Booktrope, founded in 2010, was one of the first much-discussed hybrid publishers, which sought to provide an innovative publishing method for authors—not quite traditional, not quite self. Last week, it announced that it would shut down due to lack of revenue after publishing almost 1,000 titles. All books will be removed from sale by May 31, and rights will revert to authors as of June 1, except for titles that were reissued through AmazonEncore.
Booktrope’s approach was team-based, and team members for each book received a share of the book’s revenues. Authors were not charged for editing, design, or marketing services, and they received a net royalty starting at 33 percent. For more about Booktrope’s closing, visit GeekWire’s feature.
Bottom line: We heard generally positive reports from authors about their experience with Booktrope, but clearly Booktrope’s cut of book sales was not sufficient to keep the company sustainable, even after receiving $1.2 million in fresh funding in April 2015. We suspect other hybrid publishers may be experiencing similar strain unless they’ve shifted most or all financial risk onto authors in the form of upfront fees.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
