We get so used to reading romances where the characters are part wolf or part demon or all vampire. They could be considered hybrids. When we talk about a hybrid author, however, we are referring to a traditionally published author who decides to self publish, or self published author who is picked up by a traditional publishing house.
And wow, if you Google hybrid authors, you get a bunch of articles and great information on the subject, starting with an official definition. Pretty much exactly what I wrote above. Heck, I’m good! So take a moment to check out these links, then we will talk about details.
http://www.writingforward.com/news-announcements/getting-published/hybrid-publishing
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/holly-robinson/author-laura-drake-on-ind_b_8988596.html
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-exclusives/feb-14/best-of-both-worlds-hybrid-authors-up-close
http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2013/04/23/what-the-hell-is-a-hybrid-author-anyway/
So at the Huffington Post link, you’ll see that author Laura Drake turned to self publishing when she wanted to change genre. Traditional houses get stuck on what has sold and what is selling. Taking a risk is scary for them. This totally explains why they missed the tsunami that is eBooks entirely. The best they can do is a. pick up successful indy authors, and 2) put nonsense in the contracts that forbid you to take advantage of any type of media yet to be discovered.
You may get the idea that I dislike rejection-happy, over-worked, I-like-it-but-can’t-buy-it editors and publishers. Nothing could be further from the truth. I get it, I know how much stuff is coming in the doors, and I can imagine (cause I are a writer) how busy the day, week, month, year can be. I guess what I would like to see happening is a teaching editor, one who says I like this book but it needs this this and this. See my notes. Send it back asap because wow this is great.
Since that isn’t going to happen, I self publish. I am excited that my (cough Roxanna Haley’s) second book in the Regency Banquet series is about to be foisted upon beta readers with hopes it will be published at the end of August 2016. A mere two years later than expected. And I have some short short stories I can put up. I am thinking of doing a holiday collection, starting with New Year’s Day and ending with New Year’s Eve later that year. Not the same couple in each story, but they will be connected somehow.
Could I sell that idea to a publisher? Doesn’t seem likely. But can I sell a few copies if I publish the book? Heck, yes, I can!
On a side note, you can (YES YOU CAN!) find excellent editors and teachers in the writing world. But they are going to charge you for their time. Only you can decide if it’s worth it or not. I will post about instructors I recommend another day. I am so honored to know Romance Writers of America authors who will go the extra mile with someone and in fact I know of one of our members who sold her manuscript to a traditional publisher after following the help and advice of an amazing woman. Do not despair, open your mind to the possibilities, and before all else, write a good story. Thanks for reading, I’ll be back on Thursday.
Romance-ology 