Hybrid Publishing: The Devil’s Spawn or The Wave of the Future?

The first picture book manuscript I sent out to publishers was YOU’LL ALWAYS BE MY LITTLE PUPPY. In a month I had offers from two hybrid publishers in the UK. The reviews were mixed if not worrisome about these two houses. The amount of money they asked for me to pony up ranged from $2500 and $3500. However the contract was not definitive. I have been warned by SCBWI ( Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) to NEVER accept an offer where I have to pay part of the costs. I was new to the publishing world. I decided best to go with my gut. If I did not feel good about the offer, I needed to say “no thank you” which is what I did.

Interestingly enough I found a publishing house in Texas listed in SCBWI’s ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO PUBLISHING FOR CHILDREN. No where did they say this was anything but a traditional publishing house. I even recognized the name and saw they have award winning authors. Unlike the other two houses which admitted upfront they were offering a hybrid contract, this house chatted with me and interviewed me. They even gave an editorial review. They said, “We absolutely wish to welcome you as an author. We will go over the contract via phone next week.” My first red flag was they sent nothing in writing . It was a bit of cloak and daggers. When we “chatted” I discovered they would pay nothing up front. They wanted between $50-$75 K for me to publish a book. I began doing the math of when I would even break even. They made it sound like they were doing me a favor with this new model of “hybrid” publishing. Needless to say I said “No thank you” meaning actually “not a chance in hell.”

So I am slogging through query letters as I approach traditional publishing houses. I have three conferences lined up. I do plan to approach agents after or at each conference. As you can see I have a website. I am going to do this.

Authors, I would love to hear from you! Has anyone found a legit hybrid publisher that you would recommend? Are there horror stories out there? Will we see this model become more popular? It is possible as publishing houses combine and cut costs.

It is a tricky business to get that foot in the door, but if we support each other, we can not only be cheerleaders for our writer’s community but hopefully help each other along the yellow brick road.

Some of the images came from the Kotobee blog. I want to give them credit.