This past weekend, we hosted a workshop called The Rise of the Hybrid Author. It was led by one of the leading agents in the publishing industry, Senior Literary Agent Saritza Hernandez of Corvisiero Literary Agency. This topic has always been of particular interest to me. To be a hybrid author means that a writer has books published in both a traditional and independent sense. In my opinion, it is the best of both worlds. There are many benefits to being a hybrid author and as I always say: Why limit yourself if you can maximize your success?
Saritza Hernandez did an excellent job of not only breaking down the worlds for us, but discussing the pros and cons of both. It was eye-opening and fascinating. It also got me quite excited about the future. (I’ll have an announcement coming soon, but that’s a story for another time.) This workshop also solidified my theory on the indie world in general: Self-publishing is really a belief in yourself. You’re laying it all on the table and betting on yourself since you make the investment in the costs associated with your book, instead of the publisher taking that on. And let me tell you, dear writer: you have more power than you think.
The last thing I want to do is share a golden nugget from Hernandez’ talk. Most people think the distinction between writer and author lies between work published. If you publish, you’re officially an author, if you don’t, you’re a writer. However, as Hernandez put it, once you start the process of monetizing your writing, you are officially an author. If you just want to write as a hobby, great! You’re a writer. But the minute you choose to monetize, you’ve officially transitioned to author. Mind equals blown! There’s nothing wrong with either, but that is the true definition. I agree!
So are you a writer or an author and what will your path to publication be?
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Our next workshop with Saritza Hernandez will be: First Pages Workshop with Saritza Hernandez! Get feedback from a literary agent on those opening pages!
Racquel Henry is a Trinidadian writer and editor with an MFA from Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is also a part-time English Professor and owns the writing center, Writer’s Atelier, in Winter Park, FL. In 2010 Racquel co-founded Black Fox Literary Magazine where she still serves as an editor. On the freelance side, she edits books, academic work, and ghostwrites Romance novels. Racquel has also presented and moderated panels at writing conferences and residencies across the US. Her fiction, poetry, and nonfiction have appeared or is forthcoming in Lotus-Eater Magazine, Reaching Beyond the Saguaros: A Collaborative Prosimetric Travelogue(Serving House Books, 2017), We Can’t Help it if We’re From Florida (Burrow Press, 2017), How I Met My Other Anthology (Orange Blossom Publishing, 2019), Moko Caribbean Arts & Letters, and The Writer’s Atelier Little Book of Writing Affirmations (Writer’s Atelier Books, 2018), among others.
