Traditional? Vanity? Small-Press? Hybrid? Indie?
What's It All Mean?
Hello and welcome back to RB4U. I'm your host today and I thought I'd share some terms which are used in the publishing business. What's in a name?
According to Shakespeare..."A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" is a frequently referenced part of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, in which Juliet seems to argue that it does not matter that Romeo is from her rival's house of Montague, that is, that he is named "Montague." (Wikipedia) 
And recently, April, the Giraffe's little baby was named Tajiri- so named because his name means "hope, king, and confidence". He is adorable!
My name "Melissa" came from my Great-Grandmother's middle name and "Means "bee" in Greek. This was the name of a nymph that cared for young Zeus in Greek mythology. It is also the name of the fairy who helps Rogero escape from the witch Alcina in Ludovico Ariosto's poem 'Orlando Furioso' (1516). As an English given name,Melissa has been used since the 18th century." (www.behindthename.com)
But in the publishing world, we use different terms to name different types of publishing options. It can be confusing for readers and authors, so let me see if I can help you with it.
Traditional is just what it sounds like. A big publishing house has decided to publish your work. They are going to offer you a contract, possibly an advance and royalty payments. You won't have to give them any money up front, but in some cases if your book doesn't sell the minimum set forth by the advance, you could either have to pay it back or not make any money. One good thing about a traditional publisher is that they have access to put your book in a variety of markets and stores and you have the potential to make a good deal of money, even with them taking a percent of your royalties.
A vanity press is a publishing house where you pay to publish your book. For a set fee, you can have your book put in ebook and print. They charge you to publish your book. The cost can be upwards of $10,000. But the fee/cost is your responsibility and even if you sell books, chances are they will take a percent out of your royalties.
A small-press publisher like Decadent, Inkspell, Evernight or others, publishes your book at their cost. They pay for the cover and editing. As the author, you don't pay anything but will get a portion of the royalties. One of the nice things about small-press publishers is that they give authors a great deal of say in their covers and releases. They are more like a family but they may not be able to get your book into all the larger markets. They do have a lot of resources for promotions and connections, however, like all the other options, promotion does sit firmly on the shoulder of the author.
Self-published is another type of publishing. It's taken off in the last few years as Amazon and other vendors have opened the gates and resources to authors. This means all cost is the author's responsibility but then all the profits are as well. In the past, many people looked down on the self-published books because they lacked the quality of traditionally published works but that's no longer the case (as a rule- but I'm sure there are still some out there). One of the benefits of indie-publishing is that authors retain control over all aspects of their work. This can be very scary for some people but can also be freeing in a way.
Hybrid publishing is a mix of any of the above, although it is most often used when a traditionally published author also self-publishes some works. As authors become more familiar with publishing, many enjoy learning the skills to be able to do formatting, uploading, as well as cover design. Maybe it's because we spend so much time with our babies...umm...books that we like to be a part of all their pieces. At the very least, it allows us to release older, back-list books and make them available to new readers.
I hope this clears up any questions you might have had about terms used by authors and publishing houses. Sometimes, it can be like people are speaking a whole different language. But as a reader, it doesn't matter to me who publishes a book, only that my favorite authors continue to write. :)
Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions. In the meantime, I have to get back to my own writing, which you can always check out along with my movie reviews on my website! Until next month!
XOXO
Melissa Keir
