Village Lane is an independent publishing company as well as a publishing coaching company. These two separate parts of our company offer different services.
Publishing Directly with Village Lane
In the publishing branch of Village Lane, we personally publish a small number of books each year. Our editors read and select manuscripts of the highest quality, written by authors who enhance our community of writers and whose books make the world a better place for everyone.
We are currently seeking cozy mystery series, clean romance series, thrillers, and young adult fantasy series. You can learn more about our direct publishing process on the chart below. If you have written a book and have a series completed or outlined that falls into one of these categories and would like to be considered for publication directly with Village Lane, we want to hear from you! Please email Rebecca at Rebecca@VillageLanePublishing.com with the subject line Submission. Responses are usually sent within 2-3 months.
Self-Publishing Coaching
We regularly receive requests from authors who would like coaching on how to navigate the self-publishing world. This is a wonderful option for almost all authors as it allows you- as the author- to maintain control over your books and to keep 100% of your royalties. Of course, if you’ve spent your time writing the perfect book, you might not have also had time to research the ins and outs of self-publishing. To help you publish your book and retain control over the process and royalties, we offer publishing coaching services.
Publishing Coaching means we will walk you through the self-publishing process, with personal guidance at every step along the way. When we’re done, you will have self-published your book, with attention to all the details that a professional book publisher would typically handle. From selecting a title that will connect with your readers and getting a professional cover design, to setting up your keywords and categories and creating the perfect author page- you’ll learn it all. You can choose to be as involved- or uninvolved- as you want. Some authors love diving in and we encourage that. It’s YOUR book, after all! Some want to dip their toes in, see how the self-publishing water feels, and then decide if they want to take on the whole shebang themselves next time, or have parts (or all!) of the publishing process done for them. And some just want to get back to writing and leave the publishing to someone else. Whichever one you are, that’s awesome! We are here to help you be the best author version of You- and get your books out into readers’ hands at the same time. You will find our process is user-friendly and our prices are extremely reasonable.
To get started with our self-publishing coaching services:
You will find detailed information on our publishing coaching services HERE.
Publishing Comparison Chart
Village Lane Publishing
Self Publishing
Traditional Publishing
VLP pays all publication costs up front.
The author pays all costs up front. These vary greatly. See the paragraph following this chart for more information.
The publishing company pays all costs up front, with the common exception of marketing.
Authors are paid a small “advance” up front, in exchange for the print license of the book for a term of 5 years beyond earning out their advance. Authors earn 50% of royalties after the advance has been covered.
The author typically earns 40-70% royalties on all sales.
Authors are paid an “advance” in exchange for the print license for the book. Advances vary greatly generally from 4 to 6 figures.The author typically earns royalties of 15% for hardback, 7.5% for trade paperback, and 5% for mass market paperback, minus the percentage that goes to the agents (usually around 15% of the author’s portion.)
The author gets to help choose and design a cover they love with the help of VLPs professional designers. VLP and the author work together on editing, and VLP handles formatting, printing, distribution and initial marketing.
The author is responsible for editing, cover design, formatting, printing, distribution and marketing. They can hire others to do these as needed. (Thus, the high variation in costs) When self-publishing with a VLP coach, authors get personal guidance on each step.
The publisher may request edits from the author. The author typically gets no say in cover design. The publisher is responsible for final copy edits, cover design, formatting, printing, and distribution. Most books get very little (or no) individual marketing budget from the publisher who expects the author to market her book.
The author keeps the copyright. VLP holds the print license for a limited time. When a book has earned out its advance, we offer 50% royalties, and the no-questions-asked option, five years from earning out royalties, to return all rights to the author.
The author keeps the copyright and print license (meaning the right to publish and sell the book in print, audio and electronic versions.) The author retains all rights to their characters, future books in the same “world,” sequels, spin-offs, and series.
