STOP THE PRESSES! Wait, which ones?: A brief look into the boutique, hybrid, or vanity press

By: Kimberly Davis, Blog/Web Editor & Copywriter for The Teaching Press during Spring 2021

In the big wide world of publishing presses, it can be overwhelming for the most savvy of clients (and the most eager of interns) to not only narrow down their options from a professional perspective, but to pinpoint what exactly each and every press does from an organizational one. Although publishing presses can certainly offer their clients and staff with an extremely individualized experience—due to their wide range of services/capabilities, community/literary focus, and even the unique personalities they have on staff—there are undoubtedly similarities that can be detected across the board. So, let’s go on and ahead and get down to business. (The publishing business, that is!)

THE BOUTIQUE, HYBRID, OR VANITY PRESS (OR EVEN ‘FEE-FOR-SERVICE’ PRESSES):

Traditionally, boutique presses are a type of small scale press that specialize in a specific subject niche. Because of this, many boutiques differ when it comes to the type of genres and/or projects they take on and complete. In a way, the boutique presses intent is to appeal to a specific audience in terms of marketability and the rate of success.

Hybrid presses, on the other hand, are a bit harder to define. When it comes to the hybrid press a client is either funding their own creative endeavors, or raising money to do so through crowdfunding sources. Throughout the entirety, the client will remain ownership over their work and they can exercise a lot more control and freedom in its development.

Similarly, the vanity press is known to charge their clients a fee (or solicit an arrangement of purchase related to the project otherwise) to publish their books. While the vanity press functions in much the same way to the boutique and hybrid press, there are significantly less restrictions in place when it comes to their ‘selection’ process.