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Writers today have more choices than ever when it comes to getting their work in the hands of millions. They can self-publish an eBook, hold out for a traditional publishing deal or do a combination of both, otherwise known as hybrid publishing.

Hybrid publishing uses aspects of traditional publishing (someone is doing the marketing for you), but you’ll still need to see this as running your own business. In our latest Journalism Advice column, we got the inside scoop on the financial realities of hybrid publishing:

The truth is, hybrid authors will need to put aside marketing and production funds to produce a high-quality book. That is not to say you can’t enjoy a high cash flow as a hybrid author, but you need to determine if you are willing to take a bit of a financial gamble. “I hesitate to say it’s a model that leads to success because success varies from author to author,” says Brooke Warner, co-founder of hybrid publisher SheWritesPress.com. “For us the parallel measure would be that a book ‘earns out’ its expenses, meaning that it breaks even. Many more than 10 percent of our authors are breaking even, so for me, this is an exciting place to be.”

To learn more about hybrid publishing, including how to broaden your reach with digital platforms, read: What You Need to Know About Hybrid Publishing.

The full version of this article is exclusively available to Mediabistro AvantGuild subscribers. If you’re not a member yet, register now for as little as $55 a year for access to hundreds of articles like this one, discounts on Mediabistro seminars and workshops, and all sorts of other bonuses.

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Struggling to finish your book? No matter where you live, Mediabistro has a new online course designed to guide independent authors through the final and most important steps of the publishing process.

Smashwords co-founder Mark Coker, bestselling self-published author Colleen Hoover and seasoned writer Guy Kawasaki will help you complete your book in Mediabistro’s new Self-Publishing Finishing School. The six-week, interactive course will include a number of features to help you complete your project, including:

*Keynote speeches by world-class publishing experts, with interactive Q&A sessions.
*Practical how-to sessions that show you how to put big ideas into immediate practice.
*Homework designed to get your eBook formatted, published, marketed, and sold.
*Peer interaction: Work closely with a small group. Get feedback from an advisor. And make meaningful connections with the entire attendee roster.
*Author showcase: Participate in our ongoing community forum where your book will be posted for feedback and readership by your classmates.

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Ten years ago, I started writing a young adult novel based on a situation that happened with my daughter and athletics. I've written, erased, rewritten, revised, removed characters, created new ones. For the past two years, it's taken space on a flash drive. Once every few months, I open the file and fix what I perceive as weaknesses. Someday, it will be "good enough" to publish.

After reading Brooke Warner's What's Your Book? A Step-by-Step Guide To Get You From Inspiration to Published Author, I am ready to take the next steps to seeing my words come to fruition. You can, too, if you use this solidly-written guide as a tool.

Warner breaks down the creative process and the path to publishing in five chapters. In "The Art of Becoming an Author," Warner starts by making you think about your purpose. Why write a book? After penning your top five reasons, Brooke walks you through exercises that categorize your work, target your audience, and focus on the final product.

Chapter two is devoted to six obstacles that may prevent you from reaching your writing goal. What I really enjoyed about this chapter were the exercises that forced me to confront what stands in my way and set new goals, free of excuses.

Next, Warner urges writers to challenge their mindset and accomplish established goals. This chapter is loaded (maybe overloaded) with about dealing with daily writing life, including procrastination and perfectionism—two of my worst enemies. There's a lot of information to absorb in this chapter. Or maybe I don't want admit where my weaknesses are so I avoid reading about them. (smile)

My favorite chapter talks about building a solid platform. It's filled with honest and realistic approaches to handling social media, blogging, and communications. It's a must-read for any author!

The final chapter builds a road map toward publication. Whether you're ready to shop your book to an agent or plan to pursue self-publishing, this chapter offers positives and negatives of both worlds.

Straight forward, honest, and maybe even a bit eye-opening, I'm ready to tackle this project and end up with one of my books in my hand after reading Brooke Warner's What's Your Book?


Brooke Warner is founder of Warner Coaching Inc., publisher of She Writes Press, and author of What's Your Book? A Step-by-Step Guide to Get You from Inspiration to Published Author. In her thirteen years in the publication industry, Brooke shepherded over 500 books through the publication process. Her expertise is in traditional and new publishing, and she is an equal advocate for publishing with a traditional house and self-publishing.



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The new publishing opportunities available to writers in today's market are phenomenal. The gatekeepers, aka agents and editors, no longer have the final say on whether or not a project will find readers. Writers are being published traditionally, and this is great. But they are also finding ways to publish their books with subsidy companies and by self-publishing!

We are excited to welcome, Brooke Warner with She Writes Press. Some of you may recognize her name if you have been a member of the She Writes community or taken advantage of her coaching services. She Writes Press is a new company she has started with Kamy Wicoff, the founder of SheWrites.com. Brooke took some time to answer questions about the services and opportunities She Writes Press, a subsidy press, will give to authors. So, take it away, Brooke! 

WOW: Welcome, Brooke! There's a lot of buzz going on about your new independent publishing company, She Writes Press. All the interviews and comments I've read about it have writers excited and enthusiastic about the opportunities you are going to provide women writers! So, tell me, how is She Writes Press different than some of the other subsidy publishing companies like Outskirts Press, Inc?

Brooke: There are many self-publishing options in the world today, and they vary quite a bit. We consider ourselves to be a hybrid press. MJ Rose of Author Buzz recently told me she considers presses like ours to be co-op publishers. We are offering something unique in the marketplace because we are vetting our books. In order to publish on She Writes Press, your manuscript has to be up to industry standard, and we have editors and agents vetting our projects. Some writers will qualify to publish with SWP right out of the gate. For those authors who need either developmental editing or copyediting, we present a way to move forward with us for the end goal of publishing with SWP. The other primary thing that sets us apart from other self-publishing companies is our community of writers at SheWrites.com. She Writes Press serves the She Writes community, though you don't have to be a She Writer to publish with us. She Writes Press is mirroring a traditional publishing model. We are offering custom covers and interior design, not templates. We're also giving our authors a team, support, and an opportunity to be part of something bigger. Self-publishing can be a lonely endeavor, and we believe authors will be more successful as a result of having community, resources, and support.

WOW: That is DEFINITELY true--authors need community, resources, and support! It's great to hear that She Writes Press is thinking outside the box and offering writers new opportunities. What type of projects are you looking for to be some of your first books?

Brooke: We are accepting submissions across all genres, and we're not trying to specify what can and can't be considered. Our only stipulation is that the authors be female. Other than that, we are doing almost any genre. The only thing we're not doing at the moment are children's books and other high-production art books. Our sweet spot is going to be commercial fiction and memoir just because this is what we see most in our community; but I think we'll also do a lot of literary fiction and prescriptive books as well.

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