As a hybrid company that doesn’t follow the present day practices, we are often faced with mixed reactions. When we encounter that moment, here’s how we respond, with the upmost transparency of who we are, why we are doing this, and what we hope to achieve for our authors.
We are often met with rejection where we are labeled and placed in a bucket of other publishing paths. This often includes a statement of “You’re not a traditional publisher” followed by “We do not support self-publishers, vanity presses, author services, independent presses, hybrid publishers, & anything non-traditional.” That’s a big mix of different companies and lost opportunities for authors who may not be aware of all the paths available.
Every author needs to be able to know the difference of each of these facets, what each do (or don’t do) for them and their readers, the risks and underlining terms each come with including how money is exchanged, and lastly, how your book is produced and sold on vendor sites.
So, that leads us to where do we fall as a publisher. Yes, we are a hybrid publisher, something not quite traditional (though we are modeled after them to a point) and not quite that edgy independent press.
Below is how we make it clear where we fall in the Publishing Industry where everyone favors large companies and “traditional publishers”:
Thank you for your response, however, we are requesting you take another look at us.
We do not fall under any of the categories you listed. We are approaching publishing in a very different way. We practice radical honesty and transparency.
First, this year alone we will have published over 100 quality titles (we are hoping for 200).
We let our authors know in advance the cost to produce. We do not charge them this. It does come from the sales, however, unlike traditional publishers that take this money back by offering less than 10% on profits and hold the rights, we have 40% profits and the authors hold the rights and see what it is costing them. We also don’t give advances that may be pulled back.
Also, yes, we started this because we were authors tired of how the industry works. However, as authors we are clients and treat our work the same way as every other author on our roster. We are the minority in this line-up.
We have correct contracting and quality for all of our authors. We are trying to make a change so authors can get their work out fast, advertised well, edited correctly, epic covers and helping them to succeed.
I am asking you to take another look. We are real, legitimate and we are here bringing authors to the front of the game.
Please help us to make this change in our industry. Feel free to ask us anything about what we are doing.
Best Regards,
The 4 Horsemen
