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Written by: Carolyn Young
Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.
Edited by: David Lepeska
David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.
Published on November 24, 2021
Updated on March 13, 2024
Investment range
$4,150 - $18,300
Revenue potential
$60,000 - $600,000 p.a.
Time to build
3-6 months
Profit potential
$9,000 - $90,000 p.a.
Industry trend
Stable
Commitment
Full-time
Whether you’re a writer or just an avid reader, publishing could offer you an opportunity to share writers’ inspiring creations with passionate readers. What could be more rewarding? Though tastes may have shifted away from physical books toward audio and ebooks, demand for good writing remains high and publishing is doing well.
Challenges exist, however, in starting a publishing business, as with any business. The key to success is to gain an understanding of the steps involved, the challenges you may face, and the potential rewards, as detailed in this step-by-step guide.
Let’s begin your entrepreneurial journey!
Looking to register your business? A limited liability company (LLC) is the best legal structure for new businesses because it is fast and simple.
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Starting a publishing business has pros and cons that you should consider carefully before determining if it’s right for you.
Print publishing has declined somewhat in recent years, but the educational and scholarly segment of the market is growing.
Trends in the publishing industry include:
Challenges in the publishing industry include:
Startup costs for a publishing company range from $4,000 to $20,000 or more. The high-end range includes the first printing run of your first book. By focusing on digital publishing you can keep costs toward the lower end of the range.
| Startup Costs | Ballpark Range | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up a business name and corporation | $150 - $200 | $175 |
| Business licenses and permits | $200 - $300 | $250 |
| Insurance | $100 - $500 | $300 |
| Business cards and brochures | $200 - $300 | $250 |
| Website setup | $1,000 - $3,000 | $2,000 |
| Initial marketing budget | $1,000 - $5,000 | $3,000 |
| Edit and design of first book | $1,500 - $3,000 | $2,250 |
| Print of first book | $0 - $6,000 | $3,000 |
| Total | $4,150 - $18,300 | $11,225 |
The average profit margin in publishing is about 15% which reflects a mix of print and digital publishing.
As a solopreneur, you could work from home and sell 5,000 $12 books in a year, bringing in $60,000 in revenue and $9,000 in profit, assuming that 15% margin. As your brand gains recognition, sales might climb to 50,000 books a year, giving you an annual revenue of $600,000 and a tidy profit of about $90,000.
There are a few barriers to entry for a publishing company. Your biggest challenges will be:
Now that you know what’s involved in starting a publishing business, it’s a good idea to hone your idea in preparation to enter a competitive market.
Market research will give you the upper hand, even if you’re already positive that you have a perfect product or service. Conducting market research is important, because it can help you understand your customers better, who your competitors are, and your business landscape.
Look at what types of books are trending with readers by reviewing the bestseller lists. Are thrillers hot? Or maybe it’s romances and memoirs. Your challenge will then be to find strong submissions from authors in trending genres. As a new publisher, you’ll be looking for new authors who are just getting started.
You’ll have to determine two things: how to best help your authors and what books to offer customers. For authors, you may want to focus on editing, design, and marketing to stand out over another publisher.
Next, consider whether you’ll offer print books or digital, or a mix of both.
The average cost of a printed book is $14 to $18, while ebooks generally run $3 to $10. Generally, prices depend on the popularity of the author, so your new author’s books will probably be on the lower end of the range.
Once you know your costs, you can use this Step By Step profit margin calculator to determine your mark-up and final price points. Remember, the prices you use at launch should be subject to change if warranted by the market.
Determine your most likely audience. If you’re publishing in the young adult market with books that target young women, for example, you can probably find them on social media sites like Instagram and TikTok.
In the early stages, you may want to operate your business from home to keep expenses low. But as your business grows, you’ll likely need to hire workers for various roles and may need to rent out an office. You can find commercial space to rent in your area on sites such as Craigslist, Crexi, and Instant Offices.
When choosing a commercial space, you may want to follow these rules of thumb:
Your business name is your business identity, so choose one that encapsulates your objectives, services, and mission in just a few words. You probably want a name that’s short and easy to remember, since much of your business, and your initial business in particular, will come from word-of-mouth referrals.
