“I Did It Myyyyy…Wayyyy”

You know it, and I know it. Very few writers, the “lucky” ones, get their work picked up by a major publishing house. But really, it’s okay. I mean, why should author’s sell their manuscripts for a pittance to publishing houses at all, if these publishers are sending out a mass-press-release only and are not more involved in the marketing aspects, then what good are they?

What about setting up your own publishing company? What? You can do that? Sure you can; here are some steps you may want to follow:

1. First, get your pillars in place. Find and get quotes for an editor, a book lay-out company, a cover artist, and a printer.

2. Set up your company. You can actually do it in minutes. A good place to start is by following the steps offered by the US Small Business Administration.

3. Write a solid business plan. This might take a few days, since you’ll want to make sure you have a solid understanding of the multiple facets of the publishing industry.

4. Find a distributor. Most distributors require only three books to be listed as a publishing business. So, either crank out three books (any three will do) OR band together with other authors to reach the minimum. In fact, this latter option is really good because your company will grow its title listings much faster with multiple writers.

5. Learn a few tips to market your book and get publicity. I mean, you’re the boss now, so go be one!

6. Choose a business name. Keep the name neutral and usable in a variety of languages. Before you spend the money to register the name, do a name check and save the headache.

7. Crowd fund your initial efforts. Don’t order any print runs before you have a reasonable amount of orders.

8. Obtain your ISBN and bar codes.

9. Copyright your book(s).

10. Submit a copy (register) with the Library of Congress.

11. Create a publication timeline.

12. Spend the necessary time (and perhaps money) setting up a GREAT publishing website.