“How can I order my book?”

All authors are entitled to a 50% discount on copies they purchase themselves. To order books, please call 703-661-1594. You will be charged for shipping, and you will not receive royalties on books that you buy yourself.

Please order books with at least a two to three weeks lead time. Shipping is expensive enough without incurring express charges.

We recommend that you always travel with 5 or more copies of your book so that you can be prepared to sell a copy directly if the opportunity presents itself. Lantern has several authors who have sold hundreds of copies of books at events when they travel and have more than covered the costs of their trips. We recently bought a book from someone we met in a field of spinach, an author who happened to have copies of his book with him. There’s no telling when you’ll have a sales opportunity.

“When will I get my royalties?”

Royalties are calculated twice a year, in April and October, based on the previous six months of sales. Your April check will cover the period from July to December of the previous year, and your October check will cover the period from January to June. We are only able to calculate royalties once we receive this report from our warehouse, so occasionally our royalty payments are delayed by a few weeks. Royalties are paid once any advance payment you receive on your book is paid off. You do not receive royalties on books you purchase yourself or on copies sent out for promotional purposes. If there are more returns (books that have not sold and have been sent back by bookstores) than orders, your statement will have a negative amount and theoretically, you will owe Lantern money! Don’t worry: this money is never collected.

“Why isn’t my book at Barnes & Noble or Borders?”

These stores, though huge, carry fewer and fewer titles all the time. Our pitching your book to them will not work. Customers need to go into the stores and request your book. Once stores see demand for your book, they will order more copies.

“Where is my book distributed?”

Lantern distributes titles via the major distribution services Ingram, Baker & Taylor, and New Leaf.