Here are some ideas for brainstorming your business name:
Once you’ve got a list of potential names, visit the website of the US Patent and Trademark Office to make sure they are available for registration and check the availability of related domain names using our Domain Name Search tool. Using “.com” or “.org” sharply increases credibility, so it’s best to focus on these.
Finally, make your choice among the names that pass this screening and go ahead with domain registration and social media account creation. Your business name is one of the key differentiators that set your business apart. Once you pick your company name, and start with the branding, it is hard to change the business name. Therefore, it’s important to carefully consider your choice before you start a business entity.
Every business needs a plan. This will function as a guidebook to take your startup through the launch process and maintain focus on your key goals. A business plan also enables potential partners and investors to better understand your company and its vision:
If you’ve never created a business plan, it can be an intimidating task. You might consider hiring a business plan specialist to create a top-notch business plan for you.
Registering your business is an absolutely crucial step — it’s the prerequisite to paying taxes, raising capital, opening a bank account, and other guideposts on the road to getting a business up and running.
Plus, registration is exciting because it makes the entire process official. Once it’s complete, you’ll have your own business!
Your business location is important because it can affect taxes, legal requirements, and revenue. Most people will register their business in the state where they live, but if you are planning to expand, you might consider looking elsewhere, as some states could offer real advantages when it comes to publishing.
If you’re willing to move, you could really maximize your business! Keep in mind, it’s relatively easy to transfer your business to another state.
Business entities come in several varieties, each with its pros and cons. The legal structure you choose for your publishing business will shape your taxes, personal liability, and business registration requirements, so choose wisely.
Here are the main options:
We recommend that new business owners choose LLC as it offers liability protection and pass-through taxation while being simpler to form than a corporation. You can form an LLC in as little as five minutes using an online LLC formation service. They will check that your business name is available before filing, submit your articles of organization, and answer any questions you might have.
Choose Your State
The final step before you’re able to pay taxes is getting an Employer Identification Number, or EIN. You can file for your EIN online or by mail or fax: visit the IRS website to learn more. Keep in mind, if you’ve chosen to be a sole proprietorship you can simply use your social security number as your EIN.
Once you have your EIN, you’ll need to choose your tax year. Financially speaking, your business will operate in a calendar year (January–December) or a fiscal year, a 12-month period that can start in any month. This will determine your tax cycle, while your business structure will determine which taxes you’ll pay.
The IRS website also offers a tax-payers checklist, and taxes can be filed online.
It is important to consult an accountant or other professional to help you with your taxes to ensure you are completing them correctly.
Securing financing is your next step and there are plenty of ways to raise capital:
Bank and SBA loans are probably the best options, other than friends and family, for funding a publishing business.
Starting a publishing business requires obtaining a number of licenses and permits from local, state, and federal governments.
Federal regulations, licenses, and permits associated with starting your business include doing business as (DBA), health licenses and permits from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), trademarks, copyrights, patents, and other intellectual properties, as well as industry-specific licenses and permits.
You may also need state-level and local county or city-based licenses and permits. The license requirements and how to obtain them vary, so check the websites of your state, city, and county governments or contact the appropriate person to learn more.
You could also check this SBA guide for your state’s requirements, but we recommend using MyCorporation’s Business License Compliance Package. They will research the exact forms you need for your business and state and provide them to ensure you’re fully compliant.
This is not a step to be taken lightly, as failing to comply with legal requirements can result in hefty penalties.
If you feel overwhelmed by this step or don’t know how to begin, it might be a good idea to hire a professional to help you check all the legal boxes.
Before you start making money you’ll need a place to keep it, and that requires opening a bank account.
Keeping your business finances separate from your personal account makes it easy to file taxes and track your company’s income, so it’s worth doing even if you’re running your publishing business as a sole proprietorship. Opening a business bank account is quite simple, and similar to opening a personal one. Most major banks offer accounts tailored for businesses — just inquire at your preferred bank to learn about their rates and features.
Banks vary in terms of offerings, so it’s a good idea to examine your options and select the best plan for you. Once you choose your bank, bring in your EIN (or Social Security Number if you decide on a sole proprietorship), articles of incorporation, and other legal documents and open your new account.
Business insurance is an area that often gets overlooked yet it can be vital to your success as an entrepreneur. Insurance protects you from unexpected events that can have a devastating impact on your business.
Here are some types of insurance to consider:
As opening day nears, prepare for launch by reviewing and improving some key elements of your business.
