STEP TWO: BECOMING A BONA FIDE BUSINESS
(Entry 2)
We’re continuing our series where I share my experiences in the self-publishing process. We spoke earlier about being proud of the document that you produce. Whether you decide to self-publish or not, you have to work hard enough to make sure you are proud of your final product. No one will buy what you write if it’s shoddy and violates all kinds of grammatical and stylistic laws. As you’re working on that and finishing that aspect of the process, it’s vitally important to start the ball rolling in another regard.
It’s important to become a bona fide business in this self-publishing endeavor. There are a number of ways to do this without breaking your bank. Of course, you can become incorporated and go through the necessary paperwork to have “, INC” placed behind your business. That is somewhat of a costly option, however, as is becoming an “LLC” (limited liability corporation). Having an LLC assumes you’re hiring at least one person and you want to make sure you’re protected in case you get sued. Truth is we live in a very litigious society and you may want to protect yourself in case you are. Of course, if you are only publishing books, there is not a real need to become an LLC. You will probably not hire anyone else, and you will be in charge of your business as the owner and founder. So what I did was establish my business as a “DBA” (doing business as). This is probably the cheapest route to go for your publishing business if you want to start a sole proprietorship and be seen as “real.” The benefit of establishing a DBA is that you are later able to open up a business checking account and even apply for business credit cards. Come tax time, you will be able to write off certain expenses you paid for your business (advertisements, etc).
I bought my DBA on www.ezonlinefiling.com and had someone else do the legwork for me. They just have to send paperwork to your local county court house, which will then be sent to you. This was the cheapest site I found for getting the DBA, although cheaper ones may exist now. Once I got the DBA, I was able to give my business a fictitious name. In my case, it was BerNerd Publishing, the name of my own publishing company. It may not be obvious at this point why I even went through all the “trouble” to do this, but it will become apparent later — when it comes to placing the publisher name in the book and as it relates to getting an ISBN number for your book eventually (and exposure in case your work becomes a best seller). More on this later.
Once you pay the one-time (unavoidable) fee, you’ll just wait to receive the paperwork for your DBA in the mail. You should go ahead and apply for a free Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS so that you’ll have it for tax purposes when it’s time for you to file and get some of your money back for what you’ll invest into your new company. You can apply for your free EIN at: https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/modiein/indi...
I know it may still seem a bit confusing why you should buy your own DBA, but just trust me. It will be time and money worth spent. You pay for your DBA but don’t pay for your EIN number. Remember, you’re your own business. You’re on the path to becoming a self-publisher. If you were getting with a publisher that is already established, you don’t have to jump through these hoops. But this is what you are doing so you can be a trailblazer and pioneer your own path to owning your own brand. You have now acquired your own business name and you are registered with the IRS. So now you’re good to go and ready for the next step to being your own self-publisher.
The most important thing to realize at this juncture is to be proud of what it is your are writing. Read and proofread! And now you are your own business — at least on paper. You’ll spend a little money at the outset, but this is true of any business. You’re investing in the best product that there is for what you want to do. And that product is you!
Aren’t you worth it?
More to come later.
We’re continuing our series where I share my experiences in the self-publishing process. We spoke earlier about being proud of the document that you produce. Whether you decide to self-publish or not, you have to work hard enough to make sure you are proud of your final product. No one will buy what you write if it’s shoddy and violates all kinds of grammatical and stylistic laws. As you’re working on that and finishing that aspect of the process, it’s vitally important to start the ball rolling in another regard.
It’s important to become a bona fide business in this self-publishing endeavor. There are a number of ways to do this without breaking your bank. Of course, you can become incorporated and go through the necessary paperwork to have “, INC” placed behind your business. That is somewhat of a costly option, however, as is becoming an “LLC” (limited liability corporation). Having an LLC assumes you’re hiring at least one person and you want to make sure you’re protected in case you get sued. Truth is we live in a very litigious society and you may want to protect yourself in case you are. Of course, if you are only publishing books, there is not a real need to become an LLC. You will probably not hire anyone else, and you will be in charge of your business as the owner and founder. So what I did was establish my business as a “DBA” (doing business as). This is probably the cheapest route to go for your publishing business if you want to start a sole proprietorship and be seen as “real.” The benefit of establishing a DBA is that you are later able to open up a business checking account and even apply for business credit cards. Come tax time, you will be able to write off certain expenses you paid for your business (advertisements, etc).
I bought my DBA on www.ezonlinefiling.com and had someone else do the legwork for me. They just have to send paperwork to your local county court house, which will then be sent to you. This was the cheapest site I found for getting the DBA, although cheaper ones may exist now. Once I got the DBA, I was able to give my business a fictitious name. In my case, it was BerNerd Publishing, the name of my own publishing company. It may not be obvious at this point why I even went through all the “trouble” to do this, but it will become apparent later — when it comes to placing the publisher name in the book and as it relates to getting an ISBN number for your book eventually (and exposure in case your work becomes a best seller). More on this later.
Once you pay the one-time (unavoidable) fee, you’ll just wait to receive the paperwork for your DBA in the mail. You should go ahead and apply for a free Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS so that you’ll have it for tax purposes when it’s time for you to file and get some of your money back for what you’ll invest into your new company. You can apply for your free EIN at: https://sa2.www4.irs.gov/modiein/indi...
I know it may still seem a bit confusing why you should buy your own DBA, but just trust me. It will be time and money worth spent. You pay for your DBA but don’t pay for your EIN number. Remember, you’re your own business. You’re on the path to becoming a self-publisher. If you were getting with a publisher that is already established, you don’t have to jump through these hoops. But this is what you are doing so you can be a trailblazer and pioneer your own path to owning your own brand. You have now acquired your own business name and you are registered with the IRS. So now you’re good to go and ready for the next step to being your own self-publisher.
The most important thing to realize at this juncture is to be proud of what it is your are writing. Read and proofread! And now you are your own business — at least on paper. You’ll spend a little money at the outset, but this is true of any business. You’re investing in the best product that there is for what you want to do. And that product is you!
Aren’t you worth it?
More to come later.
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