The Basics

1. One of the first things you will have to decide is whether you are going to run your small publishing business out of your home or if you are going to rent an office space. There are, of course, advantages to both. Running it out of your home will, of course, save you a lot of money. If you have the space in your home to dedicate some of it to creating an effective office, this might be the way to go when you are starting out. On the other hand, if you have the wherewithal to rent a space somewhere, you will add perhaps a little more of an air of legitimacy to your business, especially if you plan on having potential client and/or author meetings in your office. There is no "right" answer to this question other than what is going to work best for you.

2. Create a thorough and detailed business plan. This is a more involved process than just jotting a few goals down. There are some business plan writing software programs out there (including some free ones) that can help you with this part of the process. No matter what the scope of your business ultimately is, proper planning is always called for.

Getting Set Up

1. With regards to office equipment, you will, of course need a computer, a printer/copier, and (yes, still) a fax machine. A broadband internet connection is a must, as is a website, word processing and design software, and a company email address.

2. One thing you will want to consider is whether you want to have the ability to print and bind books yourself, on-site. If so, the type of binding system you will be looking at is called thermal binding. This is the type of system that binds hardcover and softcover books. Machines that do this style of binding are surprisingly inexpensive, especially for machines that do lower volumes of binding. In fact, you can have a machine that binds multiple books at one time for under $200, and some for even under $100. You'll also be surprised at how easy it is. There is absolutely no learning curve involved in doing permanent, hard and softcover binding. In fact, doing the binding yourself is so remarkable easy, even your wife's ex boyfriend could probably do it.

Marketing Your Services

Depending on the scope of your business and what your intended niche is, letting writers know that you are looking for manuscripts can be relatively easy or difficult. If you are going to publish fiction, poetry, or memoirs, join an online forum of writers and let them know what you are looking for. You can also put ads on similar sites. Whatever you do, be ready for the onslaught of manuscripts you are likely going to receive from eager writers.