The publishing industry is changing so fast, self-publishing could well be the future. As for the present it is both smart and sticky.

WHAT’S STICKY: It’s the sticky because once labeled as a self-published author your credibility shrinks considerably. And like the proverbial high school harlot, a poor image is difficult to overcome. You might argue, technology has made it so easy to self-publish. After all, who can stand being rejected forever but like the harlot, easy usually has price tag. 

Jumping the gun and self-publishing, though, can cost you a reputable literary agent, publisher, coveted book reviews, and book distribution among most major booksellers. That’s depressing! But take heart; there are ways to play the publishing game. 

WHAT’S SMART: Self-publishing can be profitable for writers and professionals who provide training and need books, workbooks or training manuals. If you write novels and narrative non-fiction, one way to skirt the self-publishing label is to set up your own publishing company. The following steps may be somewhat time consuming if you are doing everything yourself but are not difficult and fairly inexpensive.

HOW TO SET UP A PUBLISHING COMPANY: First, establish the necessary business setup if you have not done so already. This includes among other things:

• Selecting a name for your company
• Obtaining a business license – regulations vary worldwide
• Filing a DBA (doing business as) in the USA – regulations outside of the USA can vary
• Publishing the DBA announcement in a Judicated newspaper
• Opening a bank account in your business name, and
• Establishing a global online payment system such as PayPal

I’m not qualified to speak for other countries laws but in the United States, you may operate as a sole proprietor, a partnership or consider incorporating, e.g., a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC).[i]  Aside from the business basics, you also need the following:

• An optional name for your publication known as an imprint; it may be the same as your company or it can be different. For instance, you want to publish children’s books and decide to call your company Sunshine LLC. Your imprint might be Sunshine Publications. A publisher may have as many imprints as necessary to identify its different genres.
• A 13-digit ISBN (International Standard Book Number) available from R.R. Bowker www.isbn.org.
• Barcodes are also needed for each print title; some book and eBook publishing services provide ISBN’s and barcodes as well. If not, Bowker also sells barcodes.

THAT’S IT – YOU’RE DONE: Now you can write your heart out, print under your own ISBN and imprint then happily thumb your nose at the world. Of course you need book distribution and we’ll discuss that tomorrow and in a few more days, we’ll discuss print on demand (POD), aka, on demand publishing (ODP). In the meantime …

THINK ON THIS: POD is the fastest growing publishing industry segment with a projected growth of 12.6 percent annually through 2011 versus only a 1.8 percent growth for conventional printing.[ii] It is the future and the time to act is now. As one publishing chief executive officer said, “[This] new technology puts so much power in the hands of authors.”[iii]

COPYRIGHT REMINDER: Your work is automatically copyrighted the moment it is penned. Regardless of this law however, you are encouraged to go the extra mile and apply for copyright. With the digitized world exploding, a multitude of international copyright laws and legal battles are now making their way through the courts. Plagiarism has gone wild. We need to be awake—and protected. There are many do-it-yourself resources to help. 

To obtain your own copyright, contact the U.S. Copyright Office, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C. 20559-6000, 1-202-707-3000 www.copyright.gov. Also, become familiar with the controversial Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) meant to curtail piracy. The University of California Los Angeles posted a brief overview of the Act at www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm.

For an opposing view of DMCA and DRM (digital rights management) and a list of pending lawsuits, visit www.eff.org/issues/dmca. Additional information covering many aspects of copyright law is available from Internet Business Law Services at www.ibls.com/default.aspx.

Smart Site®, recommended by Mobipocket, converts manuscripts to eBooks and uploads them to a world of booksellers.

FREE – DOWNLOADED WORLDWIDE –LameBrain: A Dictionary for the Technically Challenged – Over 1000 definitions in plain English with nearly 500 text messaging acronyms.

©Copyright 2009 by Lynn Manning Ross

_________________

[i] Incorporating can be on the pricey side depending on the state where the business is incorporated. LegalZoom.com offers legal services at a discount, some free reads as well. 1-800-773-0888.

[ii] Statistical research from Strategies on Demand a management consulting company located Naperville, IL USA, 1-630-983-7746.

[iii] Gord Hooker, CEO, Trafford Publishing, a Canada-based on demand publisher and printer.