Here Come The Hybrids

It’s extremely interesting to me as I watch the traditional publishing business collapse into dust how all of these hybrid “new” businesses are being started that are spinning the business model. I say “new” because it’s not really new, it’s just a spin on the old way. Meet the old boss, same as the new boss, with perhaps a different tie.

For example, if you look at this new company called Hyperink, you’ll see that they offer authors, the ones they hand-pick and approve, the ability to publish through them. And they only take about 50% of the profits. But to their credit, they offer everything from cover design to editing to digital conversion, distribution to the major players and of course, marketing. All the food groups a healthy successful book must have.

The other interesting thing is they are looking for regular people who know a lot about something. So, maybe they publish a book from a person who happens to know a lot about designer handbags, or someone who knows how to train you to become an organic chef. Pretty neat. I’ve always maintained that everyone knows a lot about something. In fact, that’s the tagline for a company that I am a partner in in the online education space.

This new breed of niche, hybrid publishing companies is very similar to what I’m seeing that Seth Godin’s Domino Project does, sort of. Also, what Amazon is doing themselves.

I think this is great. If you are lucky enough to get a deal with one of those new hybrid publishing houses, I say go for it, assuming you don’t just self-publish which I recommend. If I wasn’t so entrenched in doing it myself, I’d probably see if they would publish something from my brain.