Publishing is slow to change, but when it does, it happens quickly. That’s why publishing terminology is so confusing! For the longest time, “indie” publishing meant any option that’s not traditional (independent from The Big Five Publishers). Then randomly one day, “indie” is changed to mean strictly self-published.
When did that happen? Honestly, I don’t know. My head is still spinning.
So let’s break down the publishing options together. For a more in-depth breakdown of all the publishing options, Jane Friedman puts out “The Key Book Publishing Paths” every year with updated definitions. I highly recommend taking a look once you’re done with this post!
Traditional Publishing
When we think of traditional publishing, we usually think of The Big Five, AKA Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan. Each has dozens of smaller imprints under their bigger company umbrella, but these are the biggest players with the most contacts across the industry.
However, there are more traditional publishers in the game than just those five. In fact, there are lots. It’s important to remember that traditional publishing is a model, not a list of companies.
A traditional publishing model is defined by the publisher taking the financial risk. The author does not pay for publishing, but instead goes through a lengthy acquisitions process and, if selected, sells the rights to their book to the publisher who then works with that author (to varying degrees) to produce, distribute, and market the title.
Other types of traditional publishers outside of The Big Five are university publishers (ex. Princeton University Press), academic publishers (ex. Wiley), and mid-size publishers (ex. Kensington).
Some traditional publishers will pay an advance1 for those book rights (usually around $5-10k or more), but some won’t pay any advance. Instead, they may have the author sign away the rights of their book for free publication in exchange for a higher royalty rate going to the publisher.
The royalty rate is usually pretty low for the author, because they’re not paying anything to the publisher.
The main benefits of traditional publishing are that it’s free (not counting the author’s time and efforts), sometimes you’ll get a hefty advance, the book will have greater credibility with some audiences with the publisher’s name on the spine, and you’ll get knowledgeable support from a robust team.
The biggest downsides to traditional publishing are that it’s exclusive and hard to break into (you have to either know someone who knows someone, or be really ok with rejection), you likely have to query your book with agents first and then pay them a cut of your advance, you lose the rights to your book and along with it, the final say on title, cover, etc., and you may not get the marketing support you want. In fact, unless you’re a big name on their front list, you’re probably getting minimal marketing.
Indie or Self-Publishing
We’re moving next to the most popular and most abundant form of publishing: Independent or “Indie” Publishing.
As mentioned in the intro above, indie used to mean any publishing outside of traditional, but more recently, it’s taken to mean self-publishing specifically.
This is when an author takes on the entire financial risk of publishing, navigating the whole process—writing through distribution and promotion—themselves, hiring freelancers and small companies for support as needed.
Some talented individuals are able to do it all solo—DIY style. They write the book, design the cover, edit, upload to a print-on-demand (POD) distribution site, and then market entirely on their own. I am in awe of the individuals who can do this successfully. Truly. If this is you, please leave a comment with the name of your book so I can take notes.
Most indie authors will hire an editor, designer, or marketing somewhere along the way. There are indie publishers that offer a variety of a-la-carte services, like BookBaby and Bowker. They work by charging a fee per service, and the author selects which services, and goes from there. Sometimes, they will publish the book under their own name, sometimes, the author will publish it under their own imprint. It’s case-by-case.
Back when self-publishing first became a thing, the quality was low and readers and booksellers were snobby about buying POD. Nowadays, the quality has gotten significantly better and it’s a viable option for any writer.
The main pros are low to no costs, full control creatively and otherwise, and 100% royalties. The cons are low to no credibility, identifying and hiring your own team, and, of course, the time sink. Indie publishing will eat up all your free time and be really confusing to top it off.
Hybrid Publishing
Hybrid is exactly what it sounds like: a mix of indie and traditional publishing. A hybrid publisher will have some traditional characteristics, and some indie characteristics, varying publisher to publisher.
Most hybrid publishers will opt for a more exclusive acquisitions process. They may be open to un-agented authors, but they may require a quality check and mandate a certain level of editorial before agreeing to work with you.
Usually, the author retains the rights to their book, but they pay the publisher for their services and still split the royalties to some degree. Authors will get much higher royalties from hybrid than traditional.
Hybrid does get pricey. Because you’re paying for the full publishing experience and support, this option will run you anywhere from $10k-$80k, on average landing around $40k.
That being said, you will retain full creative control and have experts to support you along the way, adding credibility and quality in most cases. It’s much more accessible than traditional, but more expensive than indie.
Each hybrid publisher works differently, so I can’t say with certainty what the pros and cons are as a whole. Some will lean more indie (Glass Spider Publishing), and others will lean more traditional (Greenleaf Book Group). Overall, you’re maintaining control but paying a pretty penny.
Regardless of which publishing route you pick, take a moment to be proud of yourself for even having a manuscript to publish! You’ve done the hard part, now share it with the world whatever way makes the most sense for you.
A note on advances: Typically a traditional author will not earn royalties on their book until they’ve paid off their advance. For example, if an author is paid $10k as an advance for their book rights, the publisher will keep all the royalties for the book until it’s sold $10k, and only then will they start splitting the additional royalties with the author.