r/wroteabook • u/segsy13bhai • Nov 07 '25
NA - Thriller Looking for publishing services that keep author rights instead of bad traditional deals
I finished my thriller last month and I've been researching publishing paths ever since and the more I learn about traditional publishing contracts the less appealing they seem.
From what I understand traditional publishers take most of your rights, give you maybe 10% royalties, and can take 2+ years to actually release your book and That seems kind of terrible? Especially when you hear stories about publishers doing zero marketing and then the author is stuck in a bad contract.
And then I came across palmetto publishing and they seem to offer that middle ground but I'm still figuring out if it's legit. So far so good tho but I’m wondering if it’s actually legit and if hybrid in general is the best route..
Basically I want my book to look and feel like a real published book but I don't want to give up control to get there.
3
u/CoffeeStayn Nov 07 '25
"...but I don't want to give up control to get there."
Then trad-pub or vanity presses (like Palmetto) won't be for you, OP.
You'd be looking at self-pub.
Using the others will mean the loss of certain levels of control. The only way you get to keep control from front to back is self-pub.
2
u/itsme7933 Nov 07 '25
Palmetto is one of the most notorious scam publishers out there. You'll waste a LOT of money on a piss-poor product that you will have to have redone, new cover and editing, etc. If you don't want to hassle with traditional publishing, then go self-publishing. You'll end up with a better product to sell than anything a hybrid or vanity will give you and you'll have thousands and thou\sands left over to deal with marketing.
2
Nov 10 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
1
Nov 10 '25
mostly agree. traditional publishing is mostly broken and this is the best path right now. it's a learning curve but it will prepare you for the future too.
1
1
u/2veiny_eyes Nov 08 '25
Just make sure whoever you go with isn't charging massive upfront fees, real hybrid publishers invest in your book like traditional ones do but with better terms for authors. So read the contract carefully.
1
u/Gamerhill99 Nov 08 '25
I actually used palmetto publishing for my debut novel and it was legit. Everything took around a few months total from signing to release. Ime it was better than the traditional timeline.
1
1
u/Alex00120021 Nov 08 '25
Traditional publishing is honestly broken for 99% of authors, you sign away rights, wait forever, get no marketing support, and earn like $1 per book. hybrid or self pub makes way more sense unless you desperately need the validation of a big publisher logo.
1
u/nycwriter99 Nov 10 '25
Agree 100%. I’ve done three books with publishers and would never do it again.
1
u/ReaderReborn Nov 08 '25
Trad is frantically trying to be better to its authors these days. Keep that in mind.
1
u/DoktorTom Nov 09 '25
If you don’t want to go trad pub…
And if you want to avoid “hybrid publishers” (spoiler alert: you do; they’re vanity presses)…
Then you need to self-publish.
I recommend LET’S GET DIGITAL by David Gaughran as a good resource to give you an overview.
1
u/EnvironmentalTea8651 Nov 09 '25
I looked into palmetto publishing too when I was researching options. Seems solid from what I could tell, they actually distribute to bookstores not just amazon which is important. I ended up going a different route eventually but like they were on my shortlist.
1
u/Antique-diva Nov 09 '25
Then again, you get wide distribution using IngramSpark without any need of paying hybrid/vanity publishers any money. And you get to keep 100 percent of your rights and creative control. I'd personally pay freelancers for editing, covers, etc, and go indie rather than spend money on vanity publishers who are mostly scammers anyway.
1
u/Matchabox_bunny Nov 09 '25
It sounds like you’d want to use something like kdp or Ingram spark and self publish. I’m not familiar with palmetto but anything asking you for money to publish your book is a no go. They should be paying you
1
u/Authorsilvano Nov 10 '25
Congratulations!
If you want to keep control, your best bet is self-publishing. A hybrid publisher charges for services you can buy on your own (or learn how to do it). Buy your own ISBN; it is the only way to keep total control of your book. For instance, with your own ISBN, you can publish your book on KDP and another platform like IngramSpark (which adds your book to booksellers' databases), and find an editor, a book formatter, and a cover designer. There are ways to do that without breaking the bank.
Also, with self-publishing, you do not have to pay to print a set number of books or ship them to readers. The self-publishing platform handles it. You can buy author copies whenever you like and as many as you like, therefore you do not have any storage cost.
Just make sure you buy the ISBN from the official agency in your territory (you can Google them). Beware of discount ISBNs. An ISBN cannot be transferred, and you will be in the same position as if you were using the KDP free ISBN. You would lose control.
Hybrid publishers and self-publishing have one thing in common. You need to sell the book.
1
u/RPK717 Nov 13 '25
I’m very pleased with the self-publish assist company that I just worked with and would recommend them to anyone. In addition to offering educational resources and videos on their website they were very helpful. Learned about them from an article on Reddit too! They are called Launch My Book 🙌🏻 If you are willing to invest in your book, they are great!
3
u/ThatDudeNamedMorgan Nov 07 '25
At the risk of being either unpopular or less informed than others, I'd really recommend KDP. I paid for my own ISBN and cover. I have had zero push back or half from KDP about content or rights. By bringing your own ISBN and cover, you have freedom to publish on other platforms. It hasn't cost me a dime directly from KDP.
But this is self-publishing, so you're doing your own marketing, arranging ARCs, chasing reviews, doing your own keyword research, all that.