Publishing Model
Last updated: November 22, 2025
First off, thanks for your interest in publishing with us.
I’m Mel Torrefranca, the founder of Lost Island Press. As an author myself, I take submissions seriously. Even if you haven’t signed with us yet, it’s important to know what you might be getting into. This page lays out a clear picture of how we operate and what it’s like to work with us.
Let’s start by clearing the air: Lost Island Press has never charged writers to get published. In fact, we’ve turned down requests to do so.
Someone online labeled us a “vanity press” without prior research, and a few Redditors took this as truth. So, to avoid confusion, I want to clarify: No, we don’t charge fees. Yes, we cover all costs.
What we’re looking for…
Our goal at Lost Island Press is to build a catalog where the same reader would love every single title. So when we’re reviewing submissions, we’re looking for a good book—but it also needs to complement our past publications.
As for writers, we want someone excited about a collaborative publishing experience. If you’d prefer to hand off your book and see the final product in a year, we’re not the right publishing house for you. We don’t ask our authors to invest money, but we expect their time involvement in almost every aspect of publishing, including the editorial process, cover design, page formatting, and marketing (more on marketing later).
What it’s like to work with us…
Cover Design
Covers are among the largest financial investments we make in our authors’ books. Let’s face it—readers do judge books by their covers, and a weak one guarantees no one will even give your story a shot.
For each book, we work with a professional designer on our roster to create a cover that hits five marks:
- Fits its genre and attracts the right readers
- Represents the story accurately
- Makes the author proud (we want them to love it!)
- Makes our team proud (we want to love it too!)
- Makes the designer proud (they should love their portfolio!)
Our team, the author, and the designer are always sending files and notes back and forth—getting feedback from our newsletter subscribers, family members, friends… A book’s cover is the most important step in marketing it, and the care we put into its design should reflect that.
Editing
At our press, the bulk of effort occurs during the editing process, which typically progresses in this order:
- Developmental Editing: After a project is green-lit, and the contract signed, we give the author a list of broad, recommended changes.
- Beta Reading: Next, we gather feedback from test readers and convert their critiques into actionable edits.
- Copy Editing & Proofreading: The final stage of the editing process involves several detailed passes to refine clarity, grammar, consistency, and readability. I handle most of this work because I genuinely enjoy it and have years of experience in line editing as a freelancer.
Our goal isn’t to change the story’s heart. As with everything else, if an author resists an idea, we can talk it through and find a middle ground.
Page Formatting (Typesetting)
Typesetting affects the reader experience more than most people realize. The first edition of Nightshade Academy looks great. But if you were to put it next to the newest version, you’d say, “Wow, this one breathes a lot better.” You just couldn’t put your finger on why.
Typesetting is a subtle art, and in recent years, I’ve become meticulous about it. I’ve actually gone back and re-formatted older titles to meet our higher expectations. I’m especially strict about inner margins—no one likes when the text is too close to the spine, am I right?
Because of our standards at Lost Island Press, I currently handle most of our formatting. I’m creating a detailed internal guide for future contractors until I hand this over, so they can style our books consistently forever.
Let’s get down to business…
Royalties
Why work with Lost Island Press when it’s so easy to self-publish?
Without investing both time and money, many self-published authors don’t accomplish a “bookstore-ready” standard (often due to cutting corners to reduce costs). Even those who go about the process right can miss important steps by accident. Specific pitfalls may go unnoticed by most readers, but put your book next to a professional title, and it just feels homemade.
At Lost Island Press, we not only take on the financial risk but also use our years of publishing experience to ensure your book exceeds industry standards. That’s why submissions aren’t open year-round—we only take on new projects when we’re ready to give them our all.
In addition to covering costs, we offer our authors a competitive 50/50 royalty split, which is roughly 3-5 times more than what big publishers pay.
Distribution
Instead of stocking large warehouses, we print our books to order, or in small batches. This means we’re less likely to get automatic placement in physical locations, though our titles do get stocked when stores or libraries request them. We also don’t allow booksellers to destroy our books for a refund (yes, that really happens—learn more here).
