SPA Girls Podcast – EP021 – Pre-Publication Checklist (Part One)
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We’re officially 21! Well, at least 21 episodes into the SPA Girls podcast… This week we dive into some really meaty content – it’s the first of a two part series where we talk in depth about the things you need to take into account before you hit publish on your self-published book.
This first episode talks about tax numbers (ITIN and EIN etc) and whether you need them, ISBN numbers (what they are, and why you might choose to get one), copyright for your books, bank accounts and accountants, pen names, and front and back matter in your book.
Grab a pen and paper for this one – or just check out our show notes – this is an episode you’ll need to refer back to!
SHOW NOTES:
Paying Taxes – Three years ago Wendy got an ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) as a traditionally published author but lately things have changed. Trudi, Shar and Cheryl have EIN (Employer Identification Number) which is far simpler to get and, for us at least, does the same thing. We rang the IRS in America to make sure we were doing it right as we live in New Zealand and things are not always as straight forward as they might be if we lived in the States. It would pay for you to go online and see what you need for where you live, and please make sure the information is current.
ISBN – International Standard Book Number. This is a unique identifier number and was initially set up to track sales and for library cataloguing. Not necessary for all counties or all formats unless you want to put your book in the library. Some platforms like create space will assign you one. They can be purchased from Bowker, however, in New Zealand we can contact our main library and get them for free and we believe Canada has a similar deal. Just a note that 30% of indie publishers do not have them and don’t see the need. You can get one later if you’re not sure and then change your mind.
Copyright – Every book you create has a copyright. You don’t have to do it legally but if you choose to you can do this through the USA and receive a certificate. It is voluntary and can also be done later. Copyright details – TITLE was published by AUTHOR Copyright ©
Accounts – You might like to use a separate bank account just for ease of checking how your business is doing. Subscriptions, conferences etc should be allocated to this account.
You don’t have to have set up a Limited Liability company, although Wendy and Trudi have done this. Cheryl is a Sole Trader.
PayPal is a great way to do online payments. Very safe and secure and easy to set up. You can pay people or accept payments easily without giving individuals your bank details. Can incur costs. There are other platforms that do the same job.
Pseudonyms – a non-de-plume or pen name. Trudi has a pen name as she has a lot of things online under her married name which are non-fiction, so she did this for separation purposes. She also made it short so her name placement on her covers is more visible. Shar also has other business interests under her real name and chooses to use a pen name. It is totally up to you, but could be handy if you write in multiple genres. Be aware that the more names you have the more work this will entail. You will want to create a brand around any name you choose.
The front and back matter in a book are one of the key factors to presenting a professional and quality product. If it doesn’t look professional, people may think that the book content will not be up to a good standard. So please take some time with this and check out other books in your genre.
Front matter can be subjective and it varies from author to author. It is ultimately what you prefer, but again look to other successful writers in your genre for ideas.
What you could/should use: Cover/Title/ Call to action – links for email newsletter sign up/facebook/website /copyright/disclaimer/ISBN/Dedication/Acknowledgements/Cover Artist (Graphic acknowledgments) /Contents page
Be wary of being too wordy and having too many pages in the front matter as this can skew the sample so that the reader will get too much front matter and not enough content.
Backmatter
Again this is subjective.
Thank you – for reading etc/Call to Action – Email sign up with FB and website links – as above/Reviews – Reviews help other readers find books. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative/Sneak Peek at next book
Excerpt – Don’t use first chapter as the reader may think they have already read the book
Book list – Can add links but only for that site eg amazon links are only for amazon (the book will not be accepted with any other sites links)
For ibooks etc – may be best to link to your page if you are not going direct as you can’t put other links into different sites.
Bio – About the Author – this is up to you and is not strictly necessary. You could also insert a picture. (building a connection)
Author EMS http://www.authorems.com/self-publishing/
Intro to US Copyright http://www.authorems.com/us-copyright/
