What's involved in self-publishing?

There are two basic ways to self-publish a trade paperback or hardcover:

publish through a publisher that specializes in helping people self-publish
establish your own publishing company

But first, a word about traditional publishers

Traditional publishers pay the author an advance, as well as paying almost all the costs related to producing and marketing a book. If you can find a traditional publisher who wants to do that for you, congratulations and go for it! But you might want to check out the advantages of self-publishing anyway.

Publishing with a “helper” publisher

Publishing houses like AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Lulu, and many others will do most of the work for you, for a price. They are often called subsidy publishers, because the authors subsidize the publication of their books by paying for services provided by the publisher. They used to be called vanity presses, but that term has fallen out of use now that there are so many more ways to self-publish. We call them “helper” publishers, because that’s what they do. They help you publish your book.

A “helper” publisher will usually require that you use one of their ISBNs (that’s the number that uniquely identifies a particular edition of your book). That makes them the publisher of your book, and you sign a contract giving them the right to publish it. You also pay up front all the costs of publication, including book design and printing. Most of these publishers offer their services a la carte, so you can pick and choose the level of service you need.

There are some disadvantages to publishing with a helper publisher, but for many people, it works out quite well, and we have nothing bad to say about publishing that way, provided you know what you’re getting into.

Becoming your own publisher

By definition, the publisher of a book is the person or entity that owns the ISBN. Some “helper” publishers will sell you one ISBN, making you the publisher, but they may keep the rights to any design they create for you, so if you decide to become your own publisher, you may have to have the design work done all over again.

The basic steps to becoming a publishing company are:

decide on a company name and make sure no one else is using it, to avoid confusion
file a DBA with your local authorities and have it published
check with your local authorities to see if you need a business license
open a P.O. Box in your business name
open a bank account in your business name
buy a set of 10 or more ISBNs *
apply for an account at Lightning Source or another POD printer
have your book designed (interior and cover) and prepare your files for upload
upload your files to your POD printer

This is clearly a very simplified version of the steps required to become a publishing business. You will also want to register your copyrights with the appropriate government entity, check with your accountant about the tax implications of becoming a business, and make sure you understand all the requirements before you jump in. That’s why there are whole books about self-publishing.

The point of listing these basic steps is to demonstrate that becoming your own publisher is do-able. None of these steps is very expensive, with the possible exception of the book design. None of them is particularly difficult to do, with the possible exception of a few technical items, which is what we’re here to help you with.

At the bottom of this page you will find these steps described in more detail. Just click on each step and an explanation will unfold.

Disclaimer:

Several members of team raqoon have become publishing companies, but we are not lawyers, and we have no idea what your country or municipality might require of you, so obviously we decline to be responsible for any disasters that might ensue if you proceed on any of our advice without doing your own due diligence.

That said...

There are several excellent books that will take you through the process of establishing your own publishing company from start to finish. We have listed them on our Resources page. They all include a disclaimer too, but their advice worked for us.

And a word to the wise...

Don’t ever proceed to do something just because someone told you to or promised you fame and fortune if you just do things their way. There are pitfalls in every venture. Take responsibility for finding and avoiding them!

* It is possible to buy just one ISBN, but one ISBN will cost you half of what 10 would cost you. Think about it. You may have only one book, but you might want to put out a hardcover some day, or an ebook. Amazon's Kindle doesn't require an ISBN for the ebook, but almost every other ebook distributor will want the ebook to have a different ISBN than the paperback.

10 steps to becoming a publishing company

1. Decide on a company name

Let's assume, just to keep things simple, that you are going to set up your company as a sole proprietorship.

First, think up some catchy name that will represent the kinds of books you intend to publish. It's best not to use your own name, although if you do, you won't have to file a fictitious business name statement (more about that later).

Try to come up with something that won't limit you if you decide to publish something else that's unrelated to your first book. For instance, if you have written a memoir, and you name your company Memoirs, then what happens if you write a novel? Can a company called Memoirs publish a novel? Well, sure, but it's not the best fit.

Once you've decided on a name, make sure no one else is using it. Google is a good start. You can check in Books In Print at the library to see if there is another publishing house with the name you want.

2. File a fictitious business name statement with your local authorities

Your city or county will have information on how to file a fictitious business name statement. There is usually a small fee you send in with the application. They will send you a document back with information about what to do next.

3. Publish an announcement of your fictitious business name in a local paper

The city or county government where you filed your fictitious business name will let you know how to fulfill this requirement.

4. Check with your local authorities to see if you need a business license and/or reseller's permit

If you're not going to be warehousing books or making retail sales from your location, you probably don't need a business license or a reseller's permit, but check anyway. Large lumbering noisy trucks delivering pallets of books will annoy your neighbors. If you are doing business out of your home, and if doing so doesn't disturb anyone, you probably don't need a business license.

But check anyway!

If you will be selling books yourself, say at a book signing, you may be required to collect sales tax.

If you are signing at a bookstore and the bookstore is selling your book, they will take care of collecting the sales tax. Otherwise it's up to you. Some localities will require you to display your seller's permit.

If you sell books from your website, and you sell to someone in your own state, and your state collects sales tax, you will need a reseller's permit, and you will need to collect the sales tax.

Don't fall afoul of the tax man here. Do what's right!

5. Get a P.O. Box

Instead of using the address of your residence, which will let the entire world know just where you live, open a P.O. Box. You will need an address for your business checks, for invoices, and for other assorted paperwork having to do with your publishing business. Also, mail that comes to your P.O. Box is more secure than mail dropped on your doorstep or left in an unlocked mailbox. And hopefully some of that mail will include checks.

6. Open a bank account in your business name

Now that you have a P.O. Box address to put on your checks, open a business account. You will need a copy of your fictitious business name statement.

Now you will have a bank routing number and account number to give to your POD publisher, your e-book distributor, and any other folks who will be selling your books, so that they can deposit your profits directly into your bank account.

You also have eliminated one of the hassles of keeping business income and expenses straight. You do know that you're going to have to report your income to the government, right? And file the appropriate tax return.

7. Buy a set of 10 ISBNs

Every published book has an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This number uniquely identifies the book and the edition (hard cover, paperback, revised edition, etc.). Although you can buy just one, it is more economical to buy at least 10 at a time. 10 will cost $250. Just one will cost you $125.

You can find more information about ISBNs at isbn.org.

It is important to remember that owning the ISBN of your book makes you the publisher.

8. Apply for an account at Lightning Source or another POD printer

Lightning Source only does business with publishing companies, not individuals, so it's important that you look like a publishing company, and now that you have your P.O. Box and your bank account, you do!

In lieu of a credit history, which your fledgling company doesn't have, they will accept your credit card number. Personal or business, it doesn't matter.

9. Have your book designed (interior and cover)

This is where you may want a little help. There are books that will help you typeset your interior in Microsoft Word (see the Resources section of this website), but a professional typesetting program like InDesign or QuarkExpress will do a much better job. Professional typesetting programs also have a steep learning curve, so this is one place you may need some help.

Designing a cover is a whole 'nother thing. You may need some help with this too.

10. Upload your files to your POD printer

You will need to upload two files to Lightning Source, the interior and the cover. Each must be distilled into a pdf according to certain parameters defined by Lightning Source. The printer is literally going to send this file (after making sure it meets spec) to the machine that prints your book, so it has to be right.

Fortunately Lightning Source has some good documentation on how to do this, but this is also something you might want to leave to someone else.

Once your file has been uploaded and approved, Lightning Source will print a proof copy of your book and overnight it to you. Once you approve it, you're done. Your book will be entered into the Ingram catalog and within a few days will show up on Amazon.com and other online bookstores.