Starting Your Own Publishing Company

While it’s many an author’s dream to have their book published, it’s unfortunately, also a rarity. Not only is the process of querying agents and publishing companies a lengthy and daunting one, it’s also one that ends in rejection 95% of the time—even for some whose writing is on the level of best-selling authors.

To avoid rejection and delays in getting their book to their audience, some authors choose self-publishing. You can contract with a company who specializes in self publishing books such as LuLu.com or Amazon.com’s CreateSpace, but in doing so, you’re still giving up some of your profit and handing over the success of your manuscript to someone else. But, did you know that it can be faster and more profitable to publish your book on your own? That’s why some authors are placing their manuscripts in their own hands and starting their own publishing companies.

If you’re a first-time author or the author of several books, the benefits of owning your own publishing company can be well worth the effort involved. There are certain skills which will be necessary, but many authors have successfully mastered the publishing industry. To determine whether you would benefit from owning your own publishing company, let’s look at the skills and steps involved.

1. Are you a good writer, one who is skilled at editing and proofreading? Can you learn the technicalities of formatting a book for print? Getting your manuscript print-ready is an important part of book publishing. If you don’t know how, you’ll have to learn or hire someone to help you.

2. Do you have the marketing skills necessary to give your books the publicity they’ll need to reach your audience? You’ll need a media kit and plenty of time to contact the media, bookstores, newspapers, and radio and television stations. The Internet has also defined itself as a marketing phenomenon and you’ll need to strive for massive exposure there, as well.

3. Do you have the time and desire to make public appearances? To be a successful author, you’ll need to book plenty of signings and interviews to receive maximum exposure and sales.

4. Are you a good businessperson? A publishing company is a business and it will require a financial investment, bookkeeping, inventory, and marketing skills. In return, though, you get to reap the rewards, keep the profit and enjoy the tax deductions it can bring.

5. Do you have an image? Your book cover is a big part of your image and the initial appeal which attracts your readers. Your name is also part of your image and brand, as is the name of your publishing company. Note: Naming your publishing company after yourself isn’t always a good idea. It’s a red flag that your book is self-published. Make your company’s name memorable, but professional, if you don’t want people to know that your book is self published.

6. Your publishing company will need to be licensed with government agencies, so you’ll need to fill out the appropriate forms and request a taxpayer identification number for it. This step will go a long way in establishing your publishing company as a professional entity. While you’re at it, don’t forget to open a business bank account, something that you’re surely going to need for tax purposes and expenditures.

Once you’ve set up your publishing company, you’re ready to get started. Here’s how:

1. Even great books won’t sell if they don’t attract customers. Design a book cover or hire a graphic designer who is experienced in book cover specifications and design to create an eye-catching cover for your book.

2. Purchase an ISBN, which is the publishing industry’s unique identification for your book. It’s also required if you intend to sell books at retail establishments, or independent or major bookstores. To get yours, visit www.isbn.org.

3. Decide how much you will charge for your book. A good rule of thumb is to compare your book to similar books on the market and price it competitively. Pricing it too high will turn off buyers, and pricing it too low might give the impression that your book is inferior. Also take into consideration your costs and how much profit you need to make from each book sold.

3. Hire a printer—look for quality print and good references. You can choose traditional printers or print-on-demand printers, such as LightningSource.com, depending on how many books you initially want printed and the financial investment you’re willing and able to take.

4. After your book is printed, review the galley print, which is a draft of the interior of your book. This is an important step in making sure your manuscript is polished and print ready and the last chance to make any corrections or revisions.

5. Develop a marketing plan and hit it hard. That plan can include interviews, book signings, press releases, virtual and physical book tours, affiliate marketing campaigns, and advertisements. It takes a lot of work to receive the exposure you need to sell a lot of books, but it can be done. You should also know that while you may not sell as many books as an author published with a high-profile traditional book publisher, you also won’t be sharing your profits with them.

6. Last, but not least, your publishing company must have a professional website which promotes its authors. Purchase a domain name and spread the word, driving traffic to your website with updated information, blogs, events, and links to social media like Facebook and Twitter.

As you can see, publishing and promoting a book takes a large investment. The biggest investment you’ll make will be required when publishing your first book. There is a learning process which you’ll have to master, but when it comes time to publish your next book, you’ll be experienced and more efficient.

Running your own publishing company isn’t for everyone. But for those who are dedicated and willing to learn, it’s an investment that can produce rewards down the road. You’ll enjoy full ownership and say-so in your book and how it’s marketed. You’ll also get to stake claim to all of your book and company profits. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll enjoy every author’s dream and have a successful publishing company which will guarantee that you’ll never have to read another rejection letter again.

Haiti, Half The Sky, and ‘100 Days of Gratitude’

Before we get started,  I want to collectively send out our thoughts and prayers to the people of Haiti. Despite all the challenging times many of us faced in ‘09, we are still blessed enough to be able to “pay it forward” and give back – just like these two authors, Kristof and WuDunn, who really mean business when it comes to women’s rights worldwide. Also, my dear friend, who is also an author, informed me of her ‘100 Days of Gratitude’ stance, and challenged me to come along for the ride.

