You've finished the manuscript, and every route in front of you comes with a catch. Traditional publishers are slow and selective. Self-publishing means managing editors, designers, printers, and retailers yourself. Then an email arrives from a company offering hybrid publishing, and you have to work out whether it's a fair arrangement or an expensive mistake.
This guide is for Australian authors making that call. It explains how hybrid publishing works here, who it suits, where it falls short, and how to test a publisher and a contract before you commit. It also covers the Australian details overseas guides skip, including lending rights, legal deposit, ISBNs and GST.
Hybrid publishing is worth considering if you want professional production and distribution, you can fund part of the process, and you're willing to stay active in marketing. It's a poor fit if you can't afford to lose the money you put in, if you want a guaranteed result, or if a publisher can't show its track record in writing.
Hybrid publishing is a model where the author contributes to the cost of producing a book and a publisher provides professional services under its own imprint, usually in return for a higher royalty share than a traditional deal offers. It sits between traditional publishing, where the publisher funds production, and self-publishing, where you run the whole project yourself.
There's no single legal definition of the term in Australia, which is why it causes so much confusion. The Australian Society of Authors describes the model as one that charges writers to publish and takes either a share of profits or a share of rights. The Independent Book Publishers Association, whose standards are the most widely cited, lists eleven criteria that a publisher must meet to call itself a hybrid publisher. We'll walk through them later in this guide.
Three very different kinds of business can use the word "hybrid", and the offer in your inbox could come from any of them:
A hybrid publisher selects the books it takes on, publishes under its own imprint and ISBNs, and carries real publishing responsibilities.
A vanity-style provider accepts almost any manuscript, charges to produce it and has little stake in whether it sells.
An author-services provider sells defined services such as editing or design and does not publish the book at all.
The Australian Society of Authors has said it receives regular complaints about some hybrid practices, including unsolicited approaches and vague claims about costs and timelines. The Australian Publishers Association's code of conduct for its members expects openness about likely author returns, which gives you a useful standard to hold any publisher against.
None of these is automatically dishonest. An author-services provider can do excellent work. The problem starts when one type presents itself as another. Before you compare anything else, work out which type you're dealing with. If you want a wider view of who publishes what locally first, this overview of the top book publishing companies in Australia is a useful starting point.
Term | Plain meaning |
Imprint | The publisher's brand name on the spine and in the book's records |
ISBN | The unique number that identifies each edition; the registrant is listed as publisher |
Net receipts | What the publisher actually receives from sales after retailer discounts and some costs; the definition varies |
Reversion | The point at which rights come back to you |
Metadata | The title, description, categories, and keywords that retailers and libraries use to list the book |
Legal deposit | The requirement to supply copies of new books to national and some state libraries |
Print on demand | Copies printed as they're ordered instead of in a single run |
Traditional publishers fund production and take on most of the commercial risk, but they accept very few manuscripts and often take a long time to publish. Self-publishing gives you control and the largest share of each sale, but you carry all the cost and coordination. Hybrid publishing sits in between, with the exact split of cost, rights and responsibility set by the contract rather than by the model.
Factor | Traditional | Hybrid | Self-publishing |
Production funding | Publisher | Set by contract; author usually contributes | Author |
Selection | Highly selective | Varies; legitimate hybrids vet submissions | None |
Royalty percentage | Lower | Usually higher | Highest share of each sale after printing and retailer costs |
Copyright | Author keeps copyright; publisher licenses rights, often broad and long | Author keeps copyright; licence terms set by contract | Author keeps everything |
Time to publication | Often 18 months or more | Often shorter, with dates agreed in the contract | Set by the author |
Distribution | Established trade sales channels | Varies widely between publishers | Author arranges through a distributor |
Marketing | Publisher-led, though often limited for most titles | Shared, as defined in the contract | Author |
Financial risk | Mainly the publisher | Mainly the author | The author |
A higher royalty percentage isn't the same as higher profit. Printing, retailer discounts, production and marketing costs all sit between the cover price and what lands in your account, so compare what you'd keep per copy and what you'd spend to get there.
This is where many guides blur the picture. "Shared cost" suggests an even split, and that's rarely what happens. In most hybrid arrangements, the author funds most or all of the production work, and the publisher contributes its imprint, ISBNs, staff time, production management, distribution relationships, and sometimes part of the marketing effort.
