How to Start and Run a Small Book Publishing Company: A Small Business Guide to Self-Publishing and Independent Publishing

Hupalo started HCM to publish his own first book in 1999. Here he shares what he has learned over the past decade about the trade. He discusses why, inventory, marketing, pricing, business structure, tax, deductions, book production, record keeping, self-publishing as a business, and other aspects. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

From The Author & Publisher:

I wrote "How To Start And Run A Small Book Publishing Company: A Small Business Guide To Self-Publishing And Independent Publishing" to help new publishers understand the publishing business.

There are already several great self-publishing books, and my goal wasn't to provide another survey of nearly everything a new publisher must know to get a book produced. My book focuses more upon specific details, often overlooked by new publishers as they start-up and grow.

For example, I write about book distributor bankruptcy and protecting yourself in the event that your book distributor goes bankrupt. This is a topic not covered in most introductions to self-publishing. It's much more fun to read about how some self-publisher sold one million books and became a bestselling author than it is to read about distributor bankruptcy.

Yet, understanding distributor bankruptcy is important. Many small publishers have experienced a bankruptcy of their distributor. In some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory and tens of thousands of dollars in accounts receivable, owed to the self-publisher, are at stake. Taking the proper precautions can mean the difference between your self-publishing company losing substantial amounts of money and, possibly, going bankrupt or recovering easily.

Because many people who choose to self-publish a book are creative types with little business experience, I also address topics, such as inventory accounting, tax deductibility of complimentary book copies given away, record keeping, sales and use tax, business structure (Should you operate as a corporation or as a sole proprietor?, dealing with estimated tax payments, etc.), and other business aspects of running a publishing company. I discuss outsourcing fulfillment so that you can run a small publishing company from your home while selling a substantial number of books.

Intermediate and advanced publishers will also benefit from reading "How To Start And Run A Small Book Publishing Company." Topics that will appeal to more experienced publishers include copyright valuation (in the event that you wish to sell your book to a big publisher or acquire the rights to a book), book marketing, and thoughts on selecting profitable authors to publish.

People starting with a limited budget will find my book useful. I discuss some of the many options to produce a book in smaller quantities using printing on demand (POD) and digital printing technology. I include a discussion of Ingram POD service, for example, because Ingram is a key distributor, distributing about 175 million books annually. New publishers will find that getting distribution by Ingram is extremely difficult. Ingram Lightning Source is one option to get distribution by Ingram.

The table of contents gives more detail about the topics covered in "How To Start And Run A Small Book Publishing Company." I hope you enjoy the book and find it useful. Peter