Traditional Publishing:
There used to be one main business model for publishing, traditional publishing. This is where an author is paid for their work (i.e., an "advance" or "advance against royalties") and the publisher develops, markets, and sells the work to recoup costs. Producing a book is costly with editorial and development, proofreading, book design, cover design, production, printing, shipping, fulfillment, warehousing, marketing, advertising, and overhead costs. Because of this, traditional publishers are typically highly selective. They want to enter a business transaction with a high degree of certainty that if they produce a book, they can sell and make money. Are you famous? Do you have a large and active social media following? Would a lot of people immediately know you and purchase your book? For most of us, the answer to these questions is probably no if we are honest with ourselves. Pair this with a decline in overall reading, and the market is constricted with fewer and more selective readers who are presented with more "content" creators than ever in history vying for attention. Traditional publishing is competitive and the threshold high. It is not for most, but because of its historical significance and portrayal in media, most still view this as the most common form of publishing and the best option. Odds are, it is not your best option. I do not mean to discourage you from trying. Go for it. But, as we discussed in last week’s post, managing your expectations and clear and realistic goals will go a long way in a more enjoyable and fulfilling writing and/or publishing experience.
Hybrid Publishing:
Hybrid publishers arose to cater to all the people who wanted to publish, but who couldn’t get picked up by a traditional publisher. A majority of writers and publishers now fall into this category, and even the largest traditional publishers have bought up or started imprints under their main corporation, which function under this model of publishing. Hybrid publishing requires a form of payment for publishing. You pay a publisher for services (editorial, marketing, design, distribution, production, etc.) or are required to buy a set quantity of books up front. The costs and models vary, but the intent is that these forms of payment help the publisher cover upfront costs so the risk is not all on them. This allows hybrid publishers to take on riskier work with authors who are not well known or established. For some, the idea of paying for publishing feels like a failure and scam. There are publishers out there scamming authors who offer little in the way of sales and marketing efforts, poor products, or poor services. Do your research before signing anything. But there are also a lot of hybrid publishers out there producing really creative, great books that otherwise would never have seen the light of day if traditional publishing was the only form of publishing.
Check your expectations. Is your goal to minimize financial risk? Is the idea of paying for services up front off-putting to you? If so, why? Is retaining the rights to your work and intellectual property important to you? These are valuable questions to ask yourself if you are seriously considering publishing. Traditional publishing is often what is depicted by media. Because it has been romanticized and held up as the standard, it has skewed perception of the publishing process. There are other options and paths, and hybrid publishing may be right for you.*
Vanity Publishing:
Vanity publishers are a type of hybrid publisher. They charge fees and costs for producing the work. The main difference is they do not have any desire after a book is published to market or sell the book. Their business models are built on a cost-plus model (mark-up). Your fees you pay cover their costs, plus overhead fees. They make money on the added margin, and they make money by skimping on good quality services and production, often quoting high costs for upfront work. Once the book is out, they’ve already made their money, so there is no incentive to sell books, just to produce books. If a book does sell, it's icing on the cake for them, but not a necessity for them. They are called vanity publishers not because they are vain, but because the author is vain. The term comes from these publishers preying on the vanity of authors who are so eager to publish their work that they would risk financial loss to publish. The differences between hybrid and vanity presses are subtle. All vanity presses are hybrid publishers, but not all hybrid publishers are vanity publishers. Do your research. Ask good questions: On average, how many copies of a book do you sell? What is the royalty rate? Could you provide an example of a few royalty reports to look at and see the net proceed breakdown? Do I have to buy copies? Where will books be available? Do you have a marketing department, and if so, what is their proposal and offer for marketing? Could you send me some sample books you’ve published? Do I retain the rights to my work and intellectual property? Look to see if authors publish several works with a publisher or if they move on and either stop writing or publish with other publishers. Authors who have a good experience with a publisher tend to stick with that publisher and keep publishing, while a bad experience can often lead to changing publishers or quitting writing altogether. There are signs of a vanity publisher, and if you look into it and listen to your gut, you can usually tell difference between a scam and a service.
Self-Publishing:
Self-publishing has gained major traction in the last two decades with the rise of print-on-demand books, eBooks, and the internet. Printing companies that print and bind books when ordered (print-on-demand, POD) became more common when digitally printing technology became more affordable and accessible. It has become possible to print a book one-off relatively cheaply, without having to commit large money up front to a big print run. EBooks made it possible for people to cheaply put books online to download without having to invest in physical costs or fulfillment. The internet gave companies a place to both market these technological services of printing, and a forum to post and give access to eBooks. Writers, for the first time, could limit their costs and risk to publish. The tradeoff is…self-publishers have to put in the work to be more than just writers—they have to be publishers: editing, doing book design, distributing books, managing direct sales and fulfillment, and advertising. For some, this task is daunting and publishing companies have been created that specifically focus on providing services to self-publishers for design, printing, editing, fulfillment, distribution, and marketing—essentially, a hybrid publisher, but perhaps not as well organized or specializing in only one or some elements of the publishing process. For some, taking on these tasks themselves means their main investment in publishing is time and less financial (though all of this still costs something). For some, this is more palatable, and having more control and more work doesn’t bother them in exchange for less financial risk. The self-publishing path takes a lot of work. There are many success stories in the last two decades for those who put in the effort and work. What are your expectations? Do you want to take on more work, or does this path kill the joy of creative writing? Only you can answer these questions for yourself.
A self-publishing author must still assess what they know and don’t know. If you can’t do something, you’ll need to hire and outsource services: most commonly editorial and book design, but equally important is marketing, advertising, and sales. If you don’t want to outsource and pay someone for this, you’ll likely need to put in even more work to learn and educate yourself as you proceed, which is what this blog’s aim is.
*A note on hybrid publishing and sales. If you are investing in your book either with a hybrid publisher or self publishing, you'll want to consider ways to financially recoup costs if at all possible. Sales of books alone will likely not allow you to recoup those costs. Most books, after all publishing costs are taken into account, would need to sell 1,000 or more copies just to break even on cost. Most books do not reach this mark.
If you are considering these options of publishing, pairing publishing with a vocation is a good way to help make up the difference. For authors of fiction or educational text, many of these authors are professors teaching writing, history, or in the humanities. Their teaching allows them to market their book and bolster their CV for tenure, which comes with more financial and job stability. Architects who produce books use them as marketing tools to give out to perspective or former clients with the goal of showing clients what they can do and offer, and to hopefully get new work—which pays for the book. Pastors, public speakers, and influencers often use writing as a tool for instruction, but also to build and grow their followings, who then purchase more books. The real money is in their vocations, but the book is a tool to build that. If financial success from the book is one of your goals, pairing publishing—whether traditional, hybrid, or self—is the best way to maximize growth financially to subsidize your writing while it starts off. Books are tools for communication, and viewing them as such and using them as so will help provide other paths for financial gain from publishing than just sales. Multiple streams of revenue is the best way to build financial success from publishing.