Starting a Company

[pmmg]

Question for those who are having success.

Have you done, or given thought to, making your own publishing company, or creating yourself as an LLC, or Sole Proprietor. If so, why? and what did you learn or would recommend?

One area where I see there might be a reason is working with Ingram Spark, who requires you to have a publisher. If it yourself, hurdle removed.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

We're in the US and we have a General Partnership, but there's also three of us. If you're going it alone a Sole Proprietorship is easier. Much. As a published author you become a small business, with all the tax liabilities that entails. Steerpike will be able to better provide advice on this, I can just tell you about personal experience, having been both over the years, both times as a creative. Taxes are easier to navigate, and you become your own publisher (well, you do either way). Ours is Pheonix Quill Books. I strongly recommend reading widely on this subject. There are tons of good books out there.

Also, good blog posts!
Pretentious Title: Writers and Money Part 2 (thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com)
Pretentious Title: Should You Start a Writing Business (Part 2) (thisblogisaploy.blogspot.com)

Parts 1 are somewhere, but I can't find them right now. It would also be of benefit to you to join a FB group like 20Booksto50K - or even better, just join them. The threads are a treasure trove of information about the business of self-publishing. Good luck, and god speed!

 

[Prince of Spires]

I'm by no means successful, but I think I can help you with the publisher part of Ingram Spark, or at least being a publisher. I don't have my own company (see the not successful part...), but I am my own publisher. There's nothing special about being a publisher. Just make up a name and enter that when asked about the publisher. It works when I order ISBN's, publish on Amazon and on Draft2Digital. For all intents and purposes that publisher exists. You don't need a company for that.

As for the rest, my best advice would be to not ask for advice on a public forum. The answer very much depends on where you are exactly in the world and what your personal circumstances are. There are so many variables at play here that there's no way you'll get an answer you can rely on. Talk to a professional if you think you'll be succesful enough to sell more than a few copies.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Twelfth Star Publishing. No biggie, just used it to buy 100 ISBNs and to make a cool little logo, heh heh.

I know what I'd like to do with it, but it's ambitious and time-consuming, so it might never happen, LOL.

 

[pmmg]

Well, partners can confound things. I saw that the Lowan's had a general partnership.

Looking up the meaning of that I see this:

1. Partners in face potential unlimited liability
Due to the lack of corporate structure, a general partnership does not establish itself as a business entity separate from the partners. Partners are unprotected from any lawsuits against the business and their personal assets can be seized to cover unmet debt obligations of the business.

2. Partners are liable for each other’s actions
Each partner is liable for the actions of the others. If one partner executes an agreement without the knowledge of the other partners, the other partners are still obligated to honor the terms of that agreement.

I would wonder why I would want that? It would seem my liability is increased, not decreased by such. But....I dont have a partnership. I am thinking LLC, but it would encompass more than writing. I've not fully fleshed it out yet. I cant say as I have much fear that my writing will end with me getting sued for something, but other things I endeavor to might, and I would like to just be wise about it.

I think if I was to make my self a publisher, I might do something like that with the publishing company part of it. Maybe I will branch out past just myself. Wheels are still turning on this.

 

[Michael K. Eidson]

I've had an LLC and found it not worth what I paid for it, so dropped it and went with a DBA to have my business name registered. Having an LLC is all about protecting your assets. A single-person LLC is less efficient at providing that protection than a multiple-person LLC. Research about "piercing the corporate veil" in your area. Even having a multiple-person LLC might not provide adequate protection if someone successfully pierces the corporate veil in a lawsuit against your company. Taxes can become more complicated with an LLC.

While you might be able to pick just any name to use as a publisher, I registered my chosen name legally as a DBA in my state. It costs me a good deal less than an LLC, doesn't have all the hassle of an LLC, and affords me some legal claim to the name. It doesn't protect my personal assets, but, then, it doesn't give me a false sense of protection either. I try to be careful in all my publishing endeavors, more so than if I still had an LLC and was relying on it to protect my assets.

 

[ThatOneParanormalWriter]

I would like to someday, but I want to have some books first.

 

[pmmg]

Turns out i may have a different reason to start one which i can just use as an umbrella for what i wanted here. I am close.

 

[ThinkerX]

I technically became a small business towards the end of my 'real job' which necessitated getting a business license, listing myself as sole proprietor. Though that job is gone, I still retain the license, so I figure that should work.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

We had the company before we finished the first book. Made things smoother.

 

[skip.knox]

>We had the company before we finished the first book. Made things smoother.
What things were smoothed?

 

[A. E. Lowan]

>We had the company before we finished the first book. Made things smoother.
What things were smoothed?

Paperwork got done more efficiently. Bank stuff was set up and in place before our first sale. We had our first con days within our first release. That alone made things easier.