In my book, The Simple Facts About Self-Publishing, I explain that while you can be listed as the publisher, your book will look more professional if you create your own publishing entity.

When I mentioned this in “The 13 Most Common Self-Publishing Mistakes to Avoid” (a guest blog for Christian Indie Publishing Association), I received several questions about setting up a publishing company.

Choosing a legal structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, LLC, corporation) is a decision you’ll make after consulting with your attorney and tax advisor. Choosing a company name is more fun—but it can take as much and even more thought and creativity. And at any point in the process, you may need to toss that name you love and start over.

Your publishing company name can be an important marketing tool. A well-chosen name can work very hard for you; an ineffective name means you have to work much harder at marketing and letting people know what you have to offer. Book marketing is challenging enough when you’ve got everything going for you, so don’t let an ineffective company name hinder you.

A company name should very clearly identify what you do in a way that will appeal to your target market. It should be short, catchy, and memorable. Be careful about going for cute—it might work if you’re publishing children’s books, but generally not if you’re doing anything else.

Choose something that sounds professional but doesn’t obviously connect to you. Don’t use your name or initials. Avoid something that sounds like a combination of family names—as much as you adore your children, grandchildren, and pets, don’t name your publishing company after them.

Also avoid names that could limit what you publish. For example, if you’ve written a book on business finance, don’t name your company Business Finance Books; you might want to write something on a non-finance topic eventually. Avoid using words like books in your company name—instead, go with words that will cover a variety of formats, such as media or house.

After you’ve brainstormed and come up with a name you like, check it for effectiveness and functionality.

Does it quickly and easily convey what you do? Is it easy to say and spell? Is it memorable in a positive way? Ask several of your friends and associates to serve as a focus group to help you evaluate the name’s impact.

Search for potential conflicts. Find out if any other publisher has either the same name or a name so similar that yours might confuse the public.

Check the name for legal availability. Exactly how you do this depends on the legal structure you choose. Typically, sole proprietorships and partnerships operating under a name other than that of the owner(s) are required by the county, city, or state to register their fictitious name. Even if it’s not required, it’s a good idea, because that means no one else can use that name. Corporations usually operate under their corporate name. In either case, you need to check with the appropriate regulatory agency to be sure the name you choose is available.

Check to see if anyone is using the name as a website URL. If someone already owns the .com version of your publishing company name, consider coming up with something else. If no one is using the name as a URL, purchase the domain name as soon as possible.

Finally, check to see if the name conflicts with any established trademarks. At the state level, your state Department of Commerce can either help you or direct you to the correct agency. You should also check with the trademark register maintained by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).

Once you’ve decided on a name and checked it for availability, protect it by registering it with the appropriate state agency. If you are anticipating growing into a substantial publishing operation, you should also register the name with the PTO.

If you’re a self-published author who has set up a publishing company, share your company name and website in the comments.

Jacquelyn Lynn
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