Ask for three things in writing: what you contribute, what the publisher contributes, and who is responsible for each task. If a publisher can't separate those clearly, you can't judge whether the arrangement is fair.
Most hybrid projects follow the same sequence: assessment, contract, editing, design and production, distribution set-up, launch and ongoing reporting. The details differ between publishers, but you should be able to see every stage, and a date for it, in writing.
Assessment. You send a sample or the full manuscript. A legitimate publisher reads it and replies with a decision and reasons, not just a price. Be cautious about instant acceptance of a manuscript nobody could have read.
Offer and contract. Terms arrive in writing. Ask for the sample contract early, give yourself time to review it and negotiate anything unclear.
Editing. Ask how many editorial rounds are included, who the editor is and who has the final say on changes.
Design and production. You'll see cover concepts, an interior layout, and proofs. Approving final files is often a binding step, so request a printed proof copy if you can before you sign off.
Metadata and distribution. The ISBN is assigned, categories and descriptions are locked in, and files go to distributors and retailers. Errors made here are slow to fix.
Pre-publication. Review copies, advance orders and launch planning happen months ahead of release, because reviewers and bookshops plan early.
Publication and deposit. The book is released, copies are deposited as required, and lending rights claims can begin.
After launch. Royalty statements arrive, reprint decisions are made, and you review how the book is performing against the plan.
Slipping schedules are one of the most common complaints in any publishing model. Ask for dates at each stage and for the contract to say what happens if they pass.
Hybrid publishing suits authors who want professional production and a credible imprint without waiting on a traditional contract, who can absorb the financial risk, and who are prepared to help sell the book. It suits authors less if the money is hard to spare, if the outcome has to be a specific sales figure, or if the plan is to hand over the book and walk away.
Hybrid publishing for fiction writers works best when the book fits a recognisable genre, and the author has some way of reaching readers. Picture a crime novelist in Perth (an illustrative example) with a finished manuscript, a small but active newsletter and a realistic view of the market. A traditional rejection tells her the book wasn't right for that list at that time, not that nobody will read it. A well-run hybrid arrangement could get a polished book to her existing audience sooner.
Literary fiction without a platform is harder under every model, and hybrid is no exception. Writers with a strong premise but little time to draft sometimes work with fiction ghostwriting services before they approach any publisher.
Hybrid publishing for non-fiction authors often makes sense when the book supports a professional practice. Picture a Brisbane financial counsellor (again, illustrative) who wants a book to hand to prospective clients and to support speaking invitations. Success for her isn't measured only in retail sales. It's measured in credibility, referrals and the quality of the finished object. That doesn't guarantee a financial return, and she should still treat the contribution as money that may not come back.
Experts who have the knowledge but not the writing time can look at non-fiction ghostwriting. Research-heavy manuscripts benefit from academic proofreading before production begins. Some authors also publish a shorter companion guide, and e-book writing services can help build one.
If you've already self-published, you know how many moving parts there are. Hybrid can be a way to hand some of them over while keeping rights and a healthy royalty share. Authors working to a fixed date, such as a conference or an anniversary, may also find a hybrid schedule easier to commit to than a traditional one. Professionally managed self-publishing can meet a deadline too, so treat speed as one factor and not the deciding one.
Look at other routes if you can't afford to lose what you contribute, if you're still hoping to land an agent and a trade contract for this same book, or if you expect a bestseller list or an award. Publishing a book through a hybrid arrangement can make a later traditional offer for that same title unlikely, because most trade publishers want to release a book into the market for the first time themselves. Treat the decision as final for this manuscript.
A legitimate hybrid arrangement gives you a managed production process, an imprint and ISBN handled by the publisher, a stronger royalty share than most trade contracts, and a team that handles tasks you'd otherwise coordinate yourself. The practical value lies in how well the work is done, so it helps to know what good production looks like at each stage.
Stage | What good looks like | What to ask |
Editing | A structural assessment, a line edit and a separate proofread by different people | Who will edit my book, and can I see their credits? |
Cover and interior | A cover designed for your genre and a layout that suits the format | Can I see a recent cover and interior sample? |
Formatting | Clean print and e-book files that pass retailer checks | Which file formats will you supply? |
Metadata | Accurate categories, description and keywords across retailers | Who writes and approves my metadata? |
Production management | A schedule with named milestones | What happens if a deadline is missed? |
Strong professional editing is the single biggest quality signal. A distinctive cover matters nearly as much, so look closely at book design in the publisher's existing titles. Files built for both formats come from solid book formatting. Picture books, children's titles and illustrated non-fiction need book illustration services coordinated with the layout, which is a task that's easy to underestimate when you manage it alone.
