The non-profit format of the company was founded in 2020. Non-profit presses of this kind have become increasingly common, and they are open to donation. Non-profit publishers still pay their authors via royalties. Along with being a non-profit press Lantern Publishing & Media also fundraisers for other non-profits that align with their values. In fact they feature those non-profits before their books on their main landing page, which is more focused on their overarching mission than recent releases. You have to scroll down a little, past two other sections, to reach their list of new and forthcoming books, but the books themselves are well presented, even if the covers are, in my opinion, very uneven.

I very much like that they go into details about their staff and board members and many of them have relevant experience. You can learn more about them by going to their About page and scrolling down. You can see their complete catalogue of books here, and audiobooks here. This is very much a press with a focused and goal-orientated catalogue, so please spend time with it to decide if your work is a good fit. I really appreciate the fact that they are actively publishing audiobooks.

They have pretty good international distribution which they list on their contact page. Their FAQ page implies they pay advances, at least to some authors, and it also communicates a lot of other worthwhile information.

I like that in their submission guidelines they link to good resources in terms of learning more about how to properly submit a manuscript. They also have clear proposal guidelines. Submissions must be made via email.

They are not open to submissions at this time.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2023 Guide to Manuscript Publishers. She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.

They describe their taste as: “compelled by the strange and beautiful, drawn to the uncanny, fascinated by the fantastical, and relish risky realism that rattles our senses.”. They also make it clear that both: “Traditional and experimental work are welcome.”

You can get a good feel for their previous issue, here. You can view the issue online or download it as a PDF.

They close to submissions on November 5th. You can learn more here and submit here.

Emily Harstone is the author of many popular books, including The Authors Publish Guide to Manuscript Submissions, Submit, Publish, Repeat, and The 2023 Guide to Manuscript Publishers. She regularly teaches three acclaimed courses on writing and publishing at The Writer’s Workshop at Authors Publish. You can follow her on Facebook here.

]]> https://authorspublish.com/how-to-find-and-utilize-hashtags-as-an-author-on-tiktok/ Thu, 24 Aug 2023 13:40:37 +0000 https://authorspublish.com/?p=22531 By Alyshia Hull

If you are an author looking to build your brand and connect with potential readers on TikTok, using hashtags can be a great way to boost your visibility and increase your reach. Hashtags categorize your content and make your videos more discoverable to potential readers. But with so many hashtags, how do you find the best ones for you and your work? Here are some tips on how to find the most effective ones as an author.

See what is trending:

Before you get started, make sure you grab a pen and notebook. Then when you are ready, open up the TikTok app, and type in the keyword you are looking for. As an example, let’s use the popular phrase, “Writers Of TikTok,” or “Authors Of TikTok.” By doing so, you will see thousands of videos pop up.

Now, click the filter button. Here you can sort your search results by like count and the date posted. Make sure you click this week — that way you are not analyzing posts from 6 months ago.

After doing so, you will see your results narrow. You will now be looking at some of the most popular videos within your niche from the past week. These are the videos that stood out in the crowd.

Now, click through the first few videos and see which hashtags these authors used. With your pen, jot those hashtags down into your notebook.

Can you name an author or two who have done exceptionally well on TikTok? Still with your pen and paper, let’s now analyze what they have done. To do this, pull up their page and look at their last three to five videos. Again, we want to make sure these videos are recent. If they are, jot down some of the hashtags they have been using. Do you notice any they have been using consistently?

Let’s be careful here, we aren’t copying their videos, or their content, but instead looking to see what is working for those similar to you. If you can’t think of any popular author accounts on TikTok, not to worry, simply by scrolling through the app, you will find plenty.

See the hashtag filter:

The third way to find hashtags on TikTok, is use the handy feature they provide you, labeled hashtags. Much like step one, research a keyword you want to target. Then, click the hashtag button. Here, many hashtags will pop up that are related to your niche. Oftentimes, the hashtags towards the top are among some of the most popular. So while they are a good place to start, understand, they might also be some of the most saturated.

Especially, when you are just starting out, it is important to mix popular hashtags with niche specific hashtags. Popular hashtags can help you reach a wider audience, but niche specific hashtags will help you target a specific audience interested in your content.

Phew! You did it, and you should now have a handful of hashtags written down in your journal. Now for the fun part, making the content and testing them out. As you spend time creating, you might see some videos perform better than others. When that happens, write it down. Ask yourself: Which hashtags did I use? What was the length of my video? What was the subject?

Need some help finding hashtags? Start by researching these: #BookTok, #WritersofTikTok, #writingcommunity, #IndieAuthors, #writing community, #AuthorLife, #BookRecommendations, #writingtips

Bio: Alyshia Hull is a writer, YouTuber and the founder of Make Your Break, a podcast for building your dream life and career. Her previous works have been published with Rachael Ray, Business Insider, HuffPost and AdWeek. You can find her at Home | Make Your Break (shopmakeyourbreak.com)