Exploring Hybrid Publishing: Is It the Right Path for You?

Traditional publishing isn’t the only path to seeing your name in print. Enter hybrid publishing—a flexible option bridging the gap between traditional and self-publishing. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the hurdles of the publishing world, this might be the solution you’ve been waiting for.

Challenges of Traditional Publishing

While we at writegeist focus primarily on helping our clients land traditional publishing contracts via stellar book proposals, the fact is that traditional publishing isn’t for everyone.

Why?

First of all, the traditional publishing industry is intensely competitive, and it can be difficult to secure a book deal if you don’t have certain elements in place: a solid platform, epic writing skills, high levels of patience and perseverance—ideally all of the above! 

I am a believer in “anything is possible,” so I always encourage clients to reach for their dreams. However, if traditional publishing ends up not being a fit for one of our clients, we assure them that that doesn’t mean they can’t still write and launch a successful book! 

In fact, it’s never been easier to publish. In our modern era, there are many reputable paths to publishing, and, one way or another, everyone can get their story told—and sold. 

Self-Publishing: A Popular but Daunting Option

Of course we all know about self-publishing, which can be an effective solution—again, for the right kind of person. But this path can also be very daunting if you don’t have much know-how about book publishing, and don’t have the time/skill/desire to figure it out.

Hybrid Publishing

Today we will discuss a third option, one that is gaining massive popularity in the publishing sector: hybrid publishing. A relative newcomer to the publishing world, we know many questions abound about the hybrid publishing model. So, I asked my friend Boni Wagner-Stafford, founder of award-winning hybrid publishing house Ingenium Books Publishing, to give us the deets on this new path to publishing.

Q: First of all, what is hybrid publishing? 

A: As the name suggests, hybrid publishing is a hybrid—in this case, between two publishing models: traditional publishing and self-publishing. 

Hybrid publishing combines the best of both of these publishing models. A hybrid publisher bears some of the costs of publishing the book, but not all: you invest in a portion of the costs to get your book published, and in exchange you can expect a higher share of the royalties than with a traditional book deal. 

With self-publishing, you do everything yourself, every step of the way. You can outsource specialized jobs, such as editing or cover design, to professionals but you are the one who has to source, vet, commission, and pay those people. You also have to get your book to the retailers and do all the marketing and publicity involved.

There is an upside to all this hard work, though, since you have complete creative control, and all the money earned from sales after the publishing platform such as Amazon has taken their cut is yours.

Typically, a hybrid publisher has in-house staff and/or a pool of freelancers they commission to do the specialized work, such as editing and production and cover design, so you don’t have to outsource these jobs yourself.

They also provide distribution services and can help you with marketing. While you don’t have complete creative control, you have a much bigger say in what the final book looks like than you would if you’d gone with a traditional publisher, and you get a bigger share of the royalties too.     

That’s the basics, for more detail on hybrid publishing, we have a great blog on our website for you to dig deeper.

Q: How does hybrid publishing differ from both traditional publishing and the infamous “vanity press”?

A: One of the main reasons hybrid publishing is so popular is that it lends that air of credibility you get with a traditional publisher, without the challenging hurdles to get your book published. It also offers a timeline you can control.

Traditional publishing is uber competitive and authors can work to attract a traditional publishing contract for years. Many simply never succeed, which means they’ve wasted years and what is often a very good and marketable book sits in the drawer.

There is a myth that “authors don’t pay for traditional publishing.” Authors are often required to submit professionally edited manuscripts—meaning they will have had to pay an editor—and they will have to give up the majority (85 – 95%) of the royalties on books sold. At Ingenium Books we pay 60% royalties to our authors.

A vanity press, on the other hand, will print anything as long as you pay—quality control be damned.

A hybrid publisher has a set of standards for what they’re willing to put their name on and will turn down manuscripts that don’t make the grade.

However, because they don’t assume all the financial risk like a traditional publisher does, they’re more willing to compromise and work with you to turn a not-perfect-but-has-potential manuscript into something they’d be proud to be associated with.

Q: What are some ways to distinguish a legit hybrid publisher from a vanity press? What are the tell-tale signs to look for?

A: Because hybrid publishers and vanity presses both require you to pay an upfront fee, it’s very easy for a vanity press to disguise themselves as a hybrid publisher. To ensure that you’re dealing with a reputable hybrid publisher and not a vanity press, here’s a list of a few things to watch for: 

• The quality of books they’ve published. Because a vanity press is focused on making money from the author rather than producing a good book, they tend to cut corners with editorial and processes like editing, proofreading, and design and layout. If the book is riddled with spelling and grammar mistakes, it clearly hasn’t been proofread and the publisher is likely a vanity press.
• If they require you to buy a certain number of your own books, it’s a vanity publisher. 
• If they don’t have a clear vetting process but seem to take on any manuscript or project, it’s a vanity publisher.
• Vibe check: a vanity publisher wants to take the money and run, so they’ll promise you the world at the start. But once you’ve paid the fee, they may become hard to reach, uncommunicative and dismissive of any concerns you might raise, until it’s time to pay up for those published copies you were contractually required to buy.

We have another informative blog on our site that can help prospective authors further tell whether they might be about to become victims of a publishing scam.

Q: What kind of person should consider choosing a hybrid publishing route?

A: Hybrid publishing is the best option for you if:

• You’re a new author who might need guidance, from developing your manuscript to producing the book and marketing it.
• You want to retain most of your creative control but don’t mind compromising, especially since you have professional guidance on your side.
• You want someone else to focus on the details so that you can focus on the bigger picture: developing your author brand and sharing your ideas.
• You want the prestige of publishing under a reputable imprint but want a better royalty deal than you might get if you secured a traditional publishing contract.
• You can afford the initial investment

Q: I know Ingenium Books Publishing differs from other hybrid publishers because you actually prefer to start working with authors before their book is perfectly completed. Why is that?

A: Because most of our authors are first-time or second-time authors, they can usually benefit from intensive coaching around writing long-form, book-length material. It is far more rewarding for us—and for them—when we can work intensively together, showing them how to transform their ideas into a great reading experience. 

It’s also more efficient and effective to help them perfect their manuscript right from the start than to keep editing and overhauling entire new drafts.  

There is a psychological aspect to it too: authors often think their first draft is ready when it really isn’t quite there yet. Telling them it’s all wrong and all their hard work needs an overhaul once they think they are done can be very discouraging, but if we guide them from the start, they’ll have that sense of accomplishment of a job well done.

And this helps us deepen the relationship we have with our authors—which is important, since we are building lasting relationships and a community. We’re not interested only in a transactional, temporary exchange. 

Well, there you have it, folks! Thanks, Boni, for the skinny on this innovative publishing model. With so many options available for publishing, we know that one way or another you’ll find a way to tell your story! Be sure to follow Ingenium Books Publishing on Facebook and their website to keep in touch with all they are up to.

SHAMELESS PLUG

Don’t know which path to publishing is for you? We receive so many inquiries about this that we have created a dedicated hour-long consultation appointment with our founder, Arizona Bell, to help you map out the right path forward. If this sounds like something you need, book the call with us today: Your Path To Publishing Consult.