Why Hybrid Publishers are Bad for Authors
Facebook is a
well of made-up information. I don’t condemn it, exactly. It’s impossible to
spend our lives verifying everything. Sometimes unconscious anecdotes hold more
truth than our logical minds can understand, and if you want to be a
functioning adult, you have to be capable of acting on impulse, which means
drawing conclusions without the hard, cold facts.
However, Facebook
is not to be trusted. I once read a stream of comments about whether or not to
use “past” or “passed” in a sentence, and the speakers were split right down
the middle. There is a correct answer here, folks, and 50% of them were
absolutely certain about the wrong one.
There’s a lot of
misinformation on self-publishing. The process is difficult; you can do
everything right and still come out with nothing. But what’s scary is how often
people prey on the new and hopeful, and how easy it is to end up being taken
for a ride… even by completely well-meaning individuals.
While the
aspiring artist has always been a target for scams—a lot of people seeking
immediate reward and banking on destiny tend to make unthoughout decisions—the
average writer has to be extra cautious today because he can up in a bad
situation even though people meant no harm.
With the advent
of ebooks and accessible printing options, anyone can easily become a publisher
via self-publishing. All you have to do is come up with a name. I could easily
have your book published within the week if I wanted to; e-format, paperback,
hardcover, you name it. And I could even be remotely decent at it, considering
the hours I’ve spent doodling covers instead of writing.
But why would
someone want to go through my publisher? I have no experience in selling books,
no name recognition, no connections in the literary world. If I was going to
invest financially in your novel, we might have a deal, but a lot of these
start-up publishers don’t spend money.
Instead, they
offer a self-publishing, traditional publishing hybrid that always yields in bad results for the
writer.
Self-publishing
is not the right path for some, yet the better option for others. It takes a
certain personality type to be successful, and it’s not for the faint of heart.
Many people would do better in a traditional setting where they can be advised
by experienced professionals, having their weaker points and inexperience
supplemented by another person’s hard work and opinion, and, of course, get
money they don’t personally have to back their beloved project. There are
others who are loyal to an idea that doesn’t fit the current literary
atmosphere, they prioritize creative control, they have an eye for good
business, or simply don’t play well with others, and would be better suited as
an independent author.
It’s not anyone
else’s job to tell you which path you should take, and in fact, any reason you choose your direction is
a good one. It’s your book.
But while you
don’t need to explain yourself, it’s important to not choose an option lightly.
While self-publishing is less stigmatized, authors still need to be careful about
going public with their books because past decisions can affect future ones.
Hybrid publishers
are companies who want to claim the label of publisher without any of the
financial risk. In actuality, the only difference between traditional
publication and self-publication is who’s footing the bill.
While looking at
publishing, it’s important to understand what a publisher does. Things change
at a rapid rate nowadays, but typically publication works like this:
Author applies to
agents who have an understanding of the market, contracts, and personal
connections within publishing companies. If an agent likes an author’s
manuscript, she signs on that book, helps
the author with some revisions, and attempts to sell it to acquisitions
editors. While the ideal is for the agent and author to work long term with
each other, most publishing contracts are book-by-book, and it is actually a
red flag if a contract discusses future manuscripts. Both parties have the
right to end their relationship at any time, and the author/agent have may not
wish to work together on the next book (though it is important to remember that
publishing is a small world and screwing someone over is likely to get backfire.)
Sometimes a publisher might contract an entire series, but that’s not common. Because
the agent has more experience knowing what specifically editors are looking
for, knowing what is a reasonable sized advance, and recognizing bad deals, she
protects the author from making a naïve mistake that may ultimately screw him
over. Some publishers don’t require agents to submit to them, but these are
usually smaller companies who aren’t inundated with so much “slush” they can’t
keep up. The agent takes around a 15% commission and does not get paid prior to selling the manuscript. They will never
ask you for a fee.
The acquisitions
editor is queried individually by the agent. The editor then brings her
selection before the board and has to pitch the marketability of that book to
get them to approve. They allot her the amount of money they are willing to
spend on the project, and she, the agent, and the author negotiate terms.
The editor then
spends time working with the author to revise and edit the manuscript. The
manuscript may be passed on to a different (developmental) editor during this
process, or may even be passed to several (technical editors or line editors). The
amount of power the author has with these editors varies. The company will hire
a graphic designer for the cover, to which most beginning writers have little
word on, sometimes not even be allowed to see it prior to publication. The
writer may or may not have say on the title.
After the book has
reached its final stages, it is sent to a copyeditor for grammar, for spelling,
capitalization, punctuation, typos, continuity of style, and clarity of thought.
The copyeditor rarely has his name given to the author nowadays. The writer
goes through the correction and marks what she would like to change and stay
the same, then the book goes to be printed. At this point, if the author wants
to make any drastic changes, he is charged for extra costs. This process is
expected to cost a publisher $50,000-$100,000.
Big publishers will
then send out “ARCs,” Advanced Reader Copies, to select individuals who they
believe will benefit their marketing, such as well-established reviewers.
The amount of money
that goes into a book’s marketing budget varies nowadays. Some smaller publishers
do not budget any money for advertising at all and expect authors to promote
themselves. Some small publishers offer little help, but give the writer a
small amount of funds for advertising. Larger publishers are getting
notoriously more and more frugal in their marketing of debut authors, and it’s
becoming more up to us to make ourselves successful.
