What Is Hybrid Publishing? A Straightforward Guide for Writers

Hybrid publishing is a term that still creates a lot of confusion for writers. If I had to explain it in the simplest way possible, I would say this:

Hybrid publishing can be a very good solution for someone who knows what it takes to write a book but knows very little about what it takes to professionally produce one and bring it to market.

Those are two very different skill sets.

Writers write books. Publishing is the business of turning those manuscripts into professionally produced books that can compete for readers in the marketplace.

And that distinction matters.

A Book Is More Than a Manuscript

One of the things I encourage writers to understand is that once a manuscript moves toward publication, it becomes something else, too: a product.

I know that isn't necessarily the romantic way to think about a book. I'm a writer first, and I understand how personal our work can be. Books are creative expression. They communicate ideas, experiences, knowledge and stories. They can become part of our legacy.

But books are also products, and readers have expectations about the products they buy.

They expect a book to be professionally edited. They expect the interior to be properly formatted and designed. They expect the cover to look like it belongs alongside other professionally published books in its category.

And yes, despite everything we've been told, readers absolutely judge books by their covers.

Producing a book to those standards requires a number of different professional skills. That's true whether the name on the spine belongs to one of the largest publishing houses in the world, an independent press, a hybrid publisher, or the author.

The question is: Who is going to manage all of it?

That's where understanding the different publishing models becomes important.

Where Hybrid Publishing Fits

For a long time, writers essentially thought about publishing in one way: find an agent, hope the agent finds a publisher, and hope the publisher says yes.

Today, writers have far more options.

Traditional publishing remains one of them. Self-publishing is another. Hybrid publishing sits somewhere between the two.

With self-publishing, the writer also becomes the publisher. That means having complete control, but it also means taking responsibility for assembling and managing the people and services required to produce the book.

A hybrid publisher provides the publishing infrastructure and professional guidance while the author contributes financially to the production of the book.

But I think describing hybrid publishing only in terms of who pays for production misses much of its value.

At its best, hybrid publishing is a partnership.

What Does That Partnership Look Like?

I can speak most confidently about how we approach it at Aris Publishing Group.

When an author works with us, I don't expect that person to suddenly become an expert in editing, cover design, interior formatting, ISBNs, copyright registration, Library of Congress requirements, printing, distribution or metadata.

That's our job.

We assemble and manage the production team. Depending on the book, that can include editors, cover designers and interior book designers. I oversee the production process, handle the publishing requirements and registrations, work with our distribution partners, and quality-check the work along the way.

The author has one point of contact throughout the process: me.

That doesn't mean authors simply hand over their manuscripts and disappear.

Quite the opposite.

I want authors involved.

I want to know what they envision for their books. I want to understand what they like and don't like. I want them to participate in the creative process and feel proud of the finished product.

But there are also times when I have to be the voice of reason.

An author may love a particular photograph that simply won't work on a cover. There may be too much copy, the wrong typography, or too many competing elements. Sometimes an idea that works beautifully in someone's imagination just doesn't translate into a book that will work in the marketplace. Those aren't always easy conversations, but they're important ones.

The goal isn't simply to produce the book an author imagined. It's to take that vision and help shape it into a professionally produced book that readers will want to pick up.

That's why I think of the relationship as a partnership.

Why Not Just Self-Publish?

For some writers, self-publishing is absolutely the right decision.

If you understand the publishing process, want complete control, have the time and interest to manage it yourself, and are comfortable hiring and directing the professionals you need, self-publishing offers tremendous freedom.

But there's a cost that doesn't always appear on a publishing budget: the cost of time and mistakes.

Finding a designer is easy. Finding the right designer for your book is harder.

Hiring an editor is easy. Knowing what type of editing your manuscript actually needs is harder. Getting files formatted is easy. Knowing whether those files meet professional publishing standards is something else entirely.

I've spent years finding, hiring, managing and sometimes replacing publishing professionals. I've also spent countless hours developing instructions and standards for the people I hire.

That experience has value.

A good hybrid publisher shouldn't simply give an author a list of services. The publisher should know how to manage those services and, perhaps most importantly, know how to recognize whether the work being delivered is good enough.

Hybrid Publishing Is Not the Right Choice for Everyone

I think this is important to say because I don't believe writers should be talked into a particular publishing path.

There is no universally "best" way to publish a book.

There is only the publishing path that makes the most sense for you, your book and what you're hoping to accomplish with it.

If your dream is to be represented by a literary agent and published by a major traditional house, I would never discourage you from pursuing that.

If you want to control every aspect of production and learn the publishing business yourself, self-publishing may be exactly right for you.

And if you want the independence and speed available in today's publishing landscape but don't want to become the person responsible for managing every moving part of producing a professional book, hybrid publishing may be worth considering.

The decision shouldn't begin with someone telling you which model is best.

It should begin with questions.

How soon would you like to publish? How much creative control do you want? How much are you comfortable investing? How involved do you want to be in production? Do you want to hire and manage editors, designers and other professionals yourself?

What do you ultimately hope this book will accomplish?

The answers can tell you quite a bit about which publishing path makes sense.

Start With the Book

One of my favorite parts of speaking with writers is hearing the story behind the story.

Why this book? Why now? Why did you spend months, sometimes years, writing it?

Whether the book is fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry or a children's book, there's a reason someone felt compelled to put those words on the page.

That's the part of publishing I never want the business side to overshadow.

Yes, we need to think about editing and design. We need ISBNs and metadata and distribution. We need to think about readers and the marketplace.

But first there was a writer with something to say.

Publishing is what allows that work to move beyond the writer and into someone else's hands.

And whichever publishing path you ultimately choose, I think that's something worth doing thoughtfully.

Not Sure Which Publishing Path Is Right for You?

I offer complimentary consultations for writers who want some guidance about their publishing options.

You don't need to know whether hybrid publishing is right for you before we speak. That's part of the conversation.

My goal is to help you understand your options, think through what you want for your book, and make an informed decision about what comes next.