The Truth About Hybrid Publishing: Choosing Wisely

When it comes to hybrid publishing, many authors wonder…Is it a big scam or a legitimate way to publish your book?

The answer isn’t so simple. While some have had the worst experiences imaginable, some authors have loved working with a hybrid press.

We’re going to lay the facts out and help you wade through the complicated topic that is hybrid publishing so you can make the best decision for you and your book.

What is Hybrid Publishing

Hybrid publishing is where the author pays the publisher for the production of their book.

It’s a combination of traditional and self-publishing, where instead of going through the arduous journey of looking for all of the services to self-publish your book, you pay a hybrid publisher to do all of it for you. From editing to marketing to distribution. 

This form of publishing has caught the eye of many authors who can’t get a traditional publishing deal but don’t want to go through the lonely process of self-publishing.

We also want to clear up another definition that causes some head scratching: hybrid authors.

Hybrid authors are not writers who work with hybrid publishing companies. They’re authors who both self-publish and traditionally publish. Kind of like a hybrid car has 2 power sources – a gas engine and an electric motor, hybrid authors use both ways, depending on the needs of their books. 

Types of hybrid publishers

The definition above doesn’t cover it all, unfortunately.  There are so many different hybrid publishing models out there that it can get pretty confusing, especially since every publisher seems to define it a little differently.

To simplify it for you, we’ve done our best to sum up the broad categories that hybrid publishers fall into.

• Curated publishing: This hybrid publisher is picky with which authors they accept under their label, having more of a brand and identity for marketing and distribution, which benefits the authors they accept.
• Partnership publisher: They will split the costs for marketing and publication with you and are more invested in helping you succeed.
• Vanity publishers: Also known as assisted self-publishing, these publishers accept any Tom, Dick, and Harry as an author and are typically not reputable – they give hybrid publishers a bad name to those seasoned industry professionals from the pre-internet era.
• Crowdfund driven: The author will be expected to crowdfund their book to raise funds from their reader base to be published with this press.
• Self-publishing arm from a Traditional publisher: This is a shady offer from a small press that can’t seem to give you a regular deal but instead encourages you to pay for their services to assist you with self-publishing under the name of ‘hybrid publishing.’

Hybrid Publishing Model vs Traditional and Self-Publishing 

Let’s put hybrid publishing into perspective. Below is a table showing you the direct comparisons between hybrid publishing, traditional, and self-publishing:

Features	Traditional Publishing	Hybrid Publishing	Self-Publishing
Upfront Costs	No. Publisher covers all costs.	Yes. The author fronts all or some of the costs, and it’s a significant financial investment – it can start anywhere from $ 10-20K.	Yes. The author fronts all the costs, and they decide how to spend their budget on different aspects of publishing.
Creative Control	Limited. The publisher makes most of the decisions for the book title, book cover, editing, structuring of content, and plot in some cases.	Moderate. Authors with success stories enjoyed quite a bit of creative control, but this is heavily dependent on the hybrid publisher you go with.	Full control.
Royalties	5-15% for print books & up to 25% for ebooks.	50% and more (depending on the publisher)	Between 35-70% (can vary)
Distribution	Wide (bookstores, libraries, etc.)	Decent. Dependent on the publisher’s reach.	Limited to what the author is able to arrange.
Marketing support	Usually covered.	Partial. Dependent on the publisher – this can limit how well your books sell in bookstores.	Fully managed by author.
Rights Ownership	Owned by publisher.	Depends on the contract, but it usually lies with the author.	Author retains all rights.
Timeline to publication	Anywhere from 1-2 years	Ranges from 6 months to 1 year.	Dependent on the author. They decide how fast or slow they want to go.

Benefits of Hybrid Publishing: Why Authors Pick This Method

Once your book is finished, it can be overwhelming to decide what path to take. On one hand, you could have the support of a big-name traditional publisher, but lose the rights to your book and any creative freedom. 

On the other hand, you could go it on your own and retain your book’s rights, but you bear all of the costs and headaches that are involved with publishing a book, from printing to promotion.

But here’s another aspect some may forget: it’s sometimes not up to you. 

Finding an agent is hard with the endless querying and tons of rejections. You may not get one any time soon for your book– are you willing to wait years for the right agent?

And if you do find a literary agent, there’s no guarantee your book will find a home with a traditional publisher. 

The traditional publishing road contains many woes.

In this scenario, you’re left with self-publishing. The lonely trek that requires you to be a business person, not just an author.

That’s why hybrid publishing is so appealing to some authors. They go down this road because of the nature of the publishing industry. Hybrid press offers you a way out of these problems– if you have the money for it. 

It feels like the path with the least resistance. These benefits stand out to authors:

• In most cases, you retain the rights to your book
• You don’t have to learn the skills to get your book published, giving you time to write your next book. 
• You forgo the hassle of finding editors, book cover designers, book marketing strategies, distribution channels, etc. 
• You don’t have to wait up to 2 years to finally see your book on a bookstore’s shelf, or Amazon catalogue. 
• You get the house’s imprint on the back cover of your book, giving you that feeling of being a published author in the mainstream sense. 
• You work with a publisher that has contacts and knows skilled professionals in the industry that you wouldn’t know as a self-publisher (except through a lot of networking and luck).
• In the best-case scenario, you work with a hybrid press with high-quality publications and a reputable brand that may justify the upfront costs.

