YouTuber OfficialNerdCubed Exposes How Unbound Publishing Never Paid Him Thousands Owed From His Crowdfunded Book Success

Popular gaming YouTuber OfficialNerdCubed, who commands an impressive 2.41 million subscribers, has exposed the predatory practices of Unbound Publishing in a devastating video detailing how the now-bankrupt publisher essentially stole thousands of dollars from his successful crowdfunded book project. His experience serves as a cautionary tale about the parasitic nature of traditional publishing and why creators with established audiences should avoid these middlemen entirely.

NerdCubed's book "The Paradox Paradox" was a crowdfunding success story that should have been a financial windfall for the creator. With his massive YouTube following, the book easily could have been self-published and generated substantial profits directly for the author. Instead, NerdCubed made the costly mistake of partnering with Unbound Publishing, a decision that ultimately cost him tens of thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

As detailed in our previous coverage, Unbound Publishing collapsed into administration earlier this year, with the new company Boundless buying the assets for a mere £50,000 while conveniently avoiding the financial obligations to authors. This corporate shell game left 238 authors, including NerdCubed, without the money they were contractually owed from their book sales.

Nerdcubed slammed Unbound Publishing in a video detailing how the now-bankrupt publisher essentially stole £40,000 from his successful crowdfunded book project.

"Last Friday, I was informed by my publisher Boundless, who took over from Unbound earlier this year, that I won't be paid the majority of the money that my book The Paradox Paradox has earned during its 5-year pre-sale period," NerdCubed revealed. "That number, by my calculations, is over £40,000. £40,000 from backers potentially just like, you'll never make it to me. It's gone."

The scale of this theft becomes even more apparent when NerdCubed explains the broader impact: "It's not just me. I'm one of 238 authors, illustrators, etc., who aren't being paid for work that they have already done for copies of books they have already sold and that our publisher has profited from altogether boundless has decided that 657,000 of money earned by authors can just be written off."

What makes this situation infuriating is how NerdCubed describes the publisher's attitude toward the money they're stealing. When Boundless finally contacted authors about not paying them, they had the audacity to call these payments "goodwill payments." As NerdCubed noted with obvious disgust: "Goodwill payments goodwill payments that's the phrase right there, isn't it goodwill payments. I worked for 5 years on a book, and thousands of you funded it with your own money. You gave that money to Boundless, and Boundless thinks that then passing on the money that is rightfully mine to me would be an act of goodwill."

The most tragic aspect of NerdCubed's story is how unnecessary his partnership with Unbound was in the first place. With 2.41 million YouTube subscribers, he possessed a built-in audience that most authors can only dream of reaching. He could have easily self-published his book and retained 100% of the profits, but instead chose to trust a traditional publisher that ultimately provided nothing but financial devastation.

NerdCubed described his experience as even worse working with the publisher, saying, "behind the scenes publishing this book has been a nightmare.” He has numerous problems, including cover disputes, editing disasters, and delayed releases that cost him potential bestseller list placement.

The human cost of this corporate theft becomes clear when NerdCubed describes the impact on fellow authors: "I have talked to authors who now can't pay bills, who can't pay rent, who can't pay mortgages, people who are having to sell their own possessions to make ends meet this isn't people losing jobs this is people who have done their jobs in case in my case for 5 years and not received promised contracted income this was money that was earned and has been stolen by corporate shenanigans."

Perhaps most damning is NerdCubed's assessment of what this represents: "This was money that was earned and has been stolen by corporate shenanigans." The fact that Unbound could simply declare bankruptcy, transfer assets to a new company for £50,000, and abandon their obligations to hundreds of authors reveals the fundamental corruption of the traditional publishing system.

For creators with established audiences like NerdCubed, his experience should serve as a definitive warning: traditional publishers are parasites that will steal your money while providing minimal value. As he learned the hard way, when you already have the audience, you definitely don't need the middleman taking your £40,000.

For a great alternative to mainstream science fiction that Doctor Who fans will love, with spy thriller action, read The Stars Entwined on Amazon!

NEXT: Fantasy Author Threatens To Sue Reader Over Posting Screenshots Of Her AI Prompts She Accidentally Left In Her Book