How to Form a Book Publishing Company

Discussion at a major publishing house

Whether you want to form a book publishing company for the sake of publishing your own books or those of others, there are a few basic steps with which to begin.
You will proceed slightly differently, depending upon whether or not you are starting this company in order to publish and promote your own book or whether you will be publishing someone else's books. If the latter is the case, you must decide what services you offer, whether you want to do your own printing, your own layout, or contract these particular services out to specialized companies.

You could, in fact, contract out nearly every service and simply choose the books that your company will accept.

Whatever your process includes, there are business methods to be taken into consideration and many services to consider.

Things You'll Need

• Basic business understanding and knowledge
• Computer
• Internet access
• Appropriate software, depending on what will occur in-house

Instructions

Detailed Steps to Forming Your Book Publishing Company

1. 

   First things first, have some fun and choose a name for your book publishing company.
   The name should be one that you are comfortable with because, hopefully, you will be using it for a long time. It should be a name that you believe will be memorable to writers and consumers alike.

2. 

   Depending upon your location, you will need either a business license or merely a DBA. If you live in a state that has sales tax you might also need a resale license.

3. 

   Now that you have your business license or DBA you are ready to get a checking account, business cards, and letterhead.
   It is also time to decide if you will be a sole proprietor or incorporated and if so, whether or not you will be LLC (Limited Liability company). During this same step you should set up your e-mail account and your web site. While everything that is related to your business name is occurring, it is also important to decide if you will be using a physical address or a pot office box for correspondence or submission retrieval.

4. 

   Now that these pieces have been established, decide upon what services you will offer.

   If you don't want to do your own in-house printing and binding, there are many companies, such as Ingram and Lulu and many more, that provide printing/binding services to create a professional looking book. You might want to support your local community and choose a neighborhood printer.

5. 

   There are many free contracts available online to utilize as a template for the contract between you and the author. However, it is advisable to check with a lawyer, who can personally assess your legal contract needs.

6. 

   The services that you will offer -- and whether or not you will be publishing other writers' work -- will determine what kind of software you need, whether you need layout/publishing software, royalty calculating software, or any other types.

7. Whatever the reason for forming your book publishing company, you will need to understand how to promote the books you are publishing. Without promoting the books that are published, your business cannot realize any of its profit potential.

Tips & Warnings

• The name you pick should let writers and consumers know what it is you do. Making yourself Internet searchable can greatly increase your chances of success.

• Be careful to consider all of your options and expenses before jumping in head first and making promises that you might not be able to keep.

Resources

• Acumen Royalty Software
• Sample Book Contract
• Incorporating Information
• Book Promotion Ideas