Publishing Model
Last updated: August 13, 2026
Thanks for your interest in our business model!
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.
First, let’s clear the air.
Lost Island Press has never charged for publication. Someone labeled us a “vanity press” without research, and a few Redditors took this as truth. To clarify: No, we don’t charge fees. Yes, we cover all costs.
What we’re looking for in a book
Our goal at Lost Island Press is to build a speculative fiction catalog where the same reader would love every single title. In other words, we search for good books—but they also need to complement our past publications.
Fits our catalog
We ask one simple question: “Would our most dedicated readers love this one too?”
Original premise
Unlike big publishers, we don’t release thousands of books a year. Risky, original ideas come first.
Safe bets
We’re not interested in books written to fit market trends. We want stories worth telling.
Outside our genres
We only publish YA and adult speculative fiction. This enables repeat readership at a press level.
What we’re looking for in an author
Lost Island authors don’t invest money, but we expect their active involvement!
Collaborative spirit
We want someone excited to be involved in everything from editing to marketing.
Career-oriented drive
We see our books as more than just passion projects, and we hope you do too.
Hands-off authors
If you’d prefer to hand off your book and wait for the final product, we’re not the right fit.
Overcommitted authors
Publishing with us takes real back-and-forth. It’s not a worthy venture if your plate is already full.
What it’s like to work with us
Cover Design
Let’s face it—readers do judge books by their covers, and a weak one will prevent them from giving it a chance.
As a publisher that takes our designs seriously, we invest a lot of time and money into getting them right.
For each book, we work with a professional designer on our roster to create a cover that hits five marks:
Genre fit
Attracts the right readers.
Story accuracy
Truly represents the book.
Author pride
We want the author to love it!
Team pride
Our team wants to love it too!
Designer pride
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
Copy editing 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.
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. Even those who go about the process right can miss important steps by accident.
At Lost Island Press, we not only shoulder the financial risk but also use our years of publishing experience to polish and promote your book. That’s why submissions aren’t open year-round—we only take on new projects when we’re ready to give them our all.
What you earn
Royalty split on every sale.
*Royalties = Net Revenue (Gross Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold)
Distribution
As of 2025, we’ve launched our own online store at lostislandpress.com, made possible by our printing partners around the globe. Few publishers run their own stores, and having one is a tremendous feat. If a reader buys a book on Barnes & Noble, Barnes & Noble takes a cut. 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.
Our online store ships to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Ebooks and audiobooks are available internationally. Our books are still found through major third-party retailers, which is especially important for readers based in Europe or other regions we don’t serve.
Marketing
Marketing is hard. I get it. I’ve been through the frustration myself. 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 self-motivated to keep it thriving.
However, I won’t deny that marketing works best when authors are actively involved, even with our “press brand” model. We aren’t seeking writers with huge followings, but we are seeking to build a huge following for Lost Island Press that we can all benefit from, and we could use your help.
So, as an author at our press, you could expect requests like these:
We don’t need you to brainstorm a whole content schedule. 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 FAQs below, and I’ll be updating this page periodically.
If you have additional questions, I encourage you to reach out directly: info@lostislandpress.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Lost Island Press is not a hybrid or vanity press. We’re an independent publisher that follows a traditional model.
- Independent, because we operate outside of the major corporate publishers (the Big Five)
- Traditional, because we fund the entire production process and authors never pay a dime
Both labels are valid, but we prefer “independent” over “traditional” because we’re building something new, not trying to be a smaller version of the Big Five.
No, we do not charge fees to publish books. We earn profit when our authors earn profit.
We do not currently offer advances against royalties.
When submissions are open, we add a submissions form to this page.
We pay our authors 50% of royalties (net revenue) 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%, or $250.
The timeline varies for each book, but a rough estimate is included in the contract.
This isn’t a hobby press. We have no plans to slow down.
We are legally headquartered in the United States. Our team is 100% remote and collaborates virtually from around the world. Please note that we do not accept paper submissions at our physical business addresses. Please follow our submission guidelines.
We publish in the United States with worldwide distribution. This means our books can be purchased through major third-party retailers around the world.
We also self-distribute books on our own online store. Ebooks and audiobooks are available worldwide. Paperbacks, BlueBounds, and merch ship to the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
To inquire about foreign rights for Lost Island titles, email info@lostislandpress.com.