Hybrid publishers and memoirs.

So, you've finished your precious work. Every word is exactly where you want it to be and you feel satisfied. You’ve written and rewritten, edited and proofed, and now your baby is ready to go out into the wide world.

Most people know the tricks: 

get the agent/publisher’s name right, 

craft a stunning cover letter with a one sentence pitch that knocks everybody’s socks off, 

write a brilliant synopsis that would make the hardest of hearts melt, 

produce a bio to show all your great accomplishments

and, if needed write a clear proposal.

 Got all that done? Okay. The next step is where you have to take a deep breath. Either your brilliant idea is met with silence or at the very least with a neutral rejection. If you’re really skilful and/or lucky, you might get a nice rejection written just for you with a bit of feedback.

I was fortunate enough to get a couple of these from big named agents. They said nice things about my work and told me that memoirs like mine rarely get published unless written by a celebrity. I was even given a statistic. Only 2% of non-celebrity, non-TV presenter, non-journalist people (you get the drift) get through.

 So, you take another deep breath and carry on, hoping your memoir has what it takes to be one of the 2%.

Of course, you could always self publish. An awful lot of the autobiographical books I’ve noticed on Amazon are published in this way. And anyone who’s ever done this, knows how much hard work it is. A friend and I did our first fairy stories on the cheap via Amazon. All well and good, but they looked cheap and neither of us had the health or the energy to do enough marketing, despite good reviews on Amazon.

Then there’s vanity publishing. Pay a lot of money and you get a nice shiny book with your name on it. In fact, you get a garage full of nice shiny books. You’ve still got to do all the marketing.

What’s all this moaning about marketing I hear you say. Well, in my case, I simply don’t have the energy to do it all by myself. I’m old, disabled by pain and have a dodgy heart. I just don’t have the strength or, to be honest, the technical know-how in this modern age. I’m happy if I get myself dressed in the morning and sorted out my medications. Doing pod casts and scheduled YouTube videos and linking everything up is beyond my little brain right now.

What’s left? This is where hybrid publishers come in. A word of warning: there are many vanity publishers posing as hybrids, wanting your money without giving you the support you need. I’m not naming names, but there are many articles on the web about this. There are also many articles giving advice on what to look for.

 A true hybrid publisher will offer you a partnership. They will be selective — after all they’re in it as a business just like all the others and they want to take on authors with skill. You pay a proportion of the publishing costs and they pay the rest. Your book should be published to the same high standard as a traditional publisher. In other words, it should be shiny, with an ISBN and everything.

 A good hybrid publisher will also offer you guidance and support in marketing both on and off-line. They should get your books into major bookstores and major online resources, plus encourage and guide you on your social media marketing.

 So, that’s where I am right now. Really happy news! Local Legend, a small independent publisher, are interested in my book about how my animals opened my spiritual eyes. Like the big boys in the industry, they told me that only celebrities get autobiographical material published unless the narrative is particularly strong.

They suggested some changes to my sample chapters and, if they like my new version, I might be lucky enough to end up with a contract. Yes, I’ll pay some money for it, but not as much with us with a vanity publisher, and they will provide much-needed advice, guidance and marketing.

 So now I have to get a website and think about social media. But not so much that I get chest pain. I want to avoid going into hospital through the excitement of all of this. Better take another deep breath then.