If you are an author, chances are you must be tired of the term ‘self publishing’. Many publishing professionals point out the fact that self publishing is not a new trend and that it was known as ‘vanity publishing’ in the yesteryear. What’s interesting to note is the negativity associated with the idea and the egoistic term of vanity attached to it. In this age of empowerment and do-it-yourselfers, the same idea has been re-sculpted with a more positive image.
Now, even this new trend is getting stale and people are looking to create newer versions of the old. Here’s a compilation of few of my favorite publishing business models:
1. Hydrid: a combination of self-publishing and traditional publishing that empowers both authors and publishers. Publishers benefit from hybrid publishing because they can sign authors who have already self-published and established an audience. That’s a lower-risk investment for the publisher because they know the books will sell to existing readers and fans. Currently, every new author is a risk for a publishing house. There’s no way to tell which books will make the best-seller lists and which ones will bomb. An example company: Entangled.
2. Collaborative: In this model, author and publisher collaborate to create a fan-base, the ‘crowd funding’ way before the books are published. This mitigates the risk of not having readers after the publishing and marketing efforts. I am biased when I say this is one of my favorite models as I own CaryPress Collaborative Publishing House which operates under collaborate publishing model.
3. Cooperative: Team of book publisher, artist, writer and marketer cooperate to publish a book. There are no upfront advances or fees. Each team member is a business partner and when the books are sold, the funds are divided among the members. An example: WordBranch.
4. Team Publishing: The originator of this model, Booktrope, allows authors to choose their team members. A typical Publishing Team consists of an author, editor, designer and business/marketing manager for the book. Authors don’t get assigned projects in their system; authors choose the people they want to work with.
Note: This article was first published on LinkedIn.