Caution: We’re going to slow your roll. 

This all sounds good in the best-case scenario. But plenty of authors have bad experiences, with some even being scammed. 

Which leads us to the next part.

The Truth: Why Authors Don’t Like Hybrid Publishing 

Authors get reeled in by the positives, but it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. 

A simple search will help you find nightmare stories and warnings from other authors to not go with a hybrid publisher, while some sing their hybrid publisher’s praises. How can the experiences vary so starkly?

Well, hybrid publishing is not for everyone. 

It’s really only for a select few. But the sour taste it gives authors? We can thank vanity publishers and collaborative publishers for the distrust. 

These publishers have camouflaged themselves as hybrids to trick authors into unsavory book deals. 

Simply put? They’re a scam. 

How do you spot these disguised scammers? If you spot any of these aspects when looking at a hybrid publisher, run for the hills:

• They don’t meet the IBPA’s criteria (more on this below!)
• They claim to be a traditional publisher, but offer you a self-publishing service deal or ask for payment upfront.
• They haven’t published many books, or the books they have published are of poor quality.
• They don’t vet you or have a selection process for books.
• They lack timelines for publication, editorial guidance, vision for their business, distribution plans, or publication and marketing strategies.

But besides the obviously shady publishers pretending to be reputable hybrid publishers, there are plenty more downsides that would irk an author. 

Here are the disadvantages of using a hybrid publisher:

• You don’t receive an advance for the contract, instead, you pay the publisher.
• There’s no guarantee the quality will be of a high standard, meaning the possibility of uninteresting book blurbs, shoddy book covers, bad book editing, etc.
• They have a smaller budget than traditional publishers, so efforts for publication and marketing may be lackluster.
• It’s a bigger financial investment than self-publishing, as the costs are fixed. 
• You still pay more than the contracted price due to additional costs for storage, ARC copies of your book, shipping, etc.
• You may still have to do some of the publication tasks based on the package offer, for example, paying for proofreading, getting an ISBN, etc.
• Their target audience is you, the author, not the readers. They won’t put as much effort into marketing and publicity for your book, as your sales are not a key factor for them.
• The amount spent on hybrid publishing will, in almost all cases, be more than you’ll get back through the sales of your book – seeing a profit is probably unlikely.
• If the hybrid publisher is crowdfunding-based, your book could be cancelled if not enough money is raised.

Who is Hybrid Publishing for?

This route is not meant for everyone. Let’s split the camp up into who it’ll work for and who it wouldn’t.

Who is Hybrid Publishing for?	Who is Hybrid Publishing not for?
You have the funds to bear all the costs without worrying about your savings.	You have a budget to stick to and don’t want to spend all of your savings on publishing your first book.
You want your book published by any means necessary (even if it means foregoing a profit).	You view this as a potential career and want to make a living off your books.
You want to share your book with family and friends mostly.	You want to reach many readers.
Publishing the book will support your main career, for example, gaining authority as a CEO, speaker, etc.	You want your book to be another income stream.
You plan to only write one book.	You want to write many books and series.

If the column on the left seems more like you, then great! We won’t yuck somebody else’s yum. If you’re keen on finding a hybrid publisher to make your author dreams a reality, the next 2 sections are important in helping you choose a hybrid publisher that won’t rip you off.

How To Pick A Hybrid Publisher

Still think hybrid publishing is the right option for you? Well, then there’s an extensive process you need to go through to pick the best one. You’re not just looking for the one that best fits you and your book, you’re also on the lookout for scammy vanity publishers dressed as hybrid presses.

We’ve curated a comprehensive list of questions to use as research guidelines to root out the bad apples from the bunch. You should use the IBPA criteria we listed in the next section, as well as these quick questions:

• How long has the hybrid press been around? 
• How many books a year does the publisher produce?
• What packages do they offer? Do they fit your needs?
• Check out their submissions page. Do they have requirements for vetting and acceptance?
• What royalty percentage do they offer (it should be 50% or over)?
• Do they publish physical books or only ebooks?
• Do they assist with marketing at all?
• What are the qualifications of their staff members (editors, designers, etc) – are they just copywriters and copyeditors turned book publishing staff?
• Do they have a timeline for publication, or even a waitlist to be published? Are you fine with being on a waitlist?

If you want to dig in further, we have some more granular questions to help you feel confident in the hybrid publisher you pick:

Distribution scope

One of the big reasons authors want a hybrid press is to have access to a wider distribution for their books. Find out:

• What outlets, bookstores, and libraries do they have relationships with?
• If their previously published books are in these bookstores and libraries.

Quality of books

You’ll have a better idea of the type of quality they can offer for publishing your book by looking at their previous publications. Research these books on their website, Amazon, and Goodreads: 

• Do they align with your genre? 
• Do they fit in with the traditionally published books?
• How do the book blurbs look?
• Is the book cover designed well?
• Is the internal book formatting of high quality?
• Do they have a publication list for books coming soon?