Guess what! Wanting to help other people is an even better reason to SUCCEED OUTRAGEOUSLY in 2010. When you succeed today, you are not only helping yourself, but you are helping others, and they, in turn, can help others as well – I call it the ‘circle of hope.’ Think about all the great organizations, such as Kiva.org and Women for Women International, that you can support financially when you are on your ‘A’ game back at home.

Yes, I did say ‘A’ game. That’s right, the pity party of 2009 is over, and it’s time to step it up a notch and massively achieve your personal and business goals in 2010. Why? Because the world is depending on y(our) success.

Always remember, we are empowered with greatness, and it’s truly in y(our) hands to change the world. Forget about your mortgage payments, it’s your civic, rather global, duty to succeed, give back,  and be grateful (not necessarily in that order!)

Here’s to y(our) success and Happy New Year!

Alicia Dunams

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10 publications, books, and blogs to watch in 2010…

Daniel Pink, who I consider to be the most significant business author and thought leader of our time, started the new year of right – he hosted an exclusive teleseminar for the launch of his new book Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us (not an affiliate link).

The teleseminar was exclusive to people who purchased the book before Christmas. I felt lucky to be on the call! First of all, Daniel Pink is a marketing genius, because he used this teleseminar to drive (no pun attended) pre-order sales of his book. Additionally, he gave callers the low-down on what resources, blogs, newspapers, et al. he will be watching in 2010 and I wanted to share this exclusive list with you.

1. An inspirational video with the two questions (http://www.danpink.com/archives/2010/01/2questionsvideo).

2. The 10 publications, books, and blogs to watch are:

– Springwise (http://www.springwise.com)

– The Week (http://www.theweek.com/home)

– NBER Digest (http://www.nber.org/digest/)

– Arts Journal (http://www.artsjournal.com/)

– New Scientist (www.newscientist.com/)

– Pop URLs (http://popurls.com/)

– Seth Godin blog (http://sethgodin.typepad.com/)

– Employee First book (http://bit.ly/5KF7F2)

– Different book (http://bit.ly/5bVAvd)

– The Thing (http://www.thethingquarterly.com/)

You can get more information about the content of the call if you search #drivebook on www.Twitter.com.

How to Set a Retail Price for Your Services – Remember, people pay for experiences!

As a business owner, you have many jobs, and one of the most important ones is to determine the costs of your products or services. The number you stamp on them will greatly impact your sales, income, and your success.

Yes, ultimately you have control! But that control has to rely on several other factors when it comes to determining the worth, the value, and the asking price for your goods. If you overprice, nobody will buy them. In essence, you’ll price yourself out of the market. However, if you underprice them, potential customers might be reluctant to invest in what they psychologically deem to be an inferior product.

In our current economy, I am finding that people are willing to spend money on experiences – possibly, life altering services (such as joining Michael Jordan’s Basketball camp in Vegas, learning how to sail a boat in the South Pacific, and writing a book, perhaps! ) – rather than spending money on products that teach you these things (Why read about sailing in the South Pacific, when you can just go do it!).  

Case in point, sales of info-products have steadily decreased for the past few years (The last thing people want is another DVD binder product to place on the book shelf!), while the percentage of people working one-on-one with coaches (dating coaches, business coaches, marketing coaches, life coaches) has been increasing massively. The latter can obviously be more expensive, but people are willing to pay more for quality experiences if they see them as valuable.

So, how do you determine your value? Well, there are several things you can research to determine a realistic price range for your product or service—a price a customer is likely to be willing to pay for the value they will receive. Let’s take a look at them:

1)  Do your homework and find out the price of similar goods and services in your area. What are your competitors charging their customers? Is their product or service selling at that price? And, last, does your product or service have more or less value than their offerings? If either, adjust accordingly.

2)  Ask previous clients to give you feedback. Did they find value in your product or service? Was it worth what they paid? Did they get more than they expected for the price, or less? If they had to do it again, would they pay the same price for the same product?

3) Test your market. Perform telephone surveys, distribute questionnaires, and try to find out how much your target market is willing to pay for the goods or services you offer. Find out what they like or don’t like about your business, and how they compare it to others within the vicinity. Then, set your price based on their honest feedback.

4) Ask yourself this question, Is your product or service scarce? Let’s face it, there are so many hours in the day. If your coaching practice is keeping you on the phone 40+ hours a week, and you have a wait list of clients wanting to work with you, you are obviously not charging enough for your time. In this case, raising prices will not only make you more money, but will ‘buy’ some of your time back!

Do one or more of these four things and you’re likely to establish an asking price for your product or service that is within the expected range that potential clients will pay. If you overprice, you’ll lose customers to the competition. If you set your price too low, they’ll assume that your product has less value or worth.  As you can see, this is one area that’s far too crucial to your success to leave to guesswork. Do your research, do your homework, and you’ll find your answers.