Author: Azhden Belle
Date:   11-16-09 12:57

I have a few legal questions that have been bothering me, for some time. First, lets start off by stating the fact that I have three manuscripts finished, polished, and ready to be picked up by a publisher. I have been waiting for some time to acquire the funds to self-publish and promote my books. Now that I actually have the money to pay for it, I was wondering what are the legal procedures that I'm going to have to go through, in order to legally sell?

Am I going to need to get a D.B.A. (Doing Business As...)?

Am I going to need a Small Business License?

Am I going to need to get an E.I.N. (Employee Identification Number...)? I know that small businesses need this in order to pay their employees.

In short, I was just wondering what licenses and stuff that I need to get, before I can sell my books? Any information that you can provide will be extremely useful.

Thank you so much for your time and information.

Azhden Belle

Author: Gary Kessler
Date:   11-16-09 13:10

You don't need to get any licenses to self-publish. If you want to try to take the expenses as a business expense, though, you'll have to make your writing into a business, which does entail license expenses. But I'd only do this (which I have) if there was going to be significant enough income to put the tax writeoff into the black.

Author: Azhden Belle
Date:   11-16-09 13:14

Okay thanks.

Azhden Belle

Author: Cathy C
Date:   11-16-09 14:57

What Gary said, but depending on your state, you MAY need to have a sales tax license. Quite a few states require that the sale of any product to the public (such as back of room sales at book signings or in a booth or consignment at a bookstore) must have sales tax paid to the state. You might need a franchise tax license and/or sales tax license. Check with your state treasurer/comptroller to see what might be required in your area.

Author: Gary Kessler
Date:   11-16-09 15:11

Oh, I agree with Cathy on that. (My state does require the sales tax declarations--although almost everyone I know of selling self-published books here just punt on that and it's too small potatoes for the state to go after.) That was one reason I lumped all of the writing aspects under my existing editorial business coverage. I just let the accountant worry about it all.

Author: Joe Zeff
Date:   11-16-09 15:40

I have a humor book in print via Xlibris. Back when I lived in the City of Los Angeles, I used to receive letters from them every year telling me I needed a business license. Once, I mentioned this to my friend, Jerry Pournelle. He told me that every working writer in the city, including him, got those letters and not one of them had bothered to get the license. The only reason the letters were sent out was that the city wanted another cut of our money and was hoping we'd be fooled into giving it to them. His advice was to ignore the letters like everybody else does because the city not only doesn't do anything about it if you don't get the license, they can't.

Author: Anthony Ravenscroft
Date:   11-17-09 23:05

You rarely need to be licensed as a small business; check your local zoning & codes. Most places I've had a home-based business, they were concerned about issues like parking spaces & fire safety. If you don't have a dozen people a day coming to your door & don't keep a huge inventory, I doubt it'd matter.

You're not "being published" -- you're having it printed. Don't confuse the two.

The best reason to register a business name (DBA) is to get a bank account not in your name. But if you do business in your own legal name, & declare your profits in your regular federal & state forms, there's no good reason to undergo the expense & hassle.

If you actually manage to sell more than a dozen books a month on a regular basis, you should probably get a state sales tax number. Some places will not allow you to sell your books in person unless you can give them a tax ID number, else they might be held liable for sales tax collection.

But, really, you should be marketing your book before you've got it in-hand. Have you gotten your press releases typed & edited? How long is your media list? What places are you hoping to make public appearances in the first few months?

Author: Gary Kessler
Date:   11-17-09 23:19

That suggestion of checking local regulations is important. I have to have a business license to have a declared home-based business in my locality. (And, with a home-based business, the tax writeoff for the portion of the home/utilities used for business is much more of a benefit that having a separate bank account not in your name is.)

Author: L C
Date:   11-18-09 07:54

<< I have a humor book in print via Xlibris. Back when I lived in the City of Los Angeles, I used to receive letters from them every year telling me I needed a business license. >>

How did the City of Los Angeles know about it?

Author: Joe Zeff
Date:   11-18-09 15:07

Damned if I know. Maybe they got the info from the state?

Author: Zeahgan Nathaniel
Date:   11-28-09 01:36

Okay, so if all of this is for someone who is self-publishing... and the correct way of thinking is, "Having it printed," rather than, "Being published," then what if you are actually published by a major publishing corporation? Will you need those licenses, then?

Zeahgan Nathaniel.

Author: Anthony Ravenscroft
Date:   11-28-09 02:17

Ooops. Yah, what Gary said -- if you've got space dedicated to your writing (& related work), you should qualify for a nice deduction.

If you get picked up by a publisher, major or otherwise, you don't need any sort of licensure. You declare the income to tax authorities, on standard forms. When this income starts becoming more than you'd expect from a garage sale (hobby income, basically), you should engage a professional accountant to walk you through your tax liabilities.

Author: Zeahgan Nathaniel
Date:   11-28-09 23:43

okay thanks!