What is Hybrid Publishing and is it right for you? (An unbiased guide)

Hybrid publishing combines traditional and self-publishing. A hybrid publisher acts like a traditional publisher, but authors pay most or all of the publishing costs and aren't granted a royalty advance.

Hybrid publishers have editorial, design, and marketing departments, like traditional presses. The goal is to support authors who want traditional publishing but can't or won't deal with a traditional publisher.

Hybrid publishing isn't vanity publishing in theory, but the reality can be disappointing. Learn about hybrid publishing below.

Costs

Traditional publishers buy manuscripts they like and lead them through editing and marketing. Traditional publishers pay authors an upfront amount (an "advance") and cover all production costs for their publications. Hybrid publishing is different.

​Publisher splits costs

In hybrid publishing, the author fronts, or shares, production costs and doesn't earn an advance. The publisher handles everything (editing, marketing, etc.). Authors that don't want to manage editorial, design, and marketing can hire a hybrid publisher.

Some authors crowdfund the first expenditures by pre-selling their book and using the money to pay the hybrid publisher. Unless the author raises a minimum amount, the book will be cancelled.

Big investment, low returns

The hybrid publishing approach means the author pays a large percentage of the cost and assumes financial risk. They must trust the press to promote their book well. If things go south, the author has little recourse to recoup their investment.

If your novel has commercial potential, get an agent and pitch to traditional publishers. If you can afford it, self-publish. You can construct your own team of experienced editors and designers and keep all the revenues.

Royalties

Let's examine how hybrid publishers affect royalties.

Better royalties than traditional

Hybrid publishing lets authors earn more royalties per book sold, like self-publishing. A regular book agreement gets authors 10-15% in hardcover royalties, 8-10% in paperback, and 25% in ebook. Hybrid publishing can provide up to 50% in royalties.

Self-Publishing Profit Lost

Hybrid publishing allows you keep more royalties than traditional. Why split royalties when you're already investing and taking risks? Self-published authors get 70% royalties on $2.99-$9.99 ebooks, 35% on other ebooks, and 40-60% on print books.

Hybrid Publisher don't really care about quality

The ideal hybrid publisher is choosy about the authors they work with and wants to shape and advertise their publications.

IBPA released nine requirements for a respectable hybrid publisher in 2018. Many of these criteria involved editorial control, including vetting submissions. Like a traditional publisher, a reputable hybrid must ensure their products will reflect well on their writers and sell well.

Most "hybrid" publishers are actually vanity presses misrepresenting their economic model to swindle authors. A vanity publisher knows it's hard to sell a book and will pressure the author to pay for add-ons and extra fees. If they're especially unpleasant, they'll hold the author's IP ransom.

If they'll publish practically any author who pays, they're a vanity press, not a hybrid publisher.

They don't help with marketing because they can't

Without the marketing power of a larger company, a hybrid publisher's editorial and design divisions can struggle to gain exposure. You may have to hustle to generate sales like a self-publishing author.

Marketing hybrid novels is difficult. Unlike self-published authors, hybrid-published authors can't afford ads or marketing; they have limited marketing resources. Hybrid presses "only" make 50% on sales, hence they have little motivation to grow sales and smaller budgets overall. Hybrid presses gradually increase manufacturing costs to survive, which harms authors.

There you have it; this is the good, the bad, and ugly about hybrid publishing so you can make an informed decision!