despite the name), but rather a company that offers done-for-you author services (like editing and Amazon publishing). All books on the Difference Publishing website are actually being sold on Amazon. 
2. A book writing, publishing, and marketing program for all genres. It is specifically geared towards those who do not have a nonfiction book idea (or need clarification on their idea), and want to grow their business using their nonfiction book. For creative fiction writers and children’s authors, this program is not for you.

Related: Best Self-Publishing Companies

About the Founder

The company was founded by Angela Lauria, who has self-published 5 non-fiction books. Lauria’s titles are all related to topics she helps people with in her author coaching business, such as Make ‘Em Beg To Work For You, Make ‘Em Beg to Be Your Client, and The Difference: 10 Steps to Writing a Book That Matters. 

Her Amazon author biography states that she “has a Ph.D. in Communications from The European Graduate School (EGS) in Saas Fee, Switzerland and holds a coaching certificate from Martha Beck International and The International Institute of Coaching Studies (IICS).”

In line with her background, it seems Lauria has interwoven life coaching concepts into her self-publishing work. She makes it clear that her program has less to do with the contents of your book, and more to do with writing the right book that will sell and get people to take action.

But how do Angela Lauria and The Author Incubator help you do that, exactly? 

The company website is vague, and there isn’t a breakdown of the program or really what is being offered, other than helping  you “write a book that makes a difference.”

After some digging, here’s what we found out about The Author Incubator programs.

Author Incubator Programs & Cost 

Again, the company is not transparent on their website about their exact programs and what each includes.

Based on crowdsourced information, other reviews, and additional research within our author community, The Author Incubator is predominantly a coaching program for healing professionals and life coaches that want to grow their business with a book.

It is NOT a publishing program, but rather a strategy development program for your book and business.  

What the Author Incubator includes:

1. Book and Business Coaching. You work directly with Angela Lauria to develop a winning book idea that is sellable, or “marketable” within the health and wellness industry. 
2. A Publishing Plan. You will get a plan to self-publish your book on Amazon. 
3. A Marketing Plan. You will get a plan to market your book, but the marketing will not be done for you. 

What’s NOT included in the Author Incubator: 

1. Book cover design services. This will be an additional expense you’re responsible for, in addition to the program cost (unless you enroll in the high-ticket program; more details below.)
2. Book editing services. This will also be an additional cost to you, separate from the Author Incubator program cost (unless you enroll in the high-ticket program; more details below.)
3. Book formatting services. This will be an extra expense as well, and not included in the program fee (unless you enroll in the high-ticket program; more details below.)
4. Printing services. Author Incubator is not a publishing company, and will not print and fulfill your book for you. 

Here is a breakdown of the Author Incubator programs:

#1 – The Authors Way: $15,000

This is a 9-week online coaching program focused on writing and publishing a marketable book. It starts with developing a book idea that will sell, getting market validation for the book, then taking action to write the book based on the winning idea. 

Once the book is written, you will take a 3-day publishing and marketing boot camp to learn how to publish and market your finished book. It appears that the 3-day boot camp is held in person with the option to attend virtually.

Here’s what’s included in the Authors Way program:

1. Biweekly video calls
2. Private Facebook group access
3. Online training videos
4. Weekly assignments that turn into a manuscript
5. 3-Day Publishing and Marketing Bootcamp

#2 – Year-Long Coaching Program: $35,000

This is essentially a 12-month coaching upgrade, where you can get more hands-on access and coaching from Lauria on marketing your book and building your business or services after your book is published. 

Basically, this coaching upgrade gives authors additional coaching and consultations with marketing their published books to grow their business. 

Here’s what’s included in this coaching program: 

1. 12-month access to Laura’s marketing work
2. A book editor
3. A print version release from Difference Press

How much does the Author Incubator cost? 

 Depending on which program you choose, Author Incubator costs at a minimum of $14,000. 

If you choose to pay the program fee upfront in a lump sum, you can purchase it for $14,000. Otherwise, you can make 3 installment payments for the $15,000 fee. 

It’s important to note that this price does not include the actual publishing costs to have your book professionally edited, designed, and formatted.

Related: Self-Publishing Costs

If you choose to upgrade to the year-long coaching program after your $15,000 investment with the company, you will pay an additional $35,000. 

That means you can expect to pay upwards of $50,000 to work with the Author Incubator. 

In her free training, Angela Lauria makes it clear that the cost to work with her is not cheap. 

And that’s essentially what you are paying for: a high-ticket coaching service. 

