Hybrid Publish or Self-Publish? : Choosing the Right Path for Your Writing Career

REGISTER NOW    $15 (early bird) | $25

Get an unbiased explanation of self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and paid publishing services, to make the best decision for yourself and your book.

Once an author steps away from the traditional publishing path (whether by choice or necessity), a whole new decision tree comes into play. Do you want to undertake the self-publishing process? Do you want to pay a company to assist you? Or would it be better to consider hybrid publishers?

What makes this decision all the more fraught is that the investment you make can be substantial. Whether you self- or hybrid publish, you’re often paying well into the four figures and—more often than not—into the five figures. Especially if you’re watching your budget, it’s natural to feel a lot of pressure over this choice.

Noted publishing expert Jane Friedman covers everything you need to know about the self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and paid publishing services landscape, in plain English. You’ll come away with a clear picture of how these companies work, how they differ from each other, and how it all compares to what professional, self-publishing authors do.

We’ll cover the best practices of hybrid publishers, e.g.: they conduct some level of gatekeeping and offer value that the author would have a hard time securing independently. We’ll also talk about the financials of all types of self-publishing and hybrid publishing arrangements because once you pay thousands of dollars to publish, it reduces the likelihood you’ll make a profit on book sales. Every author should go in with eyes wide open, and spend only what they can truly afford.

By the end of this class, you’ll be able to assess if you are well-suited to self-publishing your work, either as a complete independent (by setting up your own publishing company) or with the help of a service—or if you would benefit from what a hybrid publisher offers.

In this webinar, you will:

• UNDERSTAND the difference between hybrid and self-publishing
• IDENTIFY what defines a quality hybrid publisher
• LEARN the best practices of professional self-publishing authors
• SEE the financials of a typical book produced via self-publishing versus hybrid publishing, and examples of successful books produced through all methods
• SPOT hybrid publishers and paid-for publishers that could be predatory in their practices or outright scams 

This webinar is ideal for:

• Writers of any genre who are considering hybrid publishers
• Writers of any genre who are considering self-publishing
• Writers of any genre who are considering a paid publishing service
• Writers of any genre who aren’t sure of the differences between hybrid publishing and paid publishing services
• Writers who aren’t sure how to evaluate hybrid publishers or paid publishing services
• Writers who won’t be traditionally publishing and need to figure out what’s next
• Writers who wonder if hybrid publishing is worth the investment
• Writers tired of waiting for the gatekeepers to let them through

Closed captioning is available. ✔
All registrants receive the recording. ✔

ABOUT YOUR PRESENTER

Our most popular webinar presenter, JANE FRIEDMAN has spent nearly 25 years working in the book publishing industry, with a focus on author education and trend reporting. She is the editor of The Hot Sheet, the essential publishing industry newsletter for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2023. Her latest book is THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal. In addition to serving on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund, she works with organizations such as The Authors Guild to bring transparency to the business of publishing. 

Questions? Click to email Sharla at Craft Talks