Style Guide

July 20, 2019

Congratulations and thank you for publishing your book with Lantern. We understand how important the successful publication of your book is to you. The following instructions are intended to help you create properly formatted files that will be used by Lantern Publishing & Media for the production of your book. If you take the time to prepare your manuscript so that it’s professionally produced, you will stand a much greater chance of the manuscript being accepted and not sent back to you to for revision. With this in mind, we ask that you please read and follow these guidelines.

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eBook Style Guide

July 14, 2019

Lantern now publishes ebook versions of our books, formatted for all ebook readers. eBooks are now an important part of the publishing industry, and we’ll ask you to submit special information (videos, audio, links) for the digital version of your book. Regardless of whether or not you personally enjoy reading digital books, we’ll expect you to prepare a version of your manuscript to facilitate the creation of an ebook.

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Promotion FAQ

July 14, 2019

Congratulations! You are now a Lantern author. Now the real work begins!

Each year over 50,000 books are published in the United States. Most of these books sell a few thousand copies and receive little or no attention from reviewers or the media. Serious books on serious subjects constitute a tiny percentage of the books sold throughout the year.

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Top Ten Ways to Promote Your Book

July 14, 2019

1. Carry copies of your book with you wherever you go. When people are interested in you, they will often be interested in your work, as well. You never know when there will be an opportunity to sell your book or when you’ll meet someone influential to whom you ought to hand a copy. If there are situations where you can’t carry enough books, be sure to take fliers or postcards so that those interested will remember your name and the title of your book.

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Post-Publication FAQ

July 14, 2019

“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.

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Pre-Publication FAQ

July 14, 2019

“When and how should I send in my manuscript?”

If your manuscript is not yet complete, please send it to us by the date specified in your contract. You may email us the text (as one document, please, rather than separate files for individual chapters or sections) or send us a disk, but please also mail us a hard copy. We set the due date based on the book’s anticipated publication date and the time we expect it will take to prepare the manuscript for publication. Delays in submitting the manuscript may result in postponement of the publication date. If you feel you will not be able to meet the deadline specified in the contract, please contact us to discuss an extension rather than submitting an unfinished book, which will certainly create delays.

Please refer to our Style Guide before submitting your final manuscript. Then see How to Submit a Manuscript.

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Copyrights, Permissions, and Fair Use

July 14, 2019

One of the rights accorded to the owner of the copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 U.S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of fair use. Although ‘fair use’ was not mentioned in the previous copyright law, the doctrine has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years. This doctrine has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.

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How to Submit a Manuscript

July 14, 2019

Manuscripts (complete only) should be directed to ‘The Editor’ at our Brooklyn office (see our Contact page) and be sent with a self-addressed stamped envelope, a resume, relevant marketing information, and any other material that you feel would be useful in helping us understand the book’s content market and potential. We will also happily receive this information via email.

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Crowd-funding a Book

July 14, 2019

In 1926, T. E. Lawrence (“of Arabia”) decided to take his memoir about the Arab Revolt during World War I—Seven Pillars of Wisdom—and turn it into a slightly abridged but lavishly illustrated “subscribers’ edition,” with illustrations commissioned from some of the leading British artists of the day, including Paul Nash and Augustus John. Fearful of being seen to exploit his war-time record for personal gain, Lawrence published 200 copies at thirty guineas each, which was about a third of the cost per book. A trust was eventually set up to pay off the debt. Lawrence was no businessman!

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The Art of Editing

July 14, 2019

The always interesting texts from “Writers Ask,” the quarterly magazine produced by Glimmer Train, include a quote from Charles Johnson that could apply to all writers, whether of fiction or non-fiction.

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