How to start publishing, tools and material needed to start publishing.

This article is focus on publishing, publisher and how to become a publisher. This is one of the very useful article to help those who want to become publisher.

In this guide, we try explaining and outlining the steps to be come a publisher and how to publish your contents.

As said earlier, our effort is to discuss what is mean by publishing publisher and how to become publisher.

Publishing

Publishing is the act of producing information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public.

Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newspapers, and magazines.

With the advent of digital information systems, the scope has expanded to include electronic publishing such as ebooks, academic journals, micropublishing, websites, blogs, video game publishing, and the like.

The main difference between publishing and other products sell in the market is that, you cannot own the publisher’s content except you have been license as the owner by the original author despite you bought the copy of the content.

Publishing may produce private, club, commons or public goods and may be conducted as a commercial, public, social or community activity.

The commercial publishing industry ranges from large multinational conglomerates such as Bertelsmann, RELX, Pearson and Thomson Reuters to thousands of small independents. It has various divisions such as trade/retail publishing of fiction and non-fiction, educational publishing (k-12) and academic and scientific publishing.

Publishing is also undertaken by governments, civil society and private companies for administrative or compliance requirements, business, research, advocacy or public interest objectives. This can include annual reports, research reports, market research, policy briefings and technical reports. Self-publishing has become very common.

Publisher

A publisher is a person who produces content such as information, literature, music, video, blog and software for the public.

A publisher’s content may be available for free or for sale.

How to become a publisher

  1. Set your goals. Now, before you jump into the technical aspects of starting your company, you’ll need to decide exactly what you want to accomplish. Do you want to start the company by yourself or with a partner? Will you publish your own books, or will you publish the book of others? What format will you publish (print, digital, audio, or a combination)? What sort of income are you expecting? What do you think will be the biggest challenge? Will you be filling a specific niche in the publishing industry? Answering these questions will help you make clearer decisions about your business plan down the line.2.
  2. Create your brand. After you’ve decided on your goals, it’s time to create your brand. Branding includes coming up with your business name, creating a mission statement, deciding what type of books you’ll publish, and so forth. Think about ways to make your publishing company name and brand relatable, memorable, and enticing for readers, writers, and booksellers.
  3. Select a business structure. While there are many different types of businesses, from corporations to nonprofits, there are really only a few that apply to a small publishing company: sole proprietorships, partnerships, or limited liability companies (LLC). Deciding which one is best for you depends on your circumstances: a sole proprietorship means that you alone are running the company and is the simplest business type; a partnership means that you and at least one other person are starting the company together; a limited liability company combines elements of a sole proprietorship and a corporation, and offers more liability protection than other business structures.
  4.  Register for an Employer Identification Number. To start your company in the US, you’ll need an Employer Identification Number (or EIN), which helps the IRS identify and track your business. You can apply for an EIN by mail, online, or by fax.
  5.  Set up your infrastructure. Now it’s time to set up the administrative aspects of your business—like a domain name and website, a logo, an email address, a business bank account, an accounting system, a print structure, and so forth. Hiring is another part of setting up your infrastructure. If you don’t have the time or skill to design book covers and edit manuscripts, your publishing company will need to employ freelancers to handle these tasks. If you want to publish print books, search for book publishers that are willing to do small print runs, or for print-on-demand services. During this phase of set-up, you’ll need to address every detail—from getting the manuscript to ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers) to selling to customers—to ensure that your infrastructure is solid before you begin publishing.
  6.  Start publishing. Once your new business is all set up, it’s time to start publishing books. Once you have a manuscript ready to publish (whether it’s your own or the work of another author), it’s time to put all of your resources into action—including having the book designed and getting ready to upload it online or send it to the printer.
  7. Market and sell your books. Now that you have a product to sell, you’ll need to create a solid marketing plan to help get the word out about it. If you’ve hired a marketing professional, they will create an actionable plan to market your product. If you choose to market the book yourself, you’ll need to figure out the audience you want to connect with, and how to market to them. Research similar books in the genre and take note of the way that they were marketed. Think about what makes your book interesting or different and highlight this in your marketing materials. Social media marketing is one of the major keys to building an audience in the modern era. Create a social media presence for your publishing company so you can promote all of your upcoming releases. You can also send out advance review copies to book review publications to draw attention to the new title. Revisit your marketing plan on a regular basis to see if there are any missed opportunities or alternative ways to reach your audience