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A hybrid publisher? What's that?

That's the most common question I hear when I start talking about hybrid publishing to anyone who isn't in the publishing industry. It's a good question, and the fact that so many people are still talking about trying to define the very term that describes it says a lot about the nebulous nature of publishing's future right now.

I usually say that a hybrid publisher is like a hybrid car. There are different kinds of fuel to make the car go, but it all happens out of sight and concern. For the driver or the passenger, the car functions pretty much like a car did 30 years ago. Under the hood, though, the car is taking the fuel it needs from different sources. With a hybrid publisher, the experience for a reader is the same: the end result is a book. For an author, the experience can be as different or similar as the author would like it to be.

Hybrid Publishers

Hybrid publishers are a new phenomenon, walking the line between a traditional publishing house and outright self-publishing. Here are the basic starting points of typical understanding:

Traditional Publishing: Author gets agent, agent gets publisher, publisher handles everything from there on out.

Hybrid Publisher: The nether-soup between, where few authors have gone before...

Self-Publishing: Author handles everything from writing to publishing to marketing.

Services: I think the simplest way to think about a hybrid publisher is that they can fill in the gaps for an author while still letting the author shine where his or her strengths are.

Every hybrid publisher is going to bring something different to the table, as is every author. Typically, a hybrid publisher will offer a variety of services and publishing packages that an author can choose from. For example, if you are an author who has self-published a few books and have a decent author platform and an editor you like to work with, maybe what you need is a cover designer and some marketing help, so that is what the hybrid publisher will provide. Or, it could be that you are just starting out and don't have an editor, designer, or much of a marketing plan, so the hybrid publisher has a package that could get you on a solid foundation.

Cost: Some hybrid publishers take a flat fee up front for their services or package, and the author takes the royalties that come when the book is sold. In other cases, the hybrid publisher is doing the services at no initial cost to the author (like a traditional publisher), but takes a significant cut of the profit when the book sells. 

Examples: Authors like Joanna Penn and Hugh Howey are also creating hybrid deals and straddling the line between self-publishing and traditional publishing houses by rewriting the rules based on one simple principle: what works. Rather than take a path that is prescribed, new authors are finding success by trying a lot of different approaches and focusing their energy on the marketing that works. When you are in charge of your own destiny, it's easier to be nimble and adjust to put your energy behind whatever is giving you some good results.

So, who are these Hybrid Publishers?

Mill City Press:  Their home pages boasts "Self-publishing Redefined," so it appears that they are targeting people who have self-published and want to up their game. They offer packages and services to fit the needs of authors who want some help.

Grit City Publishing: "GCP is an independent publishing group of Emotobooks, the first fiction medium exclusive to tablets and smartphones. Our creators immerse our fans in the thick tapestries of amazing stories and visualized character emotions." Not only are they innovating on the publishing model, but on what they are publishing as well.

Windy City Publishers: They offer publishing packages and a la carte services, enabling authors to choose the areas where they need help.

The ranks of hybrid publishers are growing as the ranks of self-publishers do the same. Authors who can do it all are finding that they maybe don't want to, and are looking to hybrid publishers to fill in those gaps and create something entirely new and amazing. We may just be seeing the beginning of a new version of what a publisher will be in the future, but we are definitely seeing a trend that will only grow throughout the summer and beyond.

What do you think?

Image source: Sam Howzit and joe.ross via flickr