Should I set up my own publishing "Imprint"?

Yes. It takes five minutes and it makes you look like a professional publishing house instead of a person with a laptop.

An imprint is just a business name under which you publish your books. Instead of your book's copyright page reading "Published by Jane Smith," it reads "Published by Silverwood Press" (or whatever name you choose). Instead of the ISBN listing "Jane Smith" as publisher, it lists your imprint.

Why this matters:

• Libraries and bookstores take imprints more seriously than individual names
• It looks professional on your copyright page and in metadata
• If you ever publish other authors, you already have the infrastructure
• It separates your personal identity from your business identity

How to set up an imprint:

1. Choose a name. Make it sound like a real publisher — not cute, not clever, just professional. Check that the name is not already in use by searching the Books In Print database and doing a basic Google search. 2. Register your ISBNs under the imprint name. When you buy ISBNs from Bowker, you register them under a publisher name. Use your imprint name here, not your personal name. 3. Create a simple logo. This goes on your copyright page and spine. It does not need to be fancy — a clean wordmark or simple icon is fine. 4. Set up a DBA (Doing Business As) if your state requires it. Some states require you to file a DBA to operate under a business name. This is typically $10-50 at your county clerk's office.

You do not need an LLC to have an imprint. You do not need a business bank account (though you should get one eventually). The imprint is a branding exercise, not a legal structure. It just makes everything about your publishing operation look more professional.

Imprint naming tips: Look at what real small publishers are called. They tend to use nature imagery (Riverhead, Forge, Tor), abstract concepts (Pantheon, Orbit), or location references (Penguin, Viking). Avoid anything too cute ("My Little Book Company") or too generic ("Smith Publishing"). The name should pass the "bookstore shelf test" — if someone saw it on the spine of a book in a store, would it look like a real publisher? Check that the .com domain is available or at least reasonably priced. You do not necessarily need a website for your imprint, but owning the domain prevents someone else from squatting on it later. One imprint or multiple? If you write in very different genres (romance and business books, for example), consider separate imprints for each. This prevents romance readers from seeing business titles under the same publisher name and getting confused about what you do. Most authors need only one imprint. Only create a second if you are genuinely publishing in incompatible genres.

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