She Writes Press and SparkPress continue to be a large part of pioneering and championing the way for hybrid and independent publishers, in part with our broad involvement with the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

In 2018, She Writes Press and SparkPress publisher Brooke Warner and the IBPA Advocacy Committee published the first iteration of IBPA’s Hybrid Publisher Criteria, a list of nine criteria defining what it means to be a professional hybrid publisher.

In 2022, Brooke Warner worked with the organization to expand the 9-point list of criteria to an 11-point list via a process that included IBPA Board of Directors approval. This expanded criteria also stands in response to an April 2022 report published by The Society of Authors (SoA) and The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) entitled “Is it a Steal? An Investigation into ‘Hybrid’ / Paid-for Publishing Services.”

It’s our mission to level the playing field between hybrid and traditional publishing, and ensure that only publishers who adhere to the 11-point list of criteria can be categorized as hybrid publishing.

IBPA’s Hybrid Publisher Criteria includes the following list of expectations, which all hybrid publishers are expected to meet (expanded details here):

  • Define a mission and vision for its publishing program.
  • Vet submissions.
  • Commit to truth and transparency in business practices.
  • Provide a negotiable, easy-to-understand contract for each book published.
  • Publish under its own imprint(s) and ISBNs.
  • Publish to industry standards
  • Ensure editorial, design, and production quality.
  • Pursue and manage a range of publishing rights.
  • Provide distribution services.
  • Demonstrate respectable sales.
  • Pay authors a higher-than-standard royalty.