Lake Drive Books began with a vision to do book publishing for authors and readers who want to break the mold and ask honest questions about religion, spirituality, and personal growth. That vision manifests in an innovative publishing model that empowers authors and is attuned to how books get discovered today.

Traditional Publishing, Untraditional Model

We are a traditional publisher that curates a limited number of annual titles and brings professional editing, composition, design, platform coaching, marketing, and publicity. We expect long-term sales and audience growth. We are untraditional in that we offer a far more hands-on author experience, a clearheaded understanding of how readers discover books, and a financial model that rewards authors better.

Distribution

Books published by Lake Drive are available everywhere books in the English language are sold in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. In today’s marketplace, however, the phrase “everywhere books are sold” now means that the vast majority of sales go through just a few online retailers. A clearheaded view of today’s publishing therefore acknowledges the power and potential of online platforming.

Online Platforming

If most book sales are with online retailers, then online platform—email list, website, blog, social media—offers more potential to reach readers than most authors and publishers realize. Lake Drive is committed to its own dynamic online platform and expects the same commitment from its authors. That’s why Lake Drive both coaches authors on their online presence and even offers them opportunities with the Lake Drive platform. With a solid online platform, authors can progress better in developing their author network, speaking, and audience.

Marketing and Publicity

Book marketing is built on the author’s “engine of discoverability.” This can take many forms but typically begins with the power of online community. That’s why we give due focus to leveraging an author’s online platform to create launch marketing strategies. We specialize in helping authors establish launch teams, preorder campaigns, email efforts, and connections with influencers. We also create traditional publicity pitches about our authors and their books that consistently earn placements with targeted podcasts and written media. And we create shareable graphics, focused advertising, and keyword research.

Author Partnership

We expect our authors to be ongoing partners aligned in content, driving awareness of books, and financial investment and reward. We ascribe to the Independent Book Publishers Association’s standards for hybrid publishers, but we require less upfront author investment than most hybrid publishers because we focus on long-term book viability. As a hybrid publisher, we also pay authors significantly higher royalty percentages that provide long-term benefit. Let us also help you see how crowdfunding can help with upfront costs while also developing your audience.

Editorial Vision

We publish spiritual and personal growth books that help you heal, grow, and discover. We create books for readers who want to move beyond broken narratives and are ready to be real and feel seen. Our books offer stories and strategies, not ideologies. We are seeking proposals of spiritual living, nonfiction memoir, deeply descriptive and story-driven narrative, and even fiction from the following:

• • • writers who create evocative spiritual ideas that help us make sense of our world.
    • religiously marginalized voices along lines of race, class, gender, and sexuality.
    • experts on mental, spiritual, and physical health

Submit Your Book Proposal

If you’re ready with a well-thought-out concept that fits within the Lake Drive editorial vision, and you have a growing audience and platform, we’d love to hear your stories and insights in a fully developed book proposal. Feel free to use our book proposal template, which includes explanations on how to fill in each section. A well-developed book proposal is a must and serves as a guide for both publisher and author. Please submit your proposal to [email protected].

Benefits Summary of Publishing with Lake Drive Books

Significantly Higher Royalties • High Author Participation • Author Platform and Marketing Coaching • Strongly Curated Publishing • Customized Launch Marketing and Publicity • Multiple Formats at Launch • Better and More Responsive Sales Reporting • Amazon and Social Media Advertising • Author Community •  Better Author Discount