Two other benefits are worth weighing. First, you keep copyright and license-specific rights for a defined period, which keeps your options open if the arrangement ends. Second, you keep a say in decisions about the cover, title and content that many trade contracts hand to the publisher.
An imprint also carries weight with speaking organisers, libraries and local media, but only when the imprint is known for good books. A name nobody recognises won't open doors by itself, so the benefit comes from the quality of the work and the effort behind the launch. Ask the publisher to show you where its previous authors have appeared, from library programs to festival stages, and judge the imprint by that record and not by its website.
The main downsides are financial, commercial, and reputational. You may not earn back your contribution, reviewers and award panels may treat the book differently, bookshop stocking is never assured, and much of the marketing effort still lands on you. A poor choice of publisher adds a further risk on top.
Low sales aren't a breach of contract, so the publisher isn't obliged to return what you put in. UK research cited by the Society of Authors, drawn from writers who had paid to publish, found that most respondents reported a loss. Treat that as a warning and not a measurement of the Australian market. It reflects the writers who were surveyed, and Australian outcomes may differ. Plan on the basis that the money might not come back.
That's different from a refund. If a service is delivered badly or not at all, your contract terms and the consumer guarantees under Australian Consumer Law may give you remedies. The ACCC publishes guidance on what to do when a service falls short.
Some reviewers and many award programs set their own rules about paid or hybrid publishing, and those rules differ. Read the eligibility terms for any award or review outlet you care about before you sign, not after. Ask the publisher whether its recent titles have been reviewed or shortlisted anywhere, and how far ahead review copies are sent. Reviewers usually plan months in advance, so a publisher with a short production schedule may leave little time for coverage around release.
A legitimate hybrid publisher should have a book-specific sales and marketing plan, and the contract should say what it covers. In practice, the division usually looks like this:
Responsibility | Usually covered by the publisher | Usually the author's role | Often a paid extra |
Retailer listings and metadata | Yes | Review and approve | No |
Launch plan | A plan specific to your book | Take part in events and outreach | Event costs |
Author platform | Guidance | Maintain email list and social presence | Site build |
Promotional assets | Standard cover and description | Supply bio and quotes | Video and graphics |
Advertising | Varies by contract | Budget and creative input | Often charged separately |
Get this table filled in, in writing, for your own book. A well-built author website gives readers somewhere to go, a clear book blurb lifts retailer pages, and a short video from book trailer video services gives you something to share. A structured book marketing plan ties these pieces together.
Whichever route you choose, the manuscript is judged first. Hybrid publishers vet submissions, and legitimate ones turn some away. A short self-check before you submit saves time and money, and it makes any editor's work more productive.
Idea and focus. If you're still choosing a subject or angle, working through how to find things to write about can sharpen the premise before you draft.
Voice. Read a chapter aloud. If the register shifts between formal and chatty, look at what tone in writing means for your genre and pick one.
Point of view. Check that the narration stays where you put it. A refresher on first-person point of view helps if you slip between "I" and a wider view.
Characters. Flat characters weaken fiction fast. Notes on characterisation in fiction and the common character archetypes show how to build people readers remember without relying on stock types.
Prose. Metaphor and simile should earn their place. An overview of figurative language helps you decide which images to keep.
Length and form. For collections, how long a short story is varies by market, and knowing the norms keeps the book's shape credible.
When the manuscript is ready, prepare a short submission pack: a one-page synopsis, your best sample chapters, a brief author biography, two or three comparable titles that show where your book sits, and a summary of any audience you already reach. A publisher that can see your readers is better placed to explain a realistic plan, and you'll be better placed to judge it.
Use the Independent Book Publishers Association's eleven criteria as your test. The association says a hybrid publisher must meet all eleven, so one weak answer is a reason to ask more questions, and a pattern of weak answers is a reason to walk away. Failing the test doesn't automatically make a business a vanity press; it may simply be an author-services provider, which is a legitimate business that publishes under a different model.
The eleven criteria require a publisher to:
Define a mission and vision for its publishing program.
Vet submissions.
Commit to truth and transparency in its business practices.
Provide a negotiable, easy-to-understand contract for each book.
Publish under its own imprint and ISBNs.
Publish to industry standards.
Ensure editorial, design, and production quality.
