A leader has three ways to publish a nonfiction book: a traditional publisher, a self-publishing platform, or a hybrid publishing house. The difference is who does the work, who owns the book, and who keeps the royalties. For most executives, founders and doctors, the hybrid model is the one that produces a book to their standard without asking for a year of their time.
Traditional publishing
A traditional publisher acquires a finished manuscript, usually through an agent, pays an advance, and takes most of the royalties and all of the decisions, from the title to the cover to the timing. It is selective, and it is slow: more than a year from acceptance to publication is usual. The author still writes the book, or hires a ghostwriter to write it for them. For a leader whose expertise is the point, the manuscript has to exist before the conversation can begin.
Self-publishing
A self-publishing platform gives the author tools and leaves the rest to them. The author finds and manages an editor, a proofreader, a cover designer, a formatter, the registrations, the platform accounts and the distribution, and does it to a standard that does not embarrass them, while running whatever they already run. It is the cheapest route and the most work, and a book that looks self-published tends to be read as one.
Hybrid publishing
A hybrid house works between the two. The author invests in producing the book; the house does the work of a real publisher, writing with the author, editing, design, registration and distribution, and shares the royalties. At Stardom Books the author receives 75 percent of royalties in every format and every market, owns the copyright, and approves every page. The book is written from the author's recorded interviews, never ghostwritten and never generated by a machine.
Six questions that decide it
Do you have a manuscript? If not, traditional publishing is not yet an option, and self-publishing means writing it yourself.
Do you have the time? The Stardom Method asks for about thirty hours over twelve to fourteen weeks. Writing a book alone asks for hundreds.
Who should own it? With a hybrid house the copyright, ISBN and Library of Congress record are in the author's name. Traditional contracts usually assign rights to the publisher.
What standard does the book need to meet? A leader's book has to match their seniority. Editing, design and production should be held to the standard of the best houses in the category.
Where should it be sold? All three routes reach Amazon. A publisher with a distribution network reaches every online store from launch and makes the book orderable by bookstores and libraries in 100+ countries.
What is the book for? A traditional publisher wants sales. A leader usually wants authority: speaking invitations, introductions, trust from strangers. A hybrid house built for leaders plans the book around that purpose before a word is written.
One honest caveat
The investment in a hybrid project goes into producing the book, and it is not recovered from royalties in most cases. Many authors do recover it through speaking, consulting and the business the book brings, but a house that promises otherwise is not being straight with you.
Founder, Chief Editor and Publisher of Stardom Books, and creator of The Authority Forum. He has directed 260+ leaders to become internationally published authors. About the house · raamanand.com