Here’s how the application process works for the Author Incubator:

1. Apply. You apply on the company’s website, and must fill out a questionnaire about yourself, your business, and the book you plan to write. 
2. Email. You will get an email to see whether your application was accepted or rejected.
3. Phone Call. If your application is accepted, you will have a 20-minute phone interview with a “talent scout” to see if you are a good fit.
4. Video Call. If your application is accepted, you will then have a scheduled video interview video to get all questions answered and decide if it’s a fit for you. This is where you will provide payment and “enroll” in the program if you choose.

Is Author Incubator For You?

It’s clear that The Author Incubator program isn’t ideal for every aspiring author…

So who is a good candidate for this program, exactly? Let’s start with who it is not for. 

The Author Incubator is NOT for…

1. Fiction authors. This program is geared toward nonfiction writers.
2. Children’s book authors. This program is not for those interested in writing children’s books.
3. Creative writer. Author Incubator makes it very clear that this program is not for those that 
4. Those with limited budgets. It’s a high-ticket coaching program, essentially. If you don’t have upwards of $14,000 to spend on this coaching program, it is not for you.
5. Those that have already started writing a book, or already have a book’s idea.
6. Those without a business (and no desire to start one). An integral part of the Author Incubator’s program is for those who need clarity on their book and business ideas.
7. Those in search of a writing, publishing, and marketing course. The Author Incubator coaches authors through the process, but it’s not a deep dive education training.
8. Those looking for a publishing company. This is a coaching program, NOT a publishing company. You are not paying Author Incubator to publish your book, you are paying to be coached on how to develop a marketable book idea, write the book, and build a business off of the book. 

With that said, if you fall under specific categories, the program might be for you. 

The Author Incubator could be for you if…

1. Nonfiction aspiring authors who have a business from their book. 
2. You need help strategizing on a marketable book idea for your business.
3. You’re in the healing industry. 
4. You’re a life coach. 
5. You want a high-touch book business coaching program to generate more clients. 
6. You have the funds and are willing to pay for the convenience and experience. 

Author Incubator Review: The Pros & Cons

With any company, there are pros and cons. Here’s what we found about The Author Incubator…

The pros: 

1. Work directly with Angela Lauria herself. You are essentially paying to be coached on your book writing and business building strategy (as it relates to your book). You aren’t being coached by someone else – you will work with the founder.
2. Short implementation time. If you’re looking to find a book idea and write that book quickly, the program is relatively short (9 weeks). However, that is basically the book writing and publishing process. You will still have to market your book.
3. Niche-specific. If you’re in the healing and/or coaching industry, Angela Lauria’s background in that area means she likely knows a lot about the industry and knows your market. 

The cons:

1. Price. The minimum $14,000 investment required by The Author Incubator is the biggest downside, especially since you’ll 
2. Specific target audience. This program is for a very specific audience, and if you don’t tick the boxes, it’s probably not the right investment for you.
3. Legal agreements. According to several other reviews, it sounds like you must sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) & Hold Harmless Agreement if you enroll in the program. It is not clear at this time whether Author Incubator holds the rights to any books published.
4. No Done-For-You Services. With the 9-week program, the focus is on your book’s strategy and writing the book. You will get a plan to publish and market the book, but you will be doing all of the work.
5. Additional Publishing Costs. With the 9-week program, it is likely that you will still be paying other professionals for book editing and cover design services (unless you purchase the 12-month coaching program). 
6. Bad Reputation. If you’ve searched other reviews on the company, you’ll see that there are some very negative reviews online (more on this in the next section). The company does a poor review of managing their online reputation, so this can be a red flag for some.
7. Results. Angela Lauria uses impressive numbers when she references the results her authors get, but there doesn’t seem to be any tangible documentation or reports that support the results she talks about. 

Other Author Incubator Reviews

If you want to dig into more reviews from third parties, just do a quick online search and you’ll land on a plethora of content. 

One of the first results that appears is a 4.6 rating from reviews.io, with 5,172 reviews. But is reviews.io a credible review site?

In a recent Author Incubator free training, the company said it had under 2,000 authors use the program, so how can they have upwards of 5,000 reviews on a third-party site? 

On the Yelp site, Author Incubator reviews averaged at 1.5 stars out of 5, with only 3 reviews.

One reviewer apparently went through the interview process and was selected to be part of the program, but ultimately decided not to join. 

There is no doubt that authors have indeed written and published a book using The Author Incubator’s coaching program. Angela Lauria references a handful of these authors in her training webinars, website, and media features.

