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1. Business License

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My google-fu isn't working at the moment. There are a lot of things that I've learned over the years about self-publishing and one subject that I hadn't tried to learn about till now. So, if you guys could either help me out or tell me where I could look for this information I would be greatly appreciative.

I'm wondering about some of the business aspects about self publishing such as a business license, fictitious business name, logo, etc. I want my novels to be presented professionally. This includes putting something on the cover and inside the book in regards to a publisher.

Application for business license 1050 west romeo road romeoville, i llinois 60446 tel 815/886-7200 - f ax 815/886-2724 please complete all sides of the application.

I know that many self-published authors don't bother with such a thing, however I felt that it might give my books a more polished look. Now, obviously I'm not a publishing house. So, I'm wondering if there are any protocols for when it comes to self-published works? I was waiting until my novel was written before I started looking too far into the business aspect rather than researching marketing and options. Yesterday I completed it and after a final review of the last ten chapters (the rest of the novel had already been reviewed more times than I know), I sent it to my editor this morning.

Now I am looking at cover artists and trying to find what else I'll need. My editor is doing this as a favor since she's retired, so I know it may take a while before she's done. That gives me time to do the research I need. So, that's where I am now.

Anyway, I'm wondering if I'll need to get a business license since I will be selling and distributing my books myself (as well as on Amazon and Kindle and whatnot). If I do that then I'll need to apply for a fictitious business name. So, do I make that a publisher type of name that also lets people know I self publish? If I do that then it'll go in the publisher sections on the book which means a logo for the spine.right? This is how my line of thought works, sorry if I lost anyone. I'm just feeling a little lost myself.

I'm still going to continue looking. If I find anything useful I'll put it on this thread so others can benefit too.

As always, any info or advice is welcome!.hugs. Jayelle. You would have to check with your state as to business regulations, but normally you would be working simply as a self-employed person, not as a strict business entity. If you set up a publishing company (even if you are the only client) you could set yourself up to pay even more in taxes - because the business may have to pay taxes (depending on what form you set it up as), and then you have to pay taxes on what the business pays you - it can get very complicated and very expensive if you try to get too 'business-like'.

I would contact your local SCORE or SBA - they can advise you on what alternatives you can look at and what the benefits/consequences would be. Thank you shadowwalker. I'll do that. I've run a business before as a sole-proprietor and that worked well for me.

However, I still needed a license and fictitious name done. As a sole-proprietor there are no employees so the taxes aren't as high. I only have to pay taxes on the items I sell (ie.

Sales tax) and what I'm paid (same as with anything else). The business license is actually proof that you paid a yearly business tax where I live. So, that's not an issue for me. My question would be that if I didn't create a business for this, then what do I put in place of the publisher when I print my book?

That's what has my head spinning at the moment. The rest I can figure out easily.

I'm not publishing under my own personal name and will be selling my own books through my website, so that's why I figured I would need a business license and whatnot. Grrrr.why can't there just be one site with all the information you would ever need? Lol.hugs. Jayelle. Hey everyone. I think my google-fu managed to fix itself. Yesterday after dinner I found all the information I wanted.

I also found a lot of great sites that go into what a self-published author needs. From what I learned, if you're planning on only selling your books through Amazon and Kindle and the like then you don't NEED a business license or anything else. Just claim what you make through them on your tax return. Considering I'm going to be selling and distributing my books through my website (as well as doing kindle and Amazon), I'm going to need to have a business. This means I'll need: Business license (here it's also your business tax receipt) Sale's Tax license Seller/Vendor license/ID Fictitious Business Name registered and put in with local paper Create and Register Logo Now, I'm also going to need to: Get a PO box Buy or make business cards Bookkeeping (including how many books I sell or give away, what I spend, what I make, etc) Set up website equipped for taking orders and processing credit cards I'm not sure how much this will cost me.

I know some of the prices. The licenses aren't expensive but needing so many can add up. I'm not going to get a PO box or a merchant account for my site until I have more books out there and have something coming in.

Business License

Since we're moving to another state in less than 2 years, the PO box will probably wait until then. Business cards are cheap, I've gone that route before. I already have a website that's paid for another 2 years.I just need to change the web address. The bookkeeping is the cheapest part of this. I already have spreadsheets and word documents set up for keeping track of everything.

I am going to set myself up as a sole-proprietorship. It's the easiest to handle come tax time, it's the cheapest as far as the business license goes, and I've done it before.

Today I'm going to price how much the licenses are so I know what my start-up cost for this portion is going to be. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Whatever I don't have money for I will get through other means. Saving, donating plasma, doing odd jobs, etc. In case you didn't realize this already, I don't let obstacles block my path for long.

There are quite a few sides to self-publishing. There's the business side which has to do with what I wrote above. Then there's the marketing side which would deal with advertisements (not till much later), social networking, virtual book tours, and promotions.

There's the distributing side which will deal with inventory and getting the novels into stores if possible. There's the publishing side that deals with editors, cover art, and getting the finished novel out there. Finally and most importantly, there's the writing side which never ends and is my favorite part.

Lol If I were an actual publishing house then I would have employees to handle all of this. I'm doing it myself which is a daunting task but one that I'm ready to take on. I'm a stay-at-home mom who has some disabilities and two special-needs kids. I know running a business full time from my home will be difficult. I'm prepared for that. I also am really excited about it.

I've been wanting to work for YEARS and couldn't. This will fulfill that urge to work and contribute to the household income. I know it'll take a while before I see profits that count (my best guess is 3 years), but I also feel that the potential for success is there so it's worth the hard work.hugs. Jayelle. Considering I'm going to be selling and distributing my books through my website (as well as doing kindle and Amazon), I'm going to need to have a business. This means I'll need: Business license (here it's also your business tax receipt) Sale's Tax license Seller/Vendor license/ID Fictitious Business Name registered and put in with local paper Create and Register Logo Now, I'm also going to need to: Just for clarificaiton: If you weren't selling through your website, you would not need all this stuff, right? You have to do all of the above because you are setting up a website to sell your book?

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