One of the questions that gets asked often by those thinking about entering the self-publishing foray is whether or not they need to create their own self-publishing company. After all, books that you see published on the shelf are all under some in print or division of a particular publishing company. People talk about the big six publishing companies and you can check out what publisher your favorite author uses and submit books to them if you write something similar.

But if you are self-publishing, then do you really need to create a publishing company? The answer is no. There is no requirement that you create a publishing company in order to self-publish your own books. However, just because one is not required does not mean that there are not benefits to starting one. By creating a logo, website and registering your publishing company and giving it an actual address and phone number, you will have taken self-publishing a step further than the majority of authors out there. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of starting your own publishing company.

For one thing, if you put out quality books, then people are going to recognize your logo even if you change your author name. Some people like to use different pseudonyms for different genres that they write in. Putting all of those books under a single imprint that is recognizable can definitely help with marketing.

Your book also looks more professional. When people do the preview thing on Amazon, they’re going to see the publisher’s name and logo on the title page as well as on the copyright page. You can make your book look as professional as any other published book out there. You can even come up with the correct numbers for printing additions and by ISBN numbers so that your books are registered with the Library of Congress. This will be required if you want bookstores, libraries and schools to buy your books.

You also have an easier time dealing with industry professionals such as the Ingram and Baker and Taylor catalogs. These are industry catalogs that list new books being published. Having an established publishing house with all the paperwork done correctly and a website can allow you to develop a relationship with them so that you can get your books listed just like any other publishing company.

You can also expand your publishing company and begin publishing other people’s books. If you have a knack for marketing books, then you can start accepting books and publishing them the same way that you publish yours, but this time you get a commission whenever you sell a book for that author. For more information on how to publish a book, check out Reedsy’s article on the subject

There are lots of good reasons to start a publishing company, but you should be aware that it does take quite a bit of work and there are costs associated with getting ISBN numbers and setting up a website. You may need to register your business name and change the way banking is done as well. If you’re just starting out, you should definitely work on a novel outline.