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!

The reason for the journey

I was rereading the last post- and I realized I was not totally honest. I had said that the book being published was the reason I started the publishing company. It wasn't the actual reason- but it was the catalyst which set everything in motion. Sort of the big mama bird who pushed the baby bird out of the nest and said, "Go on...don't keep waiting...you can fly..."

In actual fact, last year (2016), I was teaching a series on The Tabernacle of Moses. It was called "In His Presence" a study which came at the Tabernacle study from a different angle. When we were looking at Ex.31:1-4-- it talked about how God gave the wisdom and the understanding and all the knowledge for the craftsmen to work on the various things in the Tabernacle. We zeroed in on how God has gifted each of us to do things we may not even realize we can do. So we each went home to pray and ask God what He wanted us to do--- guess what He told me?

"I want you to start a publishing company"

And my reply.... "Excuse me, I think I have a bad connection here...did you say publishing company?"

After sharing this with my family and a few close friends, I promptly put it in the back of my mind where I thought I would never have to think about it again! (let alone DO it)...within a couple months, Crystal calls me to tell me about her book. And then you know the rest of that story! I don't think I would have had the courage to step out in this endeavor had it not been that I had that clear direction more than a year ago--- but sadly it took me more than a year to get myself aligned with what God had already told me to do!

Thankfully He is a patient and merciful God. He loves us enough to prod us....push us when we need pushing...and wait for us when we need waiting. I love His faithfulness!

So now the journey has begun and it is exciting to see how God has already gone before me and set up 'divine appointments'-- and taken care of things before I even think about them!

By the end of November we will be taking presale orders for the book. The book will be out by the middle of December, just in time for Christmas. We are excited to see this powerful book get into as many people's hands as possible! The message does deliver life-- and if this is the only book I publish, it will have made it all worth it to start the Seaward Publishing House.

God really is faithful. When He asks us to do something, He gives us the grace we need to accomplish the task before us. He also surrounds us with people and resources who are invaluable in getting the job done. I will highlight more of those people and resources in the next few blog posts. Maybe there is someone out there who is thinking about starting a company or publishing a book....some of these suggestions I send your way might be of help to you at this time.

*If you are interested in having a copy of the study of the Tabernacle- email me at ongfamily5@hotmail.com and I will send you a free PDF version of the study.