Should an Indie (Self-Published) Author Create an Imprint (i.e. their own "press")?

If you go surfing around Amazon, you'll notice a lot of the books in the Kindle Store that look self-published and yet have publishers listed. Boom Stick Publishing. Harvest Moon Press. Soft Kitty Productions…

With the proliferation of small presses out there, it's hard to know, at a glance, which ones are actual publishing houses (with a submissions process an author must go through to have a book accepted) and which ones are simply made up.

Made up, you ask?

Well, yeah. When you're uploading an ebook into the Kindle Store, there's a field for publisher, and if you type something in, I doubt Amazon checks whether a press with that name exists or not. In fact, given the number of indie authors with presses listed, I'm sure Amazon doesn't check. Oh, I imagine some of those authors have actually filled out the paperwork and created a business entity with that name, but I'd guess a lot haven't.

I was never particularly tempted to do this because I like to embrace being an indie. For me, self-publishing wasn't a choice of last resort. It was something that appealed to me for a number of reasons, and I haven't regretted choosing this path. I know there's a stigma associated with self-published books, but I'm not willing to disguise my books by making up a publisher so people will think I've been published by a small press.

But maybe I'm being short-sighted? Letting pride get in the way of business sense?

Someone more experienced (and more successful) than I said that indie authors should create an imprint because a) reviewers who say they won't take self-published fiction might consider work from small presses and b) there are readers who refuse to try independent authors, so you should make your books look like they're not self-published.

I'm all for trying to make the packaging of my books professional, but I don't think it's in me to make up a press in an attempt to look like something I'm not.

What are your thoughts, authors? Have you conjured up a press for your books?

Readers, are you more likely to try a book with a publisher listed? Or would you be irked if you'd found out an author had made one up?

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