This week a book publisher contacted me after reading my blog. She was very interested and suggested possibly writing a children’s book. Since I have been working on a book about my IVF experience and this would be a great way to get my foot in the door, I was totally doing the happy dance after reading her message.

I don’t use gifs a lot on the blog, but this was totally me:

My head was immediately swimming with book ideas and plans. I answered back right away, telling her all about my book I’m writing and my idea for a kid’s book too. I ran right to Facebook and blasted my amazing news, wanting to share the moment with friends.

Then later, after I calmed down a bit and decided I should actually look up this company and learn more about them, I discovered they were a hybrid publishing company. In other words, they would help me self-publish my book as long as I pay them AND give them royalties.

Whaaaaaaaat. Enthusiasm has been considerably dampened.

I felt a little deflated. I thought it was my magical moment. And I suppose it could be, sort of, if I had enough money.

So what exactly is hybrid publishing?

A hybrid publisher will give you the help and guidance of traditional publishing, for a fee, and basically help you self-publish your own book so you get to keep the rights. They should be a little selective, but there are “vanity press” type places that will publish anyone with enough money.

I have already researched traditional and self-publishing, but had never heard of the hybrid option until now. After getting over my initial disappointment, I did a lot of research and it seems like a possible option. I had been looking at self-publishing and constantly getting overwhelmed by all the steps, and a hybrid company walks you through the process. I find the hand-holding aspect appealing.

But then I read a lot of scary reviews on different companies about all the expenses, companies not being responsive to edits, royalties not being paid, additional fees annually for book storage and outrageous printing and shipping costs. This made me want to curl up under my desk and give up.

But I did not. I decided to reply back and agree to speak to the lady from Mascot Books next week and see what she has to say. They had overall good reviews compared to a lot of publishers. They seemed a little more selective. I couldn’t find any prices mentioned anywhere and am a little concerned about the cost and mentioned I probably can’t afford it but still want to talk. Just wanted to put it out there that I’m not ready to plunk down thousands of dollars.

And here’s a funny thing- I was looking through their books and ran across Dads Know Best, a book written by the lead singer of Whole Damn Mess, who I just happen to have interviewed last year when they opened for Candlebox at the Ponte Vedra Music Hall. I managed to find him on Facebook and send a message asking about his experience. Crossing my fingers it doesn’t go straight to the spam folder.

So that’s where I’m at. Waiting to hear back about the meeting and waiting to hear back from my Facebook message. And while I was waiting, I pretty much wrote an entire children’s book that I’m kind of excited about. I’ve really warmed to this idea of doing that first, but am stuck a bit because I need illustrations. If you want to see my illustration skills, check out my latest Instagram post, lol.

*As a side note- I added a new category today under Mom Life: Writing a Book. I figure I’m posting enough about it now that it needs its own section.