However, it was a bit difficult to find third-party reviews (other than the ones on reviews.io) from authors that completed The Author Incubator program. This could be due to a Non-Disclosure Agreement in place, though.

Successful books published are featured on the company’s website, as well as in the “Catalog” section of Difference Press (part of the Author Incubator).

Author Incubator Scams

A question that kept popping up in online conversations when we set out to research the company: Is Author Incubator a scam? 

There are definitely some reviews that refer to The Author Incubator as a scam. In fact, there’s even an entire website domain named the Author Incubator Scam, but it could be that it’s a result of one individual’s personal vendetta against the CEO.

On other third-party forums, there were a lot of conversations around the concept of “scam” and whether or not The Author Incubator can be considered one. 

Based on the context, you really have to define what you consider to be a scam. 

Is Author Incubator a scam in the sense that they take your money and never render service? That’s pretty unlikely, considering there ARE people who have used the program to write their book. 

But, is Author Incubator a scam in the sense that it doesn’t fulfill the results promised? It’s possible, especially for people who are under the impression that it’s a publishing company.

Because The Author Incubator works with such a specific audience, people might have the wrong idea on what the company is all about.

Author Incubator is not a writing and publishing education program, it is a coaching and strategy program. 

Here’s what one forum commentator explained:

For the purposes of this particular review, we didn’t investigate much into these scam conversations, but thought they were worth mentioning.

Some conversations around the Author Incubator scams that we found around the web:

1. Angela Lauria’s credentials. The question on whether or not Angela Lauria actually holds the PhD to refer to herself as “Dr.”
2. Results. The revenue and sales results from actual authors that use the company. 
3. Cost. The price of the program and what’s exactly included, as well as the legal terms associated.
4. Marketing tactics. The company’s ad branding, which some reviewers say is designed to mislead authors in thinking it is affiliated with MasterClass. 

All in all, there is A LOT of conversation around the company, and whether it’s a legit company or a scam.

Our advice to you: Determine what your specific needs are in a self-publishing course or program before you commit to one company, and do plenty of research to make an informed choice.

Author Incubator Alternatives 

ATTN: If you want to build or grow a business using your book, it doesn’t have to cost upwards of $14,000 just to write and self-publish your book. 

You can write and publish a book in 9 weeks (or less) without using The Author Incubator, and it does NOT have to cost you $14,000.

There are plenty of other courses designed for authors of all types, industry backgrounds, and genres. 

Disclosure: While we strive to provide unbiased, well-researched reviews, we are part of Self-Publishing School’s author education programs.

We want authors to make informed choices, and be well aware of alternative options. 

If you’re looking for a program similar to the Author Incubator, our Become a Bestseller program taught by Chandler Bolt and team will teach you how to generate real results from your book.

Here’s some of what’s included with Self-Publishing School:

1. 1-1 expert coaching with a bestselling author
2. Step-by-step 90-day framework to write, publish, and market your book
3. Private mastermind community
4. Personalized training programs
5. Online video instruction
6. Group coaching calls with Chandler Bolt

And, if after publishing, you want to continue growing your business with your book by learning advanced marketing strategies, creating an online course, and landing speaking gigs to increase your reach, Self-Publishing School has personalized programs for all of that. 

Are you an aspiring fiction author or a children’s book author? We have learning tracks for you, too!

You can read a full Self-Publishing School review here.

Final rating

This is due to the price and overall value, plus the vagueness around results, and how niche-specific the program is. The mismanaged reviews and clarity on what’s included in the program garner a bit of skepticism. 

The Author Incubator is not for the average self-publisher. 

Angela Lauria strategizes with authors on a winning book idea, but her program leans more towards a book business coaching program, and less of a writing and publishing education program. 

It appears that The Author Incubator combines the exclusivity that comes along with the traditional publishing world, and mixes it with some life coaching concepts and business strategy.

The life coaching industry is estimated to be a $2 billion global industry that continues to grow rapidly. Angela Lauria knows this market, and is capitalizing on it. 

If that’s what you need, and you have the funds to join, apply for the program and see what you think!

As always, do more research on your own, and get super clear on your questions before you decide to invest in any program. 

Looking for more reviews like this? Check these out:

1. Balboa Press Review
2. Mastermind.com Review
3. Hay House Publishing Review
4. Reedsy Review
5. BookBaby Review
6. Scribe Media Review
7. Self Publishing Formula Review
8. Lulu Publishing Review
9. Smashwords VS Draft2Digital Review
10. Xlibris Review
11. Nick Stephenson Your First 10K Readers Review

What are your thoughts on the Author Incubator?