My Publishing Imprint: How to Create a Self-Publishing Book Imprint & ISBN Essentials: Countdown to Book Launch, #1

Part 1

Introduction: Publishing Imprints

Indie publishing has gone pro. It is no longer the poor stepchild of publishing, the last resort for an author who isn’t chosen by a traditional publisher. But what does this mean?

We all know the importance of book covers, editing, and the writing itself. But lately I’ve seen emphasis placed on the business aspects of indie publishing, from the type of entity we choose (LLC, corporation, sole proprietor), to how we track our expenses and budget our marketing investments.

Wayne Stinnett, a self-described trucker turned best-selling novelist in two years, shares this sage advice from his nonfiction book, Blue Collar to No Collar:

Make no mistake, if you’re an indie, you are more than just a writer. You’re the publisher. You only publish one author, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are a businessperson.

Since 2012, the year I began working exclusively with small publishers, I’ve helped more than 100 authors create their own publishing imprints (this guide, and many in the industry, use self- and indie publishing interchangeably). Some of these were formed as corporations and LLCs, but most were in name only. The common thread between all of them—one of the earliest decisions made—was to choose a name under which to buy an ISBN, short for International Standard Book Number, a unique number assigned to published books.

Early in the eBook revolution Amazon declared eBooks did not need an ISBN. Much to the consternation of Bowker (the official U.S.-issuer of ISBNs), and the publishing industry itself, eBook self-publishing platforms had no choice but to follow Amazon’s lead. Even Apple, which launched iBooks by requiring an ISBN for eBooks, was forced to abandon its