How Authors Can Evaluate Hybrid Publishers

This week, I’m a guest on Beyond the Book, a podcast series on the business of writing and publishing. Chris Kenneally and I discuss the growing field of so-called “hybrid” publishers, and how authors can smartly evaluate them.

A brief snippet from what I had to say:

A lot of authors right now, or at least the trend that I’m seeing, is they think that they can design their own covers or use templated interiors. I think that is OK for some projects. But if a hybrid publisher is really just slapping on a template cover or design, and they’re not really going through a formal design process, you have to ask, what is [it] that you’re paying for, if not for something that’s truly custom and suited to your work?

I know that there are a range of publishers—it’s kind of like a sausage factory. (laughter) They’re just pushing the books through this templated system, rather than … treating each book as a unique product in itself.

Listen to the 20-minute conversation on hybrid publishers, or read the transcript of our conversation.