Lantern is an initiative to support and facilitate publishers and authors to enter the world of digital books safely, swiftly and effectivelly.
What we do:
Lantern offers the following services to publishers, authors and digital ebooks platforms to facilitate them to go digital and expand their markets.
1. Digitization and online publication of books and other materials at ZERO cost.
2. Free editorial services for all clients whose books are to be published online.
3. Free promotion and marketing of their publications around the world especially in learning institution.
4. e-Library service to learning institutions to enable their libraries to access digital publications at affordable costs for all their students via library computers and hand-held divices like mobile phones.
5. Integrate e-reading service to book-selling websites to allow their users an option to read books available in Lantern and vendor websites.
Background
Local and regional authors and publishers have not been able to exploit the wide market of their works available through the Internet. Concerned with security challenges posed by the move, most are reluctant to venture into this precarious opportunity in favour of a the small market of physical books.
With a compelling 10 years experience in the books business in East Africa and so, a shared interest in protecting the market for physical books, our team has taken many years to learn what it takes to go digital securely. It is important to note that, this concern is not new. Such has been the experience in the developed world 20 years ago when e-books presented itself as the future of books and an enemy of the physical book.
Our experience and high stakes in the traditional market, have compelled us to give this project enough time and resources to make it a secure vessel for transformation. Lantern is robust, safe and secure for users, authors and publishers and will take book distribution to the next level and improve both the market share and revenues of publishers and authors. Its mode operation and target market also ensures that e-books pose minimum danger to the market of physical books.
We expect to reach millions of book readers around the world and open new markets for local books, especially Swahili books. With this service, we also hope to share our values and literature with the world.
Lantern can securely distribute e-books and help publishers and authors to reap the benefits of a worldwide market for their books without hurting their normal business.
Lantern is in discussion with a number of regional publishers for e-publishing their books at mutually beneficial terms. Above getting our publications around the world, Lantern is keen to connect our readers to the world. This has motivated us to open the door to international publishers to distribute their ebooks through us and so, enable us to serve institutional and proffessional needs in Universities, colleges and workplace libraries.
In addition to our standard service and support to them, suppliers and re-sellers will be able to upload their books for e-publishing, access useful information about trends and sales of their books through various distributors, visit their e-publications database and fill a form to claim their royalties.
Institutions will have a licensed access to titles of their interest for multiple users according to their needs.