H…is for Hybrid.
Not the cars. But the authors. Some authors who are self-publishing have an agent and are also pursuing (or are already) published “traditionally.” Some may have found an agent through self-publishing, others may have already had an agent and a traditional deal but then self-published another book or were agented but decided to self-published first and another manuscript found their way to an editor.
One does not exclude the other. And I think it really comes from the thought process one puts behind its own publishing path. It’s not “one size fits all” type of experience.
Personally, I am not looking for an agent and I’m not looking to be traditionally published at the moment. Why? I like to have control over the aspects of publishing that I do. For ONE TWO THREE, I chose my pub date to coincide with my parents’ 40th year anniversary. I like that the process can be as fast as you want to be (or as fast as you can make it happen). Maybe one day, I’ll change my mind and will pursue querying again but not now. Now I’m still learning how to do this right and that’s where my energy is going.
However, if you want to read some amazing self-pub by hybrid authors: CHASING THE DREAMS series by Elizabeth Briggs. She published the NA contemporary romance series herself but her science-fiction YA FUTURE SHOCK will be published by Albert Whitman & Company. Or Dahlia Adler who published LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT but has several books with Spencer Hill, including UNDER THE LIGHTS coming out in June.
Talking about Dahlia, she has this amazing series on her blog about publishing and one part of it was about self-published authors, including the topic of “Hybridizing”. It has great insight (and you can see it here)
Join me tomorrow for I…Inspiration
Elodie Nowodazkij 
So this whole series is so great, but I had to comment particularly on your A+ usage of that Pocahontas gif.
“Hybridizing” is a fascinating topic. Do you know of any authors who have been able to traditionally publish works that were originally self-published? Or is it more common to move to traditional publishing with a new book or series?
This is one of the things I like about the self-pubbing option, especially as it becomes more and more de-stigmatized. You can choose it as your only path, or you can choose it in addition to other paths. Personally, I would like an agent. But I won’t rule out ever self-pubbing, especially if I write something that may be difficult for my (one day) agent to sell traditionally.
Good post, Elodie! 🙂
Great A-to-Z post! I’m still exploring my options for publishing my first book. Thanks for the great tips.
This is the neat part of the publishing industry – it’s currently going through change and had a lot of models for a lot of different authors. I’ve done some research on the pros and cons of self, hybrid, or traditional publishing and while I haven’t made up my mind yet, I’m glad that there are all kinds of options out there. 🙂