“Book Business”
One of the things that often escapes would-be Authors, especially those who decide to Self-Publish, is the fact that once they sell even one copy of their book they do, in fact, have a “Book Business!” Now, if you intend to actually make this a viable side-hustle, you need to conduct yourself in a Business-Like manner.
The first thing you may want to do is actually come up with a Business Name. It can be something as extremely simple as, say, AAA BOOK DISTRIBUTORS. With this you can justify, especially for Tax Purposes, that you do, in fact, have a Business.
For only a few dollars (at least in Arizona!), you can Register your name with the Secretary of State, thus ensuring that no one infringes on your Business name. In the case of MORGAN WYNN PUBLISHING this was an important step, as we wanted to ensure that no one would do anything using our name that might besmirch our company reputation.
The next thing we would suggest you do is set up a separate Checking Account for your Business. We believe the best way to proceed here is to loan your Business the money to open said Account. Do this with an actual Loan Contract, where you charge yourself Interest (a reasonable amount is 6% Simple Interest). This is invaluable for Tax Purposes, as it separates your money from the Business’ money!
Two more things where your Account is concerned:
Every time you incur an expense in the Production and Distribution of your book use your Business Account to pay for it.
As you make book sales, Deposit those monies into the Account and then once each Month make a payment to yourself to pay back the loan(s) you made to yourself.
As you are setting up your Business you will want to research State and City Sales Tax requirements and set up the appropriate accounts. Typically they will want you to file a report each month, even if no sales take place that month!
Right from the get-go you are going to want to set up a File/Filing Cabinet to keep track of your paperwork. This will include Contracts, Invoices/Receipts and all Business-type communiques. I am a “Hard Copy” type guy, but at least have a Digital Record of all these things.
Another thing you will want to do right away, perhaps even concurrently with getting your Book Published, is set up a website where folks can go to order your book. I have a friend who helps me with all of this, but I do know that there are formats where this can be done virtually, if not literally!, for Free and is a good way for you to funnel prospective customers to a store where they can purchase your finished product.
Along with that, if you intend to promote your Book through Seminars, Conferences or Conventions it might be a very good idea to purchase Business Cards that provide such information as your Name; Book Title; Website Address; and E-mail Address. This would allow those who want to purchase your book an avenue to do so, and also those who may want to contact you to do a Seminar or attend their Conference/ Convention the same opportunity.
That may be the very shortest “How to Start a Book Business” ever written, but it does give you an idea what to expect and what to do. I know that many of you who read this, and even some of those who choose MORGAN WYNN PUBLISHING to produce their book, will ignore much, or most!, of this, but at least I can rest at ease knowing I have shared the “what,” “why,” and “how,” and that it is now up to you to determine the “when!”
If you have any questions regarding MORGAN WYNN PUBLISHING or the concept of Self-Publishing in general, please E-Mail us: floyd@morganwynnpublishing.com. We will get back to you as quickly as we can, and make arrangements to enlighten you as much as possible!
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