Being an entrepreneur often means wearing many hats, from marketing to sales to accounting, which can be overwhelming. Fortunately, many websites and digital tools are available to help simplify many business tasks.
You can use industry-specific software for publishers like Xpublisher or Quark to help you automate your design and publishing processes.
Website development is crucial because your site is your online presence and needs to convince prospective clients of your expertise and professionalism.
You can create your own website using services like WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace. This route is very affordable, but figuring out how to build a website can be time-consuming. If you lack tech-savvy, you can hire a web designer or developer to create a custom website for your business.
They are unlikely to find your website, however, unless you follow Search Engine Optimization (SEO) practices. These are steps that help pages rank higher in the results of top search engines like Google.
Starting a publishing business is an exciting venture, and effective marketing is crucial for success. Beyond the basics of creating a website and networking, here are concise and practical strategies to boost your publishing business.
Unique selling propositions, or USPs, are the unique characteristics of a product or service that sets it apart from the competition. Customers today are inundated with buying options, so you’ll have a real advantage if they’re able to quickly grasp how your publishing business meets their needs or wishes. It’s wise to do all you can to ensure your USPs stand out on your website and in your marketing and promotional materials, stimulating buyer desire.
Global pizza chain Domino’s is renowned for its USP: “Hot pizza in 30 minutes or less, guaranteed.” Signature USPs for your publishing business could be:
You may not like to network or use personal connections for business gain. But your personal and professional networks likely offer considerable untapped business potential. Maybe that Facebook friend you met in college is now running a publishing company, or a LinkedIn contact of yours is connected to dozens of potential clients. Maybe your cousin or neighbor has been working in publishing for years and can offer invaluable insight and industry connections.
The possibilities are endless, so it’s a good idea to review your personal and professional networks and reach out to those with possible links to or interest in publishing. You’ll probably generate new customers or find companies with which you could establish a partnership. Online businesses might also consider affiliate marketing as a way to build relationships with potential partners and boost business.
If you’re starting out small from a home office, you may not need any employees. But as your business grows, you’ll likely need workers to fill various roles. Potential positions for a publishing business would include:
At some point, you may need to hire all of these positions or simply a few, depending on the size and needs of your business. You might also hire multiple workers for a single role or a single worker for multiple roles, again depending on need.
Free-of-charge methods to recruit employees include posting ads on popular platforms such as LinkedIn or Facebook. You can also use free classified sites like Jobs and AngelList. You might also consider a premium recruitment option, such as advertising on Indeed, Glassdoor, or ZipRecruiter. Further, if you have the resources, you could consider hiring a recruitment agency to help you find talent.
Giving new authors real opportunity and seeing their work embraced by the reading public can be intensely rewarding. Yet publishing can also be a very profitable line of work.
If you find just a few authors who become very successful, the sky is the limit. You could also create a long-term affiliate relationship with the world’s leading bookseller — just check out the Amazon Associates program. It’s easy and free.
You’re now ready to start publishing and making good money from good writing. You can start small and grow your company into something huge – maybe the next Simon & Schuster!
Yes, you can make a healthy profit from a publishing business if you’re successful. It will take some time and the right authors to get to a good profit level, but it’s an almost $110 billion industry globally so if you can capture even a small part of that, you’ll do just fine.
There are no special licenses required for a publishing company on a federal level. You may need business licenses or permits through your state or local governments, so check with those offices for requirements.
It will take some time to find authors and get your first books to market. If you market yourself well, you could get started in three to six months.
You can market your new company with your website and through social media. There are thousands of aspiring authors out there who would be thrilled to find a new publisher interested in their work. You could also partner with a literary agency. They get thousands of book submissions and could send some your way.
Publishing companies generate revenue through book sales, rights licensing, subsidiary rights, distribution services, and ancillary products. They earn money by selling books in various formats and languages, as well as licensing rights for adaptations, translations, and merchandising.
Whether publishing is a hard career depends on individual factors, but it can be competitive and demanding. It requires strong communication, organizational skills, and the ability to adapt to industry changes. Challenges include finding new authors, meeting deadlines, and navigating market trends.
Popular genres include mystery/thriller, romance, science fiction/fantasy, young adult, and non-fiction. However, book sales can be influenced by factors such as popular authors, adaptations, marketing efforts, and cultural trends.
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