Is Hybrid Publishing Right For Me?

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To first know if hybrid publishing is right for you, it's helpful to understand all your publishing options. Some choices work for some and not for others, and we will never pressure you into taking a hybrid deal with us. We want to make sure you are fully in the know about how the publishing industry works as a whole. 
 

Traditional Publishing - This means you are published by a press that covers all the upfront expenses of publishing. They can be large (i.e. Penguin Random House, Harper Collins), or they can be small and independent. You are usually (but not always) paid an 'advance' for your books. The amount can vary in the low thousands to a 6-figure deal for prominent authors (of which, your literary agent will take a share for their fee of representing you). The publisher recuperates the cost of your advance in sales, and once it 'earns out' i.e. your book sales are the same amount as the advance you were paid, you start collecting royalties. These are usually 15% of the retail price of the book. Around 80% of authors traditionally published will never 'earn out' and therefore may never see royalties paid. Traditional publishers have a selective and strict submission process and usually require an author to be represented by a literary agent, which is another process in itself. You usually will submit to multiple agents, and if you are chosen to be represented, this does not guarantee you a publishing deal as the agent then has to try and sell your work to a publisher. Traditional publishing can be lengthy (1-2 years to publish), however, of course, during this time all the internal processes are taking place (editing, design, review, PR, etc). 
It is estimated that only between 1-2% of submissions to traditional publishing houses are accepted for publication. 

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Self Publishing - Self Publishing is where the author holds all responsibility for publishing their book, including hiring teams of editors, designers, crafting and managing the marketing, print, and distribution, amongst other things. While self publishing can technically be done for 'free', the best self-publishing authors invest significant time and money into their books, viewing their author journey as a business that requires investment in order to be successful.

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Hybrid - Hybrid publishing is where the author pays a publishing house to publish their book. The publishing house will do the editing, formatting and layout, cover design, ISBN allocation under the house, and traditional printing and distribution of a book. Some offer more in their contracts such as special artwork and press kits. Hybrid presses have a selective and strict vetting process like traditional publishing houses and publish only a handful of titles per year. Hybrid presses follow the IBPA's 11-point criteria to being a reputable hybrid publisher.

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There is also something called vanity publishing. A vanity publisher is one who publishes any author who submits to them, even though they may say they are selective. You can usually easily spot a vanity publisher by checking the quality of the books they publish, noticing their overly pushy and complimentary words to potential clients, their lack of upfront pricing, and the amount of complaints and warnings about them on places like Writer Beware and ALLi. They also will not use a traditional distribution method and have no relationship with booksellers and merely upload your book to online platforms. 

In recent years, vanity presses have taken on the hybrid term, so vanity has become a catch-all term for any publishing house that charges to publish. This is harmful to the writing community and is completely false.

Overall, authors who choose hybrid presses do so because of several reasons: they feel dejected over the submission process in traditional publishing; they feel overwhelmed by the needs of self-publishing; they don't have the time they'd like to commit to traditional or self publishing; they've been burned by a vanity publisher who did nothing for them. 

 

Whatever publishing route you choose, you should be well informed about the process. If you ever have any questions for us, we are always happy to help!