What to ask and know about hybrid publishing

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What to ask about hybrid publishing

A hybrid book publisher recently laid off staff after they couldn’t access additional funding to support the company. This left authors in the situation of not knowing if their projects will be finished.

How can you prevent this from happening to you? Below, I share questions to ask and information to seek out before hiring a hybrid publisher.

We help our clients find publishers by consulting with them first, so we can provide an unbiased answer. In our process, we take client goals and budgets into consideration before explaining the pros and cons of each type of publisher. This allows our clients to make an informed choice. If you ask a publisher if they are the right one, they'll say yes. Instead, we partner with different types of publishers, so our clients get exactly what they need.

Three main types of publishers are:

• Traditional
• Hybrid
• Self-publishing

What's in this article:

This article covers what to look for before selecting a hybrid publisher. Since working with a hybrid can be expensive, you want to be sure you’ll get what you pay for in this arrangement.

If you want a traditional publisher because you think they'll handle the marketing, consider this:

Traditional publishers don’t provide marketing for every book and only select a handful of books to support with promotion. Any type of publisher will expect authors to engage in promotion.?With that in mind, my recommendation is not to let marketing be a main reason you do or don’t choose a publisher.

Since I’m not a lawyer or a business analyst, I can not guarantee my questions and ideas will help you find a perfect and financially stable publisher. Please feel welcome to use this as a guide and do your own research.

Look at past books (but don’t fall into this trap).

Take a look at what they’ve published in the past. However, don’t discount a publisher—or an editor—if their books don’t look the way you’d like. Authors have a say, too, and you might be judging the publisher or editor based on choices of the author. This applies to content, design, and the cover.?

Consider who will own your intellectual property.

This will likely require a close read of the contract and, possibly, a lawyer to review the contract on your behalf. Be sure you’ll have the arrangement you want here. Will audiobooks be included? How about ebooks or large print?

Who will do the book marketing?

I invite my clients who own businesses to incorporate their book into the marketing they already do. If you already create content, appear on podcasts, speak to groups, use referral marketing, or advertise, your book can be woven into those–or other–marketing efforts.?

Consider thinking about long-term sales as opposed to just the books sold during launch, because your book can be of interest to readers for years–and not just during a relatively short pre-sale or launch.?

What’s the situation with royalties?

What will the split be between you and the publisher? If you’re self-publishing, you can keep all the earnings, yet you have to pay all the costs. With a traditional publisher, you won’t have the costs yet you’ll receive less in royalties than with self-publishing or hybrid.

What services are included?

Will the hybrid publisher create a cover, take your preferences into consideration, and give you several choices? How many rounds of design edits are you allowed to request before incurring additional charges? Will they offer proofreading? Some hybrids will publish anything, including books with lots of typos. My recommendation is to choose a publisher that’s choosy, so you know they care about quality.?

What editing do you need to do before seeking a hybrid publisher?

Reputable hybrids won’t accept every book that comes their way. This means they’ll expect a certain level of editing before you send them the book.?Our article on the four types of book editing will help if you’re not already familiar with them.

You can increase the chances of acceptance with developmental editing and line editing, so your book has a solid and effective structure and presents your ideas in a polished and appealing way.

Who is responsible for what with hybrid, traditional and self-publishing?

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