Pursue and manage a range of publishing rights.
Provide distribution services.
Demonstrate respectable sales.
Pay authors a higher-than-standard royalty.
Turn each one into a question you can check. Does the publisher name its selection process? Does the ISBN agency record the publisher as the registrant? Can it show titles that are available through a range of channels and tell you roughly how they've sold?
Warning sign | Why it matters |
Guaranteed bestseller status, reviews or sales | Nobody controls reader behaviour |
Pressure to sign quickly | Good publishers let you take the contract to a lawyer |
No sample contract before payment | The terms are the whole deal |
No visible titles in Australian retail channels | The distribution may exist only on paper |
Unsolicited calls or emails chasing manuscripts | It points to sales over selection |
Vague answers on marketing | The plan may not exist |
Search for the publisher's titles on the websites of major bookshop chains, independent bookshops and online retailers. Open samples of two or three and read the first pages for editorial quality. Basic errors, such as mixing up your and you're, tell you how closely the books were checked. Search the company name alongside the words "review" and "complaint". Then talk to authors the publisher has worked with. If a publisher can't share contact details because of privacy, ask for published titles you can look up yourself and for author comments that are public.
Several assumptions repeat across author forums and sales calls. Each one has led someone to sign a contract they didn't fully understand.
Myth | What's closer to the truth |
Hybrid means the publisher invests as much as I do | The split is whatever the contract says, and the author often funds most of production |
A higher royalty means I'll earn more | Earnings depend on sales volume, costs, and how net revenue is defined |
Being distributed means I'll be in bookshops | Distribution makes a book orderable; stocking is each retailer's decision |
The contract is standard and can't be changed | Legitimate publishers expect questions, and the IBPA lists a negotiable contract as a criterion |
A famous-sounding imprint means quality | Check the books themselves, not the name |
Lending rights need a traditional publisher | Authors who publish by other routes can register and claim, subject to the scheme rules |
Check which rights you're licensing, how royalties are calculated, when rights return to you, what you're obliged to pay or buy, and how you can leave. If any clause is unclear, have an independent publishing lawyer read it before you sign. A lawyer or an author-advocacy body's contract review is a small step compared with a contract you can't undo.
Clause | What to look for | Warning sign |
Rights granted | Only the formats and territories the publisher will use | Blanket grants of all rights |
Term | A fixed period with a renewal process | Open-ended terms |
Reversion | Objective triggers such as no publication by an agreed date | Wording like "if the publisher decides" |
Royalty basis | A clear definition of net receipts and deductions | Undefined "net" |
Reporting | Regular statements showing sales by format | Statements on request only |
Author obligations | Any required copy purchases or extra payments stated up front | Costs mentioned only in schedules |
Exit | A route to terminate for missed dates or unpaid royalties | No termination clause |
Distribution | Named commitments | Promises only in sales emails |
Refunds and dispute handling | Clear terms for undelivered services | No remedy stated |
Print and e-book rights are the obvious ones, but contracts often list more: audio, translation, film and television, serial and excerpt rights. License only what the publisher can show it will use. If a publisher has no audio production experience, for instance, there's little reason to hand over audio rights, and holding them back lets you work with someone else later. Where a publisher does want broader rights, ask for a reversion trigger tied to each one, so that an unused right returns to you without a fight.
Contract terms and your statutory rights are separate. A contract can't remove consumer guarantees that Australian Consumer Law gives you for services, and the unfair contract terms rules can apply to standard-form contracts used with small businesses and consumers. Those protections don't replace legal advice, and they don't guarantee any particular outcome.
Keep every email in which a publisher describes what it will do. If a promise that matters to you isn't in the contract, ask for it to be added before you sign off. A final book proofreading pass on your own manuscript before you submit also keeps errors out of the files that go to production.
Act early, keep records and work through the contract before anything else. Most problems, such as missed dates, unclear royalty statements or unfinished work, are easier to resolve while the publisher is still engaged.
Gather the paper trail. Collect the contract, invoices, emails, proofs and any messages where promises were made.
Check what the contract allows. Look at the termination, reversion and dispute clauses to see what steps you must follow, and by when.
Complain in writing. State the problem, quote the clause, and say what outcome you want. Set a reasonable deadline for a reply.
Look at your consumer rights. If a service wasn't delivered or wasn't done with due care and skill, Australian Consumer Law guarantees may apply. State and territory consumer protection agencies and the ACCC publish guidance.
