Setting up a publishing imprint

[SwanSwimming22]

Hello all

does anyone have any resources to help me look at the feasibility of this, the essential information etc?

does anyone have experience of it? I would start off with my own work but would like to have an imprint to have a basis for possible expansion.

I wasn't sure if it was best to post here, or in Work, or in Creative Writing.

thank you.

[SwanSwimming22]

Hopeful bump

[NoSquirrels]

What are you hoping to publish? (Novels - crime, book club fiction, sci fi, romance? - children’s books - picture books, young readers, YA? - or non-fiction - what sort?

What is your route to market? Ebooks via Amazon, printing physical copies etc.

Have you done any research into self-publishing yet?

An ‘imprint’ is just a name, really. If you’re just starting with your own books then you’re self-publishing, but you can do this under any company name you like - setting it up is as simple as that.

Making any money is much, much more difficult!

[SwanSwimming22]

Fiction, digital only to start with

one of the reasons I am looking at it this way is that I wondered what it was like in terms of set up costs and if it was helpful in terms of publishing rights.

I am looking at self publishing information, yes. Ebooks via Amazon have to be included to make any impact at all, I'm guessing?

if it helps, I am looking to publish the work of others as well. It's the mechanics of it that I need to learn.

thank you.

[SwanSwimming22]

Presumably an imprint has to be registered with Companies House?

I have talked to the few contacts I have but they are cagey. One is about to go under and I think she has used her own money to print physical copies!

[stuntbubbles]

if it helps, I am looking to publish the work of others as well. It's the mechanics of it that I need to learn.
What advances would you offer under what royalty terms? What would be your marketing plan? Distribution – are these ebook only or print? Agented submissions or direct?

Traditionally published writers are unlikely to sign with a start-up imprint that has no significant experience behind it; self-published authors are better off owning the whole pie, not publishing through you.

[SwanSwimming22]

stunt. No, I am not expecting established authors to sign up.

my question was, how do I find out more so i can figure out if it's worth doing.

if anyone has any knowledge or resources they'd like to share, please let me know.

if it helps, I have a lot of my own writing work and some work by other people who, for a range of reasons, would like someone else to do the admin side.

[stuntbubbles]

Follow Tess Sharpe on Twitter, she traditionally and self publishes and knows EVERYTHING and does very detailed advice threads.

The blog attached to this site: goldsmithpublishingconsultancy.com/

Follow Sam Missingham as well, she knows everything publishing.

Read up on stories behind tiny imprints and publishers like Galley Beggar Press.

There’s plenty available online about self publishing, you’re basically suggesting that route for yourself then doing the admin of that route for others?

[NoSquirrels]

my question was, how do I find out more so i can figure out if it's worth doing.

It’s almost certainly not worth doing.

You can make money from your own work by self publishing if you are both a committed marketer and a good writer. Start there, learn your trade on your own books.

If you are successful and make money, then you’ll know what you need to know to help other people.

Don’t run before you can walk, basically!

If I were you, I’d sign up to Alli: www.allianceindependentauthors.org

I’d listen to:
Podcasts:
The Bestseller Experiment
The Self-Publishing Show

there’s loads of others but start here.

[SwanSwimming22]

thank you, I have signed up to those but for some reason, I am finding it hard to get to the nitty gritty of the actual process.

maybe I just have to wade a through a lot!

[NoSquirrels]

one of the reasons I am looking at it this way is that I wondered what it was like in terms of set up costs and if it was helpful in terms of publishing rights.

In terms of set up costs they are really minimal, but yes, as soon as you’re a company (an imprint is just part of a company; you can have multiple imprints for different purposes) then you’ll need company accounts & reporting, you’ll need to understand contracts and rights and royalties etc etc.

You’ll also have expectations to deal with. Writers who don’t want the admin of self-publishing are probably 100% of writers! However, doing all the annoying admin & marketing is the way to make money. If you expect to make money by charging other writers (or taking a cut) then that comes with their expectations- and they’re the hardest thing of all.

So you need to be extremely realistic how much you can make for what investment before you offer your services. So that’s why I’d start with your own stuff and not worry too much yet about other writer’s work.

Publishing has such tiny margins that it’s really a passion business not a profit business at a small scale.

[NoSquirrels]

@SwanSwimming22

thank you, I have signed up to those but for some reason, I am finding it hard to get to the nitty gritty of the actual process.

maybe I just have to wade a through a lot!

At its most basic

Write book
Edit
Cover design
Typeset/digitise ebook files
Proofread & correct
Upload to Amazon/ebook aggregator
Market the hell out if it - preorders, mailing list swaps, FB ads, Amazon ads, TikTok/Insta/FB communities to build readership

Rinse and repeat.

Only expect to break even by books 2-3. Make sure they’re all in the same genre and appeal to a readership you cultivate carefully.

Does that help?

[SwanSwimming22]

@NoSquirrels

At its most basic

Write book
Edit
Cover design
Typeset/digitise ebook files
Proofread & correct
Upload to Amazon/ebook aggregator
Market the hell out if it - preorders, mailing list swaps, FB ads, Amazon ads, TikTok/Insta/FB communities to build readership

Rinse and repeat.

Only expect to break even by books 2-3. Make sure they’re all in the same genre and appeal to a readership you cultivate carefully.

Does that help?

No, because it's particularly the imprint side I'm looking at - but thank you.

I should have been clearer - I know all the steps you listed for promo of my own books.

sorry, I will focus on the resources given. My cousin already has a media business registered with CH so one option is to attach an imprint to that but again, I'm really needing to know more about the legal and business side.

I'll dedicate my time to it on my next block of time off as I'm doing 50 hours tomorrow till Friday, the joys.

thanks for the advice, all.

[NoSquirrels]

Ah, OK.

What exactly about the ‘legal and business side’ do you want to know - might help to drill down into what exactly you’re struggling with?

Registering with Companies House is same as any other business, think up a name, register, and then providing accounts when you’re supposed to again is same as other businesses- profit & loss, yadda yadda.

If you publish other writers you’ll need a contract with them setting out exactly what service you’ll offer them in return for what rights they’ll license you and how much they’ll get paid.

That’s it, really. So is it maybe contracts & rights you need help with?

The IPG is useful but I’m not sure whether it’s value for money at your scale? www.independentpublishersguild.com

[SwanSwimming22]

NoSquirrels

rights are definitely something I need info on, thanks for helping me ID that!

[NoSquirrels]

Useful place to start

www.writersandartists.co.uk/advice/publishing-agreements

[NoSquirrels]

Ebook royalties from POV of the author (US, but applicable generally):

www.authorsguild.org/industry-advocacy/half-of-net-proceeds-is-the-fair-royalty-rate-for-e-books/

www.societyofauthors.org/Where-We-Stand/buying-choices/How-do-authors-get-paid

www.societyofauthors.org/Where-We-Stand/C-R-E-A-T-O-R-Campaign-for-Fair-Contracts

[SwanSwimming22]

Thank you, that's really helpful.