This post discusses the concept of hybrid publishing, one that CinnamonTeal Design and Publishing has introduced formally for the first time in India (we had introduced it in the form of CinnamonTeal Elite a couple of years back).
With the flood of information available on the Internet, authors can easily find and work with publishers who value the author and the book more than anything else and uphold the traditional values of publishing. The downside of this information avalanche is the risk that the author may be lured by, and sign up with, a publisher who delivers shoddy work and charges outrageous fees (or makes the author believe that a good book can be published for free). It is therefore up to the author to research well, ask the right questions and choose a publisher wisely.
Publishing Models:
There are basically three models of publishing
a. The traditional model: where the publisher pays for everything
b. The self-publishing model: where the author pays for everything
c. The hybrid model: where the publisher and author both invest in the book.
Hybrid Publishing:
The US-based Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) formalised the concept of hybrid publishing by listing out a set of conditions that hybrid publishers should meet. When we read those criteria, we realised that we were already practicing hybrid publishing, just not calling it that.
These are the criteria:
a. Define a mission and a vision: Read ours here.
b. Vet submissions: It is known among those who have researched us that we do not publish everything that is submitted to us. Going forward we intend to make our criteria more stringent and accessible.
c. Publish under its own imprints and ISBNs: Always did.
d. Publish to industry standards: Our testimonials speak for themselves.
e. Ensure editorial, design, and production quality: We remain the ONLY self-publishing service who will not publish a book unless it is edited. That emphasis on quality will steadfastly remain. Similarly we are very particular about the way the book is presented, paying special attention to cover design and page design.
f. Pursue and manage a range of publishing rights: Our authors have secured further publishing rights, translation rights and even queries for movie rights.
g. Provide distribution services: We provide distribution for all titles, in print and electronic forms, within India and abroad.
h. Demonstrate respectable sales: The statistics speak for themselves, so do the authors that have invested their time in writing a good book, and now enjoy the fruits of that work.
i. Pay authors a higher-than-standard royalty: We do not charge a percentage of the royalty, rather pay the author everything that is received from the sales platform.
We believe we do each of the things listed above and more. We thought it was time we called the hybrid publishers that we really were. And in the process, discovered that we are India’s first.
But wait, there’s more we’ll do for you:
a. Regardless of who pays the editorial, design, and production fees, we will always bear responsibility for producing, distributing, and ultimately selling professional-quality books, that look good to hold and read.
b. This even, or especially, if the author bears these costs.
c. Like we said, we are selective of the books we choose to publish. Once chosen, though, we put in all effort to ensure that the book is the best we have produced.
d. We will continue to pay you all that your book earns (after deducting the costs charged by various sales platforms).
e. In our model, the author pays for a few services, while we invest in others. That said, if you have trouble raising funds, we offer you an ability to crowdfund your book.
So that is it. That is what we offer. And if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email us at [email protected].