Published authors

Get a better idea of their quality by researching the authors they’ve published:

• Have they won awards?
• Have they published more books under this press?
• How many reviews do they have?
• Do the positive reviews outweigh the bad ones? 
• If there are bad reviews, do they comment on the quality of the book in terms of editing, formatting, story, etc.?

Post-publication services

You’re paying a big sum for their services, so you need to know if they’re going to drop you like a hot potato once your books hit the shelves. Ask them how their post-publication services work: 

• What have other authors said about it?
• Is there an additional fee for this?

Find out more on other platforms

Check out what people have to say about them on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., as well as other forums.

Note! You can submit the contract offered by the publisher to the author’s guild and ask a member for guidance.

Before you sign the deal

Don’t put your John Hancock on that contract just yet! Here are some final questions you could ask:

• Do you offer website building, or will my book be on your website? (Every professional author needs a website!)
• Will my book be uploaded through my Amazon KDP account or the publishing house’s?
• If my book is under your KDP account, what is the process for changing the price for promotions, or changing the blurb, Amazon categories, etc.?
• What is the process for ordering author copies? Is there a fee for this?

(Maybe) The Best Hybrid Publishing Companies

We’ll be honest, it’s really hard to recommend a hybrid press – it’s really to each their own with this one.

But we’ve gone out and found the following hybrid publishers, and while we can’t really recommend them per se, they have had a few good reviews. Take this list with a pinch of salt.

Note! We don’t endorse these publishers. Make sure to do your own research for every hybrid publisher you come across, including the ones on this list. 

• FriesenPress
• Forbes Books
• Amplify Publishing Group
• BookBaby
• IdeaPress Publishing
• Greenleaf Book Group
• Scribe Publishing
• Mascot Books
• Redemption Press

How Do Hybrid Publishers Work?

The publishing industry as a whole can seem like a mystery to new authors, and the same can be said for this niche area of publishing. We thought we’d give you a quick breakdown of what the initial process is to get you clued up.

Okay, let’s say you found the perfect hybrid book publisher for you. Great! Now, what can you expect from the process going forward?

Glad you asked. 

Firstly, before we get into the entire process, we wanted to point out a very helpful way of finding a good hybrid publisher. 

Reputable hybrid publishers will follow the IBPA’s standards. That means they must follow this list of expectations to meet the IBPA’s criteria.

These criteria are not really enforceable, but they’re rather a guideline to help you vet hybrid publishers for your own sanity. Here’s the list:

• Define a mission and vision for its publishing program.
• Vet submissions.
• Commit to truth and transparency in business practices.
• Provide a negotiable, easy-to-understand contract for each book published.
• Publish under its own imprint(s) and ISBNs.
• Publish to industry standards.
• Ensure editorial, design, and production quality.
• Pursue and manage a range of publishing rights.
• Provide distribution services.
• Demonstrate respectable sales.
• Pay authors a higher-than-standard royalty 

Now that you understand the criteria, let’s look at what the procedure would be when you approach a hybrid publisher.

Submission

You submit your sample pages or entire manuscript to the hybrid press to be vetted. Assuming the publisher meets the IBPA standards, they won’t just accept your submission right off the bat. 

They need to see if it fits in with their other publications and if your story is the type of story they typically publish. They’ll also evaluate if your story is up to their standards.

Contingency acceptance

If the hybrid publisher believes your work has potential but thinks it still needs work, they will accept your manuscript on a contingency basis.

This means they may accept you on the condition that you pay for additional development and editing. 

Be wary that in this case, your manuscript is not guaranteed to be accepted and published. 

Note: When vetting a hybrid publisher, a low acceptance rate doesn’t mean they’re more selective, as contingency manuscripts might be included in the report, deflating the statistics. 

Choosing a package

If your manuscript is accepted, the hybrid will offer you their packages. The options could be:

• A basic package (design, publishing, distribution).
• Premium package (includes developmental editing, marketing materials, publicity, and outreach).
• A la carte option (custom plan that lets the author put together the services they want in one package).

The quoted price given for these packages could be lower than the reality due to additional costs that many new authors are unfamiliar with. You may be billed by the publisher for these costs, or you will be asked to carry out the tasks yourself. 

Final Thoughts On Hybrid Publishing

Having more options for publishing makes the book industry more accessible to writers, which is a win for aspiring authors! But, although hybrid publishing can be a more flexible option, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution. It has some great pros, but many scary cons.

There are definitely use cases where it works in the author’s favor, and ones where it won’t. That’s completely up to your goals, budget, preferences, and how much involvement you want in the process. 

But if doing it all on your own as a self-publisher gives you pause, then all you need is a team comprised of service providers you trust to do your brand and book justice. From there, all the pieces start to come together.

Lucky for you, we’re experienced with one aspect of book marketing that no author loves to do: designing author websites!

We build attention-grabbing websites that reflect the author’s brand and showcase their book in a way that makes readers fall in love. We know just how to bring your book and brand to life online. 

We’ve worked with debut authors and authors who have sold millions of copies. Let’s chat and find a way to make your dreams come true. Take the first step to promoting your brand and book online by filling in this inquiry form.