Get legal advice before ending things. Terminating the wrong way can weaken your position. An independent publishing lawyer can tell you what your contract and the law allow.
Plan the exit. If rights revert, make sure you hold final files, cover art licences and the ISBN details you need to republish.
None of this guarantees recovery of money, and some disputes end in negotiation and not a refund. That's the strongest argument for reading the contract carefully before you sign, when you still have all your options.
Being listed for sale and being stocked on a shelf are different things. Almost any distributed book can appear online, but physical stocking is a decision each retailer makes based on sales potential, terms, and its own buying plan. The printing method doesn't settle that decision.
Factor | Print on demand | Offset print run |
Upfront cost | Lower | Higher |
Cost per copy | Higher | Lower at larger volumes |
Inventory | Printed as ordered | Stock must be stored and shipped |
Returns | Depends on distributor and publisher terms | Depends on distributor and publisher terms |
Shelf placement | Not guaranteed | Not guaranteed |
Typical fit | Slower sellers, niche titles, backlist | Launches, larger local campaigns |
Choose the print method based on the likely demand, the budget and the retail plan. If physical bookshops matter to your launch, talk through book printing options early, because the decision shapes costs and schedules.
Online availability still depends on accurate metadata, an eligible ISBN and distributor acceptance, so ask what happens if a retailer rejects a file. E-books and audiobooks travel through different aggregators from print, and each has its own file standards, so ask which digital formats are included and who supplies the files. A clean e-book file also depends on the layout work done earlier, and a publisher should be able to tell you which retailers accept its files without rework. Library supply is a separate channel worth asking about, since library holdings matter later for lending rights. Independent bookshops tend to respond to a local author with a clear launch plan, a book they can order reliably and terms they understand. Ask the publisher which of those it will handle and which you'll need to manage yourself.
Several Australian rules sit alongside any publishing contract. You may be able to claim lending rights payments, you must meet legal deposit obligations, GST affects what services cost, and some grants exist for writers. Check each one on the official site before relying on it, because rules and amounts change.
The Public Lending Right and Educational Lending Right schemes pay creators and publishers when eligible books are held in Australian libraries. Treat the process as three separate questions.
Does the book qualify? It needs an ISBN, a library catalogue record, and a claim made within five years of the year of publication.
Are you an eligible claimant? Creators need an ongoing financial interest, such as a right to royalties. Publisher claims only pay when an eligible creator also claims. Self-published authors usually register in both roles.
Will a payment be made? Libraries must hold an estimated 50 or more copies, and the total payment must reach the minimum threshold. You can register and submit a claim after publication without waiting for holdings to build up.
Who holds the ISBN affects the publisher's side of that picture, but it doesn't decide eligibility on its own. Ask your publisher how it handles registration and who submits the publisher claim. Confirm current rules with the Office for the Arts.
Publishers must deposit newly published books with the National Library of Australia, generally within one month of publication, and some state libraries have their own rules. Make sure the contract says who does this. Thorpe-Bowker is the Australian ISBN agency, so check whose name the ISBN is registered under.
GST is generally 10% on taxable services from registered providers, so read every quote as GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive and ask if it isn't stated. If you earn income from writing, some costs may be deductible depending on your circumstances. A registered tax agent can confirm what applies to you.
Creative Australia offers grants and fellowships for writers. They are competitive and usually support the writing itself and not publishing costs, so don't build a budget around one.
Ask the questions below in writing and keep the answers. They cover ground the earlier sections raised, so use them as a final checklist and not as a replacement for reading the contract.
How do you select manuscripts, and roughly what proportion do you decline?
Under which imprint will the book appear, and whose name is on the ISBN?
Exactly which rights, formats and territories are you licensing, and for how long?
How is net revenue defined, and how often will I receive statements?
What are you contributing, and what am I contributing, itemised?
Which channels do your books reach, and can you point me to published titles?
What marketing is in the contract, what is optional, and what is mine to do?
What dates apply to each stage, and what happens if you miss them?
How do I exit, and what returns to me if I do?
Can you share published titles and public author comments so I can judge your work?
Some questions won't get a full answer. A publisher may not be able to share another author's details without consent, for example. Judge the response on whether it's open, specific and willing to be put in writing. If you can, bring a trusted friend or fellow writer to any call, because a second set of ears catches vague wording you might miss, and a short written summary sent afterwards leaves a record of what was said.
