You’ve written your first children’s story, and now you’re ready for the next step. If you don’t have the time or desire to query literary agents and traditional publishers, your best bet is to explore hybrid or self-publishing—but be careful. You don’t want someone to take advantage of you. Luckily, we’re here to wave the red flag so you don’t move in a direction you’ll regret.
If you’re searching for an independent publisher to help you bring your book to life professionally and on your terms, one thing you may want to be on the lookout for is vanity presses. These publish books at the author’s expense, but they don’t care about how successful it turns out to be.
So how do you recognize a vanity press that’s masquerading as a legitimate hybrid publisher? There are a few factors that should cause you to pause and practice healthy skepticism.
1. They accept anyone and everyone.
A legitimate hybrid publisher has standards and won’t just publish anything. If there’s no vetting process—if they don’t ask you targeted questions about your project, your vision, and your goals—then there’s a good chance you’re talking to a vanity press.
2. They ask you to get your credit card out right away.
It’s the classic sales tactic. “You have to commit now if you want to take advantage of this great deal! Just share your payment information, and I’ll make your publishing dreams come true.” Hybrid publishing is meant to be relational, not transactional. If it seems like it’s just a money grab . . . it probably is. (And another thing—you should invest the necessary time and effort into finding the right publishing home for you, so don’t let anyone rush you!)
3. You constantly get passed off to a new person.
If there’s no continuity, that’s definitely a red flag. When a true hybrid publisher is genuinely interested in your project and evaluating its merit, you should have a main point of contact who is communicative, knowledgeable, and attentive to your unique needs and goals as an author.
4. Quality isn’t a priority.
One of the basic requirements for a book to be successful is quality. If you have a sloppy manuscript, unprofessional illustrations, and/or a lackluster design, no one’s going to want to read your book, even if it’s the best story in the world. So it’s crucial that you can rely on your publisher to ensure quality, especially since you’re investing in the project and presumably want to make a return on your investment. That being said, if a publisher takes on your project and doesn’t insist on some level of editing or quality checks, that’s a cause for alarm.
Enough of the downside. Let’s talk about what you should look for when evaluating publishing partners!
- It should be discerning about the projects it takes on and should have high quality standards that are required for publication.
- The focus should be on partnership and collaboration—working together to realize your dream of publishing a professional, top-notch book.
- The publisher should have a catalog of beautiful, well-received books that you would be proud to join the ranks of.
- It should have a reputation and brand centered on trustworthiness, quality, and care—beyond its own website.
- The publisher should constantly provide value, make thoughtful recommendations to set your book up for success, and demonstrate they have your best interests at heart.
Now what if you’re interested in self-publishing? Chances are you’re not an expert writer AND editor AND illustrator AND designer AND marketer. So you’ll have to hire a few freelancers to help you bring all the pieces of your book together. You can find excellent options on sites like Fiverr, Reedsy, and Upwork, but you definitely want to exercise caution. One of the trickiest aspects of hiring freelancers is that you can never quite be sure that you’ll get what you’re paying for at the level of quality you’d like. To avoid dodgy freelancers (or downright scammers), keep an eye out for these red flags:
1. They have little to no reviews.
Maybe they’re professional but only just started their account on Fiverr. Or maybe they’re going to take your money and run. It’s always best to lean on the professionals who have a lot of positive reviews that can give you peace of mind.
2. They have questionable payment policies.
Do they expect you to pay the entire cost of the project upfront? Well, what’s their incentive to finish the project and deliver the illustrations? Or do they refuse to accept normal payment options and insist on wire transfers outside of the platform? Sounds awfully sketchy . . .
3. They’re suspiciously inconsistent.
This is especially relevant for illustrations. In this day and age, you unfortunately need to be wary of AI illustrations, clipart, and stolen art. Not only are there quality concerns in many of these cases, particularly because the “artist” won’t be able to tailor the illustrations according to your unique vision, but you also have to worry about legal ramifications. If art samples look pasted together or have completely different styles even within the same image, you should steer clear.
4. Communication is difficult and never in real time.
Most people have regular schedules and routines. If you can never pin a freelancer down because they seem to be all over the place and they’re always unavailable, that’s definitely fishy. And it’s a major red flag if they refuse to talk to you on a phone call or video call.
5. The price doesn’t match industry standards.
If you’re looking for illustrations that are hand-drawn in ink and then colored in with watercolor, you can expect to spend at least a few thousand dollars in total. If someone on Upwork is claiming they can do it for $500, that’s probably too good to be true. Don’t let an apparently good deal lure you in and leave you high and dry in the end.
So how can you avoid these freelancer pitfalls? Here are a few best practices to keep in mind.
- Make sure they have lots of five-star reviews with detailed descriptions and photos of the final product.
- Cross-reference their pricing with the Editorial Freelancers Association to see what a reasonable budget might be.
- Thoroughly review their portfolio and gain a sense of their style (if you can’t, it may be that inconsistency issue we talked about).
- Do a reverse image search for art samples to be sure that nothing is stolen.
- Ask for progress shots from the initial sketch to the final color illustration (although not every artist will have this).
One of the benefits of working with a legitimate hybrid publisher is that you can trust the professionals to manage all of this in-house with quality top of mind every step of the way. If you want to start your journey toward becoming a published author and bypass the red flags described above, submit your book idea to Blue Balloon Books and begin the evaluation process!