DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES to be a publisher? It's the dirty end of the stick, often. You have to wear many hats, and be responsible for lots of details. If you're still reading…
A PUBLISHER IS simply the person or organization putting up the money for a book to be printed and distributed. The First Amendment of the Constitution lays out the principle of freedom of the press. No license is required, no government censor oversees your work. You're a publisher if you say so.
YOU WROTE A BOOK. Are you already eager to do more? Can you imagine doing all that work for someone else — and paying them royalties for the privilege?
NO ONE STARTS OUT to be a publisher. I didn't, yet it just seemed to fit. You may find yourself thinking in the longer term — what will people need ten, twenty years from now? How can I best serve their interests? Now you're thinking like a publisher! Welcome to the group.
BANDANNA BOOKS CAN HELP you with the production end of things. What we do: transform an edited manuscript into finished, delivered copies of your book. What you do: total editorial control, marketing/promotion, storing the inventory, shipping, invoicing, and cashing the checks.
TO GET A ROUGH ESTIMATE on how much the production of your book will cost, email us with this information, or write us at this address:
WHY SHOULD YOU DO YOUR OWN MARKETING? Because you are best equipped to know who will be interested in your book far better than BBooks. That's your audience. The same principle of free press applies to advertising and promotion — you can do anything the big publishers do, and more. However, you should be aware of several options that protect your intellectual rights and make your book accessible.
TO SECURE A COPYRIGHT, apply to the U.S. Copyright Office. The fee is $45 for paper and, this summer 2008 only, a beta version online filing is available for $35. You can do this even after the book is printed. Also important: be sure to include the standard copyright claim on your copyright page (on the back side of the title page, where all legal information should be located. The copyright is important to establish your priority to any pirating, or copying of your work without your permission. Most countries are signatories to the Berne Convention and the Universal Copyright Convention.
BOOKSTORES AND LIBRARIES USE AN ISBN NUMBER to locate an exact title and publisher. This now costs $275 for ten numbers, or $995 for a hundred numbers. If you ever plan to do a second book, I recommend that you get your own ISBN numbers.
A LIBRARY OF CONGRESS NUMBER or LCCN is available for U.S. publishers; it "pre-catalogs" your title for libraries that use the LC numbering system rather than the Dewey Decimal System.
BOOKS IN PRINT from Bowker is the standard reference for all titles in print. Use Bowkerlink to give them information before your book is printed.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY is the pre-eminent review magazine for the book industry. You might consider others, depending on the subject of your book. New York Review of Books, perhaps, or Quilt Magazine, whichever may be appropriate.
A FEW LIBRARY MAGAZINES such as Library Journal, Booklist, and Choice review books for libraries to consider ordering.
Bandanna Books • Santa Barbara
Copyright © 2008 Bandanna Books
Sasha "Birdie" Newborn asks all the right questions and then puts the moxie into place. She makes a book classic. I have been more than satisfied and recommend her highly. Ms. Newborn is a publishing professional. All of her books…come out clean. Her trademark is care, her gift sensitivity.
—Patrick Mackay
Copyright © 2008 Bandanna Books