At this point, you should have received an email from Dropbox with a copy of the fully signed agreement. If you’ve not received this, please send us an email at publisher@harborlanebooks.com.
THINGS WE NEED ASAP:
We NEED you to send us an email at publisher@harborlanebooks.com with your emergency contact information and as many details as possible on who we should send payments to in the event of your passing.
If you are an author who resides in the US, then please fill out and sign a W9 form and email it to us at publisher@harborlanebooks.com. If you are an author who resides outside of the US, then please fill out and sign a W-8BEN and email it to us.
W-9 (For US authors)
W-8BEN (For non-US authors)
COVER ART FORMS:
If you are a Commercial Fiction author, Non-Fiction author, Poet, Middle Grade author or YA author, then you will need to fill out the cover art form for your book here. FIRST, PLEASE DOWNLOAD THE FORM AS IS, THEN FILL OUT THE FORM YOU DOWNLOADED TO YOUR COMPUTER. The steps to do this are as follows:
Click “here” which is underlined in the above paragraph.
Click “File”
Scroll to “Download”
Click “Microsoft Word (docx)”
You can open that file in Word, Pages, or Google Docs.
Fill out the form for your book(s). Each book you have contracted with us will need a cover art form/illustration form filled out for it.
Once you’ve completed the form, please save it as HLB_COVER ART FORM_YOUR TITLE BY YOUR AUTHOR NAME if you are a Commercial Fiction, Non-Fiction, Poet, or YA author and then email it to publisher@harborlanebooks.com. If you are a Middle Grade author, please save it as EIB_COVER ART FORM_YOUR TITLE BY YOUR AUTHOR NAME and then email it to publisher@harborlanebooks.com.
If you are a children’s picture book author or children’s chapter book author, then you will need to fill out the illustration form here and follow the above instructions. When you’ve completed the form, please save and download the docx file as EIB_ILLUSTRATION FORM_TITLE BY AUTHOR and then email it to us at publisher@harborlanebooks.com.
WHILE YOU’RE WAITING TO BE ASSIGNED TO AN EDITOR (AND ILLUSTRATOR FOR EIB AUTHORS):
We have up to twenty-four months from the signing of our agreement to publish your book or the first book in your series with us if you are under our Harbor Lane Books imprint and EverLust Books imprint. We have up to thirty-six months from the signing of our agreement to publish your book or the first book in your series with us under our EverImagine Books imprint (due to the time it takes to not only assign an editor but also an illustrator and the time it takes for illustrations to be completed). It can take a while for your book to be assigned to an editor (and illustrator), but we promise that you will hear from us once your book is assigned. Until then, we typically have nothing to discuss as we are working behind the scenes on not only your book(s) but other HLB authors’ books as well, so we ask that you please do not check in with us to see if/when your book will be assigned to an editor (or illustrator).
Send your manuscript to a critique partner/beta reader/honest family member or friend to read your work and give you constructive feedback and point out any errors they might find. Make all necessary changes per that feedback. Polish your work as best as you possibly can. You should not have any major plot changes or errors in your manuscript before it is assigned to an editor. You can also use ProWritingAid and Grammarly to help you self-edit your manuscript before you send it in to us. Occasionally, we will take on projects that require some developmental editing but, generally, we take on projects that only require a copy/line edit and proofread. This helps us get books out to the market and money into your pockets much quicker than most publishers.
Create your author bio. You will need this for the back of your book, your website, social media platforms, Amazon author page, Goodreads author page, BookBub author profile, promotion sites, blog tours/release blitzes, online interviews, etc.
Get a headshot or author logo for your website, social media platforms, Amazon author page, Goodreads author page, BookBub author profile, etc.
Create your social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, Reels, Threads, TikTok, X, YouTube, Lemon8, Blue Sky, and Pinterest).
Create a newsletter (through your own website, Brevo, MailChimp, or MailerLite–there are other options as well).
Work on your next manuscript.
COPYRIGHT:
Copyright protection for a book begins as soon as it’s written or saved to a digital file, and it does not require formal registration. However, registering a book’s copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office can provide additional benefits, such as access to the Copyright Claims Board and federal courts in the event of infringement. If you want and choose to formally register, then you’re free to do so but it is not required. If you choose to formally register your Copyright, then you can do so here.
DEDICATION PAGE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS PAGE:
Please send us your Dedication page and Acknowledgments page after your last round of edits, if you want those included in your book.
Harbor Lane Books 