The upsides to this model are significant: fewer sunk costs in returns (meaning our authors don’t get royalty deductions), plus the flexibility to function as both a publisher and a bookseller.
As of 2025, we’ve launched our own online store here at lostislandpress.com, made possible by our printing partners from around the globe. Few publishers run their own stores, as there is a ton of work and upkeep involved in making the experience just as user-friendly as shopping on Amazon.
Having our own bookstore is a tremendous feat. If a reader buys a book on Barnes & Noble, Barnes & Noble takes a cut. But if a reader buys on our own website, we take home the full profit, earning our authors extra royalties at no additional cost to the customer.
Selling directly to readers has also informed our marketing strategy. Rather than driving traffic to other stores, we always send links back to our website to ensure maximum earnings for our authors. This model has proven to be a success, and we’re just getting started!
Marketing
Most readers follow authors, not publishers—but we’re challenging that. Lost Island Press has built a readership that buys every book we release, not just books from individual authors. That’s why, when selecting a book for publication, I look at our most dedicated readers and think, “Would they love this one too?”
Marketing is hard. I get it. I’ve been through the frustration myself and spent years learning how to do it well. And yes, I’m still learning. I can’t promise viral success, but I can promise that every book we publish will live inside a long-term ecosystem that we actively nurture and promote. My own books are in that same ecosystem, so I’m just as invested in keeping it thriving as our authors are.
However, I won’t deny that marketing works best when authors are actively involved, even with our unique model. We aren’t seeking writers with huge followings, but we are seeking to build a huge following for Lost Island Press, and we could use your help.
So, as an author at our press, you could expect requests like these:
- “Could you record a one-minute horizontal video for us, talking about XYZ?”
- “Could you write a paragraph about your launch day emotions for us to add to our newsletter this Friday?”
- “Could you record some clips of you writing on your laptop (in a few different locations) to use as b-roll for a TikTok?”
We don’t need you to brainstorm a whole content schedule. That’s our job. But we may give you little “homework assignments” like these to help keep our readers engaged.
In short, we’re building a community that all our authors contribute to and benefit from.
Final Thoughts
I hope this page has given you a clearer picture of what it’s like to publish with Lost Island Press. I’ve addressed some more specific questions in the section below, and I’ll be updating this page periodically.
If you have additional questions, I encourage you to reach out to me directly: mel@lostislandpress.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I submit my manuscript for publishing consideration?
When submissions are open, we add a submissions form to this page.
Do you charge authors any fees?
No, we do not charge fees to publish books. We earn profit when our authors earn profit.
Do you offer advances against royalties?
We do not currently offer advances against royalties. This also means that our authors accrue royalties immediately, as they’re no advance to pay off first.
How much do authors at Lost Island Press get paid?
We pay our authors 50% of net royalties from book sales, licensing profit, and any other profit generated from their work that we publish. For example, if we receive $500 in royalties for a book, the author gets paid 50% of that amount, or $250. Our royalty rate is 3-5x what most traditional publishers offer.
Where is Lost Island Press located?
We are legally headquartered in Arizona, but our team is 100% remote and collaborates virtually from around the globe. Please note that we do not accept paper submissions at our Arizona address; to submit your manuscript, please follow our submission guidelines.
Do Lost Island Press authors lose rights to their books?
Our authors retain the copyright to their books when they publish with us. They grant us an exclusive license to publish their book.
Does Lost Island Press publish internationally?
We publish our books in the United States with worldwide distribution. This means our books can be purchased directly on our website from readers all around the world. We also work with distributors to ensure our books are available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and several small, international online retailers. Note that audiobooks, BlueBounds, and other special editions are often sold exclusively on our website. If you’re interested licensing foreign rights for Lost Island Press titles, please contact info@lostislandpress.com.
How long does it take for Lost Island Press to publish a book?
Because we prioritize quality over quantity, we never rush the publication process. The timeline varies for each book, but a rough estimate is usually included in the contract.