Owning A Self Publishing Company

Procomicdiva — Thu, 28 May 2009 14:22:54 GMT

Back in 1996 I decided after holding onto a play for four years that I wanted to have it published so that I could then put it out there for theatre companies to use and of course get recognition along with royalties, I also wanted to publish a book on poetry and found that it was not so popular with bigger publishing companies.

There were smaller ones of course but in looking into them the comparisons to somehow publishing it on my own or using one of them seemed to close to favor the latter, especially when the fact became clear that having my own company gave me more control over what I chose to publish and when as well as the benefits of allowing me greater opportunities to publish other things besides books.

It opened up the possibility of magazines and greeting cards, posters you name it. So I created Valentine Baby Publishing and armed with my block of 100 ISBN numbers, I put out two publications The play 'Cinderella Rated X The Untold Story [a bawdy english style retelling of the age old tale not porno peoples] and my first book of poetry

'The Lovers Illustrated book of Poetry'

followed by 'Healing Ground Peaceful Waters'

During this time my film and television career began taking off again and so was my craft business so VBP languished a bit although I did use it to copyright all my murder mysteries and create a book of murder mystery titles for hire. I also used it to copryght the screen play versions of said mysteries for a project to shop to HBO.

I continued to write and have three books near completion. still until this last year I had not really had the chance to get back to it for more than a short amount of time. the great thing is those numbers never expire and the company can lay dormant for as long as need be then I can reactivate as time allows.

Which, thanks to PNN lighting a fire under my writers behind, has reignited the flame so to speak and made that time much closer at hand. I can say that I really like the ability to publish as I choose and with this option, though I incur upfront costs I make money on distribution without having to pay a middle man. nowadays it is as easy as creating the web presence a decent page with your book a short bio maybe a chapter or two and publicity publicity publicity to get the word out there and put your book in demand. the tricks of getting noticed coming in the next article.

Current works waiting in the wings to be published some more poetry

How to Start a Publishing Company

Procomicdiva — Thu, 28 May 2009 13:14:14 GMT

You've written a great manuscript, but you can't get an agent or publishing house to give you the time of day. There are several options open to you, including starting your own publishing business. You don't have to share the profit with anyone, and you have total control over your project. And once you learn how to run your publishing business, you can begin publishing other authors' work.

Start Up
Step1
Check the legal requirements for your community. See if you need any licenses and if there are any restrictions on having a business in your home.
Step2
Decide on a name for your publishing company. Register your business name with the appropriate state agency.
Step3
File papers of incorporation if you plan to incorporate.
Step4
Design a logo so your company will be easily recognizable.
Step5
Purchase a block of International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) from R.R. Bowker. Each book will have a specific number linking it back to your publishing company.
Diva note:The Canadian ISBN Service system
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/isn/041011-1030-e.html
Step
6
Select a software program in which to lay out your books. Microsoft Word, WordPerfect or Microsoft Publisher work well.
Step7
Pick a software program to design the cover of your books. PageMaker, Quark Xpress or Adobe InDesign work well. You can always hire a graphic artist for this too.
The Big League
Step1
Join an organization for small publishers, such as Small Publishers Association of North America (SPAN).
[Diva note:the Association of Canadian Publishers http://www.publishers.ca/]
Step

Procomicdiva's Place

Owning A Self Publishing Company

How to Start a Publishing Company

Start Up

The Big League