The Nuts and Bolts

So you wake up one morning and say, "Let's start a publishing company"....nope...not that easy. As with any business, you have to come up with a business plan....a budget....a goal. Of course you can have some fun choosing a name and figuring out your logo....and for like a second you can pretend that this is as difficult as anything will get. Give yourself a day or so to enjoy the sound of your company's new name. Enjoy the process of looking for a logo. After a brief period of enjoyment, jump back into the nuts and bolts of moving forward with your business....the real legal stuff....

Almost Legal

This is the tricky part. You will have to decide what type of company you want to start. Are you wanting to start a sole proprietorship? or an LLC? Or some other alphabetic combination? Once you have decided on that...you have to register the company and make sure the name you have chosen hasn't been used before...and then you walk into a bank and you say, "Hi, I'm here to open an account."

Best personal Banker: Anita Trujillo

When you walk into the bank- you hope that you will be met with someone who is sympathetic to the fact you are new to all this. Thankfully, I met Anita Trujillo, who practically held my hand throughout the entire process. She was cheerful and gracious;  while remaining efficient and professional. 

I think Wells Fargo needs to give Anita a resounding cheer for being the best personal banker ever! Believe me, in all my years of dealing with banks and personal bankers, she really went above and beyond the call of duty.

Once the bank accounts were set up-- then you start business. At the beginning it will look like the only direction the money is flowing is out.  You are paying the editor, the website designer, the printer....but I'm getting ahead of myself....that is for future posts.

There are others far more proficient than myself in the dos and don'ts of starting a publishing company. You should check out some of their advice and tips.

See what Erica Liodice has to say on her blog post "How to Start Your Own Publishing Company"  Her post is good because she covers all the angles- from self publishing companies to starting a publishing company to publish other people's books.  Shelley Hitz gives some excellent tips from lessons she and her husband learned on the journey of starting a publishing company.  Another post which has a wealth of information- especially in regards to the legalities of setting up the business and the tax side of things is done by Dave Chesson.
Ultimate Guide on How to start a publishing Company

I wish I could say I read all these articles before I started....I didn't. I did a lot of research over the past year. I asked a lot of questions. When I stumbled on these articles (and many others) I appreciated every word of advice given. I took each tip to heart, and studied to see if it was something that would work for my publishing company.

Well, I have to go and look over the proof copy which was just sent to me by the printers. I will definitely be blogging about them in upcoming posts, because they have made this publishing process that much easier. They have sent me the proof earlier than I expected. The company did an excellent job. I look forward to returning the Design proof form and getting things rolling for this first book to fly off the presses!