Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is hybrid publishing?

Hybrid publishing is a way of publishing your book that sits between self-publishing and the traditional model. Self-publishing means you keep control of the creative process, as you retain all your rights in the work. For that, you get a significantly higher share of the royalty per book sold, but you also bear all the costs of publication and have to do everything yourself. Traditional publishing means you give up your rights – and therefore creative control – in return for the publisher paying all the costs and managing the whole process, including getting your book onto the online platforms and into the stores. Also your share of the royalties per book is much lower, and you need to get an agent in order to access the process. Hybrid publishing offers the best of both worlds. You don’t need an agent to get your manuscript accepted. Just like self-publishing, working with a hybrid publisher requires you to make a financial investment. This is for the services the publisher provides – and especially the expertise and support – to get your book edited and published.

 

Why is Winter & Drew’s hybrid publishing model innovative?

The term ‘hybrid publishing’ is a relatively new one, and can mean different things to different companies. To us and our authors it means:

        • As one of our authors you keep all your rights in your work. You therefore have full creative approval over the cover, content and formatting. You are also free to take back your book and republish it at any time, as well as to market it in any way you like. 
        • Our innovative hybrid model means that you are effectively ‘self-publishing’ under our imprint. In other words, you get the credibility of a publisher imprint, together with our commitment to support you and help you publish.
        • As part of our service, we manage some elements of publishing on your behalf. For example we act as the publisher to the retail trade, so we collect your royalties and distribute them to you on a monthly basis.
        • We also offer marketing support within some of our packages, including the creation of a marketing plan, as well as an option of expert implementation support.
        • Publishing needs a financial investment to make it happen, and our income mainly derives from our support service to our authors. The costs of our service packages are set out clearly on our website, and we want you to be fully aware of what you are committing to before you make any decision to use our company.

 

What’s involved in the submissions process?

We require you to submit a one-page synopsis and the first 10,000 words of your novel. Your novel should be complete and should ideally be over 75,000 words in total. If your book is historical fiction it should take place no later than the 1980s. 

We will review it and decide if this is a book we would like to work on with you. We read every manuscript that is submitted to Winter & Drew Publishing. Depending on the genre, and availability, your manuscript will be read by one of the associates or the owner Jonathan. They will review the synopsis and chapters, and assess whether the story, plot, and characters will make a good published book.

This process is likely to take four to six weeks.

 

What is a synopsis?

A synopsis is a brief but comprehensive summary of your novel. It gives the reader a good idea of all the key plot points, as well as the main characters. We use it to decide whether your story works, so we need to know all the plot twists and the ending!
It should include details such as the main character and their conflict, the major plot points, the setting, the theme of your novel, and the genre. Your synopsis should fit onto one A4 page.

 

How do you publish my book?

Depending on the package you choose the process includes the following:

        • Structural edit
        • Line edit
        • Briefing and designing great book covers
        • Writing the blurb copy
        • Formatting for Amazon KDP (ebook and print on demand)
        • Proofreading services
        • British Library cataloguing
        • A marketing plan and marketing support
        • ISBN
        • Paid beta readers
        • Submission to wholesaler.

See the publishing packages at Pricing for specific details.

 

Can you help with marketing my book?

Depending on which package you choose we can help you market your book. Our services include writing a marketing and launch plan and a specific number of hours of marketing implementation support, such as writing social media posts, newsletters, or Amazon advertising.

 

Why do I need to hire someone to design my book cover?

Great book covers grab peoples’ attention and entice readers to explore further. A well-designed cover communicates your novel’s genre and tone, helping attract the right audience.

We use designers who understand how to create a front cover with an enticing design to boost visibility and sales. We research the genre and competitive titles to develop a comprehensive brief for the designer. You get to approve the brief before it goes out.

 

Do you edit and proofread my book?

We use editing and proofreading services on your book before it is published. Your publisher or service providers will undertake these tasks. We only use humans for this part of the process.

 

Can you help distribute my book?

Winter & Drew will upload your book to Amazon, which includes the following elements:

        • Researching keywords to make the book visible to searchers on Amazon
        • Assessing the most effective categories for the book – Amazon allows up to three
        • Writing a professional and engaging ‘blurb’ that appears on the back cover and the Amazon page for the book
        • Writing a genre / trope-specific subtitle that also helps with searchability
        • Producing relevant A+ content (appearing on the page as ‘from the Publisher’)
        • Uploading for the following formats:
          • eBook
          • Paperback
          • Kindle Unlimited.

Winter & Drew can also upload your book to Ingram Spark, which allows it to go into the wholesale / retail chain. This allows buyers to order it from bricks and mortar bookstores. 

An Advanced Information Sheet can be prepared, which can be sent to bookstores directly, containing all the information required to have the book ordered in for stock.

However, unlike a traditional publisher, we currently do not proactively sell books into the wholesale / retail trade. We do all we can to help the author do this – such as by making sure the book is correctly listed by wholesalers / Neilsen and by creating the Advanced Information Sheet.

 

What do you mean by the blurb that appears on the back cover?

A blurb is a short description of a book designed to entice readers to buy and read it. It gives a snapshot of the main character and the conflict and addresses the central themes. They are usually between 100 and 200 words long.

 

How long will it take for my book to get published?

There are several different elements to publishing a book once you have written it. While you’ll have a project manager to ensure everything runs smoothly, the length of time will depend on many factors. These include the quality of your novel, the availability of our service providers, and how quickly you respond to re-writing drafts and signing-off on the different stages of the process.
We’ll aim to publish your book within a realistic timeframe – which needs only to be months, not years. We will be able to go into specific details once we know more about your project.

 

I want to talk to Winter & Drew; how do I get in contact?

You can email Winter & Drew via our Contact Form. Our business hours are Monday-Friday, 9.00-17.00 (UK time), and we aim to respond to your email within 24 business hours.

 

How much does it cost to publish my book?

Just like self-publishing, hybrid publishing a professional book requires certain costs. These will depend upon which services you use. See our Pricing page for the different packages available.

 

Do you have a payment plan?

We offer staged payments for our Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum packages. See our Pricing page for details.

 

How much control do I have at every stage of the publishing process?

While you retain creative control at every stage of the publishing process, we will be advising you every step of the way, using our best endevours and expertise.

 

Do you use AI software when producing my book?

Only humans are involved in the publication of your book.

 

Why do I need an ISBN – and can you supply them for me?

The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is the unique identifier for your book. An ISBN is crucial to ensure your book is recognised by distributors and retailers. This creates greater visibility and accessibility in the market.
Your ISBNs will be provided by Winter & Drew, as part of our pricing packages.

 

How do I get paid for my royalties?

You will receive a monthly Royalty Statement detailing the sales made the previous month, the commission charged, and the balance we owe you. You will usually receive the statement in the first week of the month for the previous month, and the money will be deposited in your account by Bank Transfer around a week later.