Welcome to Lake Eerie Books
We believe in the power of words to inform, inspire, and change the world.
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We publish bold, imaginative novels that break the mold and give voice to authors with important stories to tell.
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Lake Eerie FAQs
Who is
Lake Eerie Books?
Is Lake Eerie a vanity press?
Are there any fees?
We are an independent fiction press and creative services firm formed just after the outbreak of Covid. Our very first novel was an Editor's Pick in Publishers Weekly, and we now have a full slate of new books, two short-story anthologies, and a variety of other writing, editing, and design projects in the works. We're a small company that gives each author and project the attention and care they deserve.
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As of September 13, we are open for new submissions and will continue to be throughout 2024, although we sometimes take a 2-3 week pause to catch up on things.
We are not a vanity press. If we decide to publish your book, we will assume all editing, design, production, and publication costs. We'll offer you an industry-standard royalty contract, which you'll have plenty of time to review and discuss with us and others. Of course, we will expect you to do some things, like promote yourself and your book on social media. You can find more information in the Publishing tab.
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We do provide fee-based editing, writing, and design services to writers and publishers. In fact, it's a big part of what we do. However, we keep this work completely separate from our publishing pipeline to avoid any misunderstandings. There's more info about our services work in the Services tab.
What kinds of books do you publish?
Why should I publish with you? (Or any other independent publisher?)
Like other small presses, we're very selective. We simply don't have the resources to take on dozens of new titles each year, so we look for manuscripts that we can really get behind and support every step of the way. For us, that means fiction with strong themes: books that explore the human condition, society, technology, where we came from, and where we're going. Put another way, we like thematically ambitious books that make readers think.
We are open-minded about novels that don't fit neatly into a genre, or that explore the space between genres. We think the rigid genre system doesn't serve readers or writers well, and we're always on the lookout for books that bend the rules a little. However, we do expect authors to be able to tell us who their target reader is, even if they can't pigeon-hole their work into one genre.
Please note that we don't publish erotica, young adult, middle grade, children's books, cartoon books, poetry, single-author anthologies, or screenplays. Basically, we publish novels for adults.
For most authors, the odds of getting published by a "Big 5" or other large publisher have plummeted in the past decade, a fact which many writers discover when they send query letters off into the void. The odds of landing an agent and then a publishing contract are less than one in a thousand, a topic we wrote a blog post about.
The self-publishing market is much easier to access but is overcrowded. The time and effort it takes to design, publish, and promote a fiction novel pulls writers away from what they love to do: write. While there have been some big success stories, most self-published fiction books sell less than 250 copies, providing a low return-on-investment for a project that may have taken a year or more.
An independent publisher like Lake Eerie is much more accessible to authors than the big players, doesn't require an agent (although you are welcome to have one), and has the resources, knowledge, and industry connections to edit, design, publish, distribute, and help promote a successful book.
I just want to get my book edited; I"ll choose a publisher later. Can you help?
Yes! Editing, formatting, cover design, and other services have been important parts of our business since the beginning. In particular, we have extensive experience in developmental, substantive, and copy editing. Costs are reasonable and tailored to the needs of each client and budget. Hit the Services tab for more information.
If you hire us to assist with your book, we won't be able to be your publisher for that book. We think that sets up an area of potential misunderstanding: we don't want authors thinking they have to pay for our services to get published (i.e., the vanity press model). So we keep our publishing and services work separate.