Decide by testing the route, the publisher and your own circumstances in turn. If you can answer yes to the financial and time questions, and the publisher passes the eleven criteria, the questions, and an independent contract review, hybrid is worth serious consideration. Two or more doubts mean you should pause.
Check | A confident yes | A reason to pause |
Purpose | Credibility, legacy, authority, or readers you can reach | A sales target as the only goal |
Money | You can lose the contribution without hardship | You're counting on royalties to repay it |
Time | You can promote for six to twelve months | Marketing isn't something you can do |
Genre | A defined readership or a professional platform | No audience and no plan to find one |
Publisher | Meets the criteria, answers in writing, contract reviewed | Evasive answers or pressure |
You don't need a forecast to see whether the plan is realistic. Add up everything you'd pay: the contribution, extras, printing for events, promotion and your own time if it has a price for you. Then find out how much you'd keep per copy sold, once retailer discounts and printing costs come off, using the contract's own definition of net. Divide the total outlay by the amount you keep per copy to see how many copies you'd need to sell to break even.
Now ask a harder question: where would those readers come from? If the honest answer is a mailing list, a speaking calendar or a community you already reach, the figure may be achievable. If it's "the publisher's distribution", ask for evidence of what comparable titles from that publisher have sold. A break-even number is a planning tool. It doesn't predict sales.
Imagine two writers receive the same hybrid proposal (both are illustrative). The first is a retired teacher in Ballarat who has written a local history for her community, has a ready audience through the historical society, and wants a handsome book to sell at events and through a few local shops. The money is set aside, she isn't counting on a profit, and she'll happily run the launch herself. For her, the arrangement fits the purpose.
The second is a first-time thriller writer in Sydney who plans to cover the contribution through royalties and is hoping for a prime spot in chain stores. He has no existing readership and little time for promotion. The same offer is risky for him, because his plan depends on outcomes no publisher controls.
The proposal didn't change. The goals, the budget, and the available time did, and those are the things you should weigh before you answer.
Write your answers down before you reply to any offer. A written list is easier to trust than a persuasive phone call, and it gives you something to return to if the project doesn't go as planned.
If you're weighing hybrid publishing against other routes, the next step is a conversation about your manuscript, your genre and your goals. Melbourne Print and Publish can assess your manuscript, explain the publishing options available and outline what each service involves. If another route suits the book better, we'll say so. Bring any offer you've already received, and we'll talk through what it does and doesn't cover. You can start with our book publishing in Melbourne page.
We provide publishing services, not legal advice. For help with any contract you've been offered, including one from us, speak to an independent publishing lawyer first.
Looking for dedicated writing help instead? Our ghostwriting services cover books written from your ideas and expertise.
It's a model where an author contributes to production costs and a publisher provides editing, design, distribution and management under its own imprint, usually with a higher royalty share than a trade contract. How costs and responsibilities are divided depends on the contract.
You submit a manuscript, the publisher assesses it, and a contract sets out the contribution, rights and schedule. The book then moves through editing, design, production and distribution, with royalties reported on an agreed timetable.
It can be for genre fiction with a reachable readership and an author willing to promote. It's harder for literary fiction or poetry without an audience, and no model guarantees sales.
Often, yes. Many non-fiction authors use a book to support a profession, so success may be measured by credibility, referrals, or speaking invitations as well as retail sales. None of those outcomes is guaranteed.
No. A legitimate hybrid publisher selects titles, publishes under its own imprint and ISBNs, manages rights, provides distribution, and pays a higher-than-standard royalty. A vanity-style provider charges to produce almost anything. Test any company against the eleven criteria.
Usually you keep copyright and license specific rights for a defined period, but only the contract can confirm it. Check which rights are licensed, in which formats, and how they revert.
It can be if you've checked the publisher, reviewed the contract, and can afford the risk. It isn't a path back to a trade deal for the same book, so decide on the basis of what you want this book to do.
Yes. A negotiable contract is one of the IBPA criteria, so a legitimate publisher should expect questions about rights, reversion, royalties and exit terms. Resistance to any discussion is worth noting.
It can if it meets the scheme rules, including an ISBN, a library catalogue record, an eligible claimant and enough library holdings to trigger a payment. Registration and claims are made through the official scheme.
The difference is in what the publisher does. A hybrid publisher selects, edits, distributes and takes on responsibilities. A vanity-style provider takes payment and delivers a printed book with little else.
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