A couple of weeks ago while I was in the thick of my querying, I came across a hybrid publisher. I’d heard the word before and had a vague recollection of an article about it, but couldn’t put my finger on what it offered and made it different than a traditional or self-publishing arm. I visited Jane Friedman’s site - if anyone wrote anything on the subject, it’d be her. 

A common denominator I found between the business models is one that I find increasingly frustrating in the fine arts communities: money. If you want to be an artist - painter, writer, musician - you have to have money. You have to pay to play.

What does that mean, exactly? Well, it’s tricky. In addition to paying for the materials to create - paints, canvases, computers, paper, instruments, recording devices, etc. - you have to have money to market your work. Sounds reasonable, right? Any business endeavor requires a certain amount of capital. But for how long can any business stay afloat if there’s no return or break-even point?

I asked a few fellow writers why they’d sign-on to a hybrid publisher at all if they were shelling out $10k-$20k up front. Most said they weren’t in it for making a profit. I get that. Not everyone needs or expects to make a huge return on their investment. However, who has that kind of money lying around? Not the average artists I know. And even if they did, could they afford to chance it more than once? Doubt it.

Historically, art has been something the rich supported. Anyone with enough money could go to the finest schools and have the best supplies and teachers, but most of the names we’ve revered came from meager means. Beethoven, Van Gogh, Charles Dickens, J.K. Rowling - all were self-taught or driven by something greater than money and family-fame.

Yet now, only the wealthy can afford to create, work in, and buy artistry to further showcase ones financial status.

Why?

The depiction of art in any medium deserves equal representation. To think there’s even a possibility of hybrid publishing becoming the next ticket to stardom is not only sad, but farce, and a damn insult to talented writers unable to afford such a luxury.

Now, I’m not saying traditional or self-publishing are the be-all-end-all to become recognized in the literary communities either. I’m just worried that names will continue to be less about what you know and have to offer the world and more about who you know and how you can exploit the system.

Besides, if writing’s only going to be a profession for the rich, what the hell am I going to do?

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Simply Sally