The publisher buys the print license (meaning the rights to publish and sell the book in print, electronic and audio versions) and often the copyright in exchange for royalties. The publisher has the final say on everything that happens with the book and owns the characters and the series. There is often a requirement to write additional books in a series.
Offers the prestige of being published by a reputable traditional publishing house, although (for some people) not the same level as the Big 5.
Offers prestige of being published.
Offers prestige among the writing community where being published by one of the Big 5 is a sign of having written a book worthy of publication. (Readers generally do not care. They just want a good book.)
Ability to become a bestseller on Amazon, USA Today and other platforms.
Movie contracts are a possibility. VLP has sold movie options for our authors’ books.
Ability to become a bestseller on Amazon, USA Today and other platforms.
Movie contracts are possible, although the author is responsible to find and negotiate them.
Ability to make the New York Times “bestseller” list. Note: Contrary to popular belief, the NYT bestseller list does not list the best-selling books in New York or in the US. In response to a lawsuit, the NYT stated that their list “did not purport to be an objective compilation of information but instead was an editorial product.” They generally only include books that are published by the Big 5 publishers (all of whom are based in NYC). Indie and small press books often outsell those on the NYT list.
Movie contracts are a possibility.
VLP publication time depends on the amount of editing needed and illustrations. Once editing and illustrations are complete, we generally publish in 6 months.
Publication time depends entirely on the author. It can vary from weeks to years, depending on how familiar the author is with self publishing.
Authors who use VLP’s publishing coaching can expect to publish their book in four to six weeks.
Time from contract to publication can be very long—well over a year or two, particularly if illustrations are needed.
PROS:
Less work for the author while still retaining a level of control over cover design and book formatting. Rather than paying publication costs up front, VLP takes the risk of investing publishing costs and an advance on royalties. Five years after the advance is earned out, the author has to option to regain all print and audio licenses. The author has the ability to easily make adjustments to marketing. Author owns the characters and universe they created. Books can be changed, edited, or re-released relatively easily. Authors have access to readers’ emails and interact with readers directly, making it easier to establish a fan base to promote future books. VLP’s team coaches authors on marketing and offers a community of support for authors as they advance their careers.
PROS:
Author controls the entire process, can choose formats, cover, and distribution. The author receives higher royalty payments. More Indie authors support themselves financially with their writing than traditionally published authors. Authors can easily make adjustments to marketing. Authors have complete ownership of the characters and universe they created. Books can be changed, edited, or re-released at any time. Authors can collect readers’ emails and interact with readers directly, making it easier to connect with readers, establish a fan base, and promote future books. Authors become part of the indie publishing movement and have a huge support base online among other indie authors.
PROS:
Prestige and ability to get on the NYT bestseller list. Books are more likely to be shelved in brick and mortar bookstores. (They may not be.) Less work for the author as the publisher takes care of everything on the the technical side or publication.
CONS:
Less prestige in the writing community than going with one of the Big 5. Very unlikely to get onto the NYT bestseller’s list (but CAN get onto others!) It is currently difficult (but not impossible) to get books into brick and mortar bookstores.
CONS:
Less prestige in the writing community among the traditionally published camp. Highly unlikely to get onto the NYT bestseller’s list (but CAN get onto others!) More work on the author’s part as she or he is required to learn about all aspects of the publishing process. Very difficult- but not impossible- to get books into brick and mortar bookstores.
CONS:
Time to find an agent and get a publishing contract can (and generally does) take several years to decades. Time from contract to publication can be very long—well over a year or two. Authors make less money on the sales of each book and retain no control over book and cover design, formatting or distribution. Authors cannot collect information on buyers or readers, making it difficult to interact with readers directly, or to let readers know about future book releases. If the publisher is not marketing the book, it can be very difficult (or impossible) for the author to run ads or otherwise market to generate sales. Getting the print license back can take a long time and be difficult or impossible, depending on the contract. Some authors sue to get their rights back. Author usually does not retain rights to the characters and worlds they created.