SfC Home > Entrepreneurship > Publishing >
Explanation of Deciding to Start a Publishing Business by Ron Kurtus - Succeed as an Independent Publisher: From Self-Publishing to Global Publishing. Also refer to motivation, published author, publisher, print-on-demand, decision, School for Champions. Copyright © Restrictions
Deciding to Start a Publishing Business
by Ron Kurtus (revised 4 July 2012)
There are specific factors that lead up to your decision to start a self-publishing business. Knowing them will aid you in following the right path.
Usually your primary goal is to be a published author. With that goal, you typically consider the possible routes for getting your book published, including self-publishing. If you have sometimes thought about being in business for yourself, starting a self-publishing business and doing the publishing yourself may be the best option to take.
Questions you may have include:
- What is your major desire?
- What are considerations for being published?
- What moves you to start your business?
This lesson will answer those questions.
Burning desire to be a published author
Typically, you don't initially plan on starting a self-publishing business. Instead, your dream is simply to become a published author.
You may have one or more great ideas for books to write. You also probably love to see your name in print. Perhaps you dream of having a best-selling and even making a lot of money from the sales of your books.
In any case, this motivation to be a published author is what drives you to start writing and in seeking to get your work published.
Consider how to get published
Once you have a great idea for a book, a partial manuscript or even a completed manuscript, you can consider how to get your book published.
Approach major publishing houses
You may start by testing the waters and seeing if there is interest in your book idea from major publishing houses. That requires writing query letters and a book proposal. Often you need to get a literary agent to represent you.
If the responses are not encouraging, or if you are writing a type of book that realistically wouldn't interest a publisher because it has a too narrow of a market, you can consider other publishing routes.
Consider self-publishing
In either case, you may realize that a form of self-publishing may be a better route to take. The choices are to use a publishing service that handles all the tasks for a fee or to do most of the work yourself.
Decide to start business
If you have had the dream of running your own business, you may decide to formally start up your own self-publishing or independent publishing business.
If you have no desire or interest in running your own business, you should probably use a publishing service to publish your book.
In deciding to start your own publishing business, you then move forward to organize your business and start the publishing process.
Desire to be published and run own business
Do market research on your book. How do you plan to sell it? Who would buy it?
Summary
There are specific factors that lead up to your decision to start a self-publishing business. Knowing them will aid you in following the right path.
The first part is your motivation to be a published author. Then you must consider the possible routes for getting your book published, as well as their advantages and disadvantages. Finally, you must be also motivated to be an entrepreneur and want to have your own business.
You get places by taking a risk
Resources and references
The following resources provide information on this subject:
Websites
Books
Top-rated
books on Self-Publishing
What do you think?
Do you have any questions, comments, or opinions on this subject? If so, send an email with your feedback. I will try to get back to you as soon as possible.
Share link
Click on a button to share the link for this page:
Or use our form to send this link to yourself or a friend.
Students and researchers
The Web address of this page is:
www.school-for-champions.com/publishing/deciding_to_start_business.htm
Please include it as a link on your website or as a reference in your report, document, or thesis.
Where are you now?
Deciding to Start a Publishing Business