The day I was offered a publishing contract

This week my heart raced when I opened the post and pulled out a publishing contract for a picture book story I submitted before Christmas. Hands shaking, I read the accompanying letter, my heart sinking the more I read. The editorial team had only compliments for the story. With the right graphics it was felt that my story could have a chance in the children's book market. BUT. Because I am an 'untried' author, they could only offer me a contributory contract. Now, I've read that a publisher should never ask you for money, and that if they do, it's called vanity publishing. But this offer was something different; not vanity publishing but rather, HYBRID publishing. 

I read on, curious to see how big of  contribution they were asking me to make. They wanted a minimum of £2500 for my story to be turned into an eBook and paperback; I'd need to pay more if I wanted hardback and audio versions.

There was no decision to make given that I'm not in a position to pay that amount of money to get my book published at this time, and so I had to decline it. I felt deflated afterwards, but not for long. I BELIEVE in the story. I have had good feedback on it so far (and not just from the publishers), so I intend to keep on submitting it. If it never finds a home with a publisher (and a traditional publishing contract), I will look into self-publishing it.

As you know I've self-published before. The reason I haven't self-published this story YET is because it needs illustrations. I'm no artist, so I can't do them myself. I'd be reliant upon finding an illustrator, which I will do if necessary.

The moral of this tale? To keep going - keep writing - and to believe in yourself. Do BEWARE of vanity publishing where you'll be paying the publisher to publish your book; you'll the one taking all the risks. A contributory contract is a different matter, but do your research. How much is the publishing company going to do on your behalf? Have they got a good reputation? If you've got the budget, then maybe it's something worth considering.

If you're interested in finding out about the pros and cons of being a hybrid author, here's a useful article from the Alliance of Independent Authors: https://selfpublishingadvice.org/the-pros-and-cons-of-being-a-hybrid-author/

Until next time,

Helen x