However, the most
important aspect is that a publishing company pays for the editor, the
designers, and the author. While Print On Demand (POD) only publishing is
growing more and more prevalent, the publisher should also be fronting the cost
to put physical copies in bookstores if they claim that is what they are going
to do. A big reason it’s difficult for self-publishers to get their books into bookstores
is that publishers have a buy back option, in which they will pay for any books
the stores didn’t sell, which most writers can’t afford.
When it comes to
self-publishing, the author takes on the responsibilities of the publisher. He
funds the graphic designer, the editor, the proofreader, the cost of printing,
and all other duties that he cannot do himself.
The good side is he
has more control over who he’s working with, the final say in all aspects of
the project.
In essence, money
is power.
Following along,
you can start to see why hybrid publishers might be the worst of both worlds
for the author.
Hypothetically,
it’s possible that you have a highly experienced team of publishers with
knowledge who want to help out the little guy and cannot do so by taking on the
full financial risk, but that’s not why these companies come into being.
Hybrids aren’t
necessarily money grabbing schemes; sometimes they’re just people trying to
take the terrifying business by the horns and put themselves into a position of
power. They mean well, but they don’t have the leverage to start a company in
the right way. It can be virtually free to produce a book nowadays, so if you
can get a writer to pay your editors and find their own cover (which many of
these new publishers will ask for), you can easily be a publisher without
spending a dime yourself. Some people think the system is broken and want to
change it, but don’t have the money to do so. This ideology is laudable, but
problematic for the writer, especially because many of these “innovative”
entrepreneurs don’t truly have an understanding about why the system works that
way.
In honesty, there’s
not much of a reason for credible, experienced editors to work for them.
Editors are in high demand right now, and if you have a nice resume, it’s easy
to find work within a company that pays you directly rather than being a middle
man, and if you don’t want to work for someone, there’s plenty of writers to freelance
for. These companies “hire” inexperienced editors and hand them a manuscript.
So, instead of
getting an editor who has championed and fought for your manuscript as you
would with a traditional publisher, and instead of hand selecting an editor
you’ve vetted and budgeted for as you would in self-publishing, you have an
“Editor-in-Chief” who takes on as much work as he can, making money off each
one no matter the quality, and then hands it off to his underlings, often who
he found on Facebook.
One of the best
ways to recognize the validity of a publisher is to learn literary jargon. Many
of these new publishers misuse words like, “royalties,” “editor-in-chief,”
“blockbuster,” or “book proposal.” It’s difficult to know what you don’t know,
but once you start understanding common terminology, you’ll be more quick to
recognize bad deals or fake professionals.
What you can do
right now is make a list of what you want from a publisher. There are downsides
to traditional publishing, and while I am a huge advocate that it’s the best
way to go for some people, there are many occasions in which an author would
better off going the independent route. If a publisher wants you, but you’re
not actually getting anything you want out of the contract, self-publishing
might be better.
Do you want a print
book in bookstores? Then you want a reputable publisher that bookstores feel
safe stocking. Look to see if any of their authors stock books in local shops
(many will share links on their websites to those stores out of support, or
simply to brag about the fact they’re actually there).
Do you want
accessibility to readers? You might find that it’s difficult to research these
authors online. This may mean that they’re fake, their publishers don’t have a
good website, or that they don’t coach authors on how to promote themselves.
None of these are good signs.
Do you want
financial investment? Let’s be honest, the biggest reason for traditional
publication is to have someone else take the monetary risks. If you’re paying,
that’s a huge strike against why you’d want to work with them.
Do you want a
knowledgeable and experienced team to help you with your career? The
credentials of those involved should be upfront. If they have an amazing team,
they’re going to advertise it, especially
if they’re small. If the company is mostly faceless, not sharing their book
acquisitions, success stories, or staff, it’s because they don’t have something
to brag about. Publishers will always talk about best sellers, awards, and
stellar staff members on their website if they have any. If they don’t, it
doesn’t necessarily mean they’re bad at what they do, but remember that the
whole point of getting roped in with someone else is they can do something you
can’t.
Are you squeamish
about hiring people? I know I am. Something highly appealing about the
traditional publication process is that you’re less likely to get left in the
lurch last minute. These people have worked with each other before and face
greater ramifications for not coming through. If that’s the case, it’s okay to
ask about the company’s hiring process and who these people are. If they are
hesitant to communicate with you, you shouldn’t be working with them
artistically.
Do you want
respectability? A lot of people idolize traditional publication over self-publication
because of the “look” we might get if we said we were self-published. And it’s
not without merit. The look is real, and I, an avid reader of indie books, know
all too well just how poor a self-published work can be, so it truly doesn’t
mean the same to say you were picked out of a slush pile as it is to say you
put your writing online. While it might be nice to announce you were picked up
by a small press, the people who don’t know much about publishers won’t know if
someone’s self-published, while the ones who do are likely to treat it the same
as self-publishing. If all you’re getting out of something is name recognition,
make sure it’s actually a recognizable name.
When it comes down
to it, it’s simply about valuing your contributions and not allowing fear or
impatience to make decisions for you. It’s not just about finding a place that
will have you, it’s about finding the right
place.
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