MIF is a publishing house of business literature. Book business from scratch: revival and a new round of publishing

The publishing business is considered one of the most complex and unpredictable. It is practically impossible to predict its commercial success in advance, which is why the chance of obtaining a loan for opening such a business is zero. If you are ready to start in this direction, you should rely only on your own strength and self-financing. There are simply no other options. We bring to your attention a publishing house business plan with calculations, using which as an example, you can start your business with the least risk.

Market analysis

According to analysts, the situation in the publishing market of the last ten years can be called a stable and prolonged crisis. And this applies to all areas in this area. It is quite obvious that the times when the printed press and paper books occupied a key role in society ended in the late 2000s and early 2010s, when the Internet finally turned from an expensive toy into a communication as familiar to every home as electricity or water pipes. As a result, e-books and audio books are replacing traditional ones, and online media are winning the reader contest over newspapers. This is a normal situation. If you plan to enter this market in 2017, do not complain about the 21st century. Get ready to fight for your place in the sun.

Before starting this business, you need to answer yourself a few questions:

First, in what direction to work. There are several types of publishing houses, each of which can also be divided into several more:

Fiction. It can be divided into adult and children's, universal and specialized genres (fantasy, intellectual literature, poetry, comics, etc.).
Specialized literature (scientific, state standards).
Periodicals (newspapers, magazines).
Entertainment publications (calendars, crossword puzzles, anecdotes, recipes).

Secondly, how exactly will you earn. In the publishing business, this problem is far from unambiguous and depends on the direction of activity. The most common option is advertising. Periodicals provide themselves in this way. The second option is the sale of printed materials. The third is publishing at the expense of the authors (this is how the book publishing of fiction and scientific literature partially works). The fourth option is to work at the expense of sponsor money. As a rule, these are highly specialized publications that are supported by businesses in this field or interested individuals. And the fifth way is sponsoring a print project with revenue from third-party commercial products. At the same time, a printed publication can perform an advertising and informational function for users of a commercial product.

Work format

We will specialize in the release of fiction of one genre - science fiction and fantasy. The choice is due to several factors:

High demand for novels in this genre among the reading public (according to statistics, second place after detective stories).
The interest of the creator himself in this direction and the presence of authors who are ready for cooperation in the future.
Highly specialized projects that do not publish everything in a row, like large publishing houses, but focus on a certain market segment, enjoy the greatest prospects today.

We will work only in the format of a publishing house. Starting your own printing house requires large investments that the entrepreneur does not have. In this case, the release of books can be arranged in cooperation with a third-party printing house.

The release of books at the first stage will be carried out at the expense of the authors themselves. Collections of science fiction and fantasy stories and individual novels will be published. We will sell published books via the Internet (to do this, you need to create your own website and launch groups in all social networks). In the future, when the project starts to make a profit, the money will be invested in the promotion of the most promising authors.

Business registration

For work, the IP format is selected. The taxation system adopts the USN 6%.

OKVED codes are selected:

58.1 "Publishing of books, periodicals and other publishing activities."
46.49.31 "Wholesale trade in books".
47.61 "Retail sale of books".

Special permits and licenses for publishing activities are not required.

According to the requirements of Law No. 54-FZ, all individual entrepreneurs and legal entities (with the exception of certain categories specified in the law) are required to use a cash register. The publishing house is no exception. Receipt of money for publication from authors and buyers of books will be carried out remotely, so it is planned to open a current account and install an online cash desk that meets the requirements of the law.

Room selection

The working conditions of the business are such that at the first stage it is possible to do without the organization of a publishing office. The fact is that the work of the company can be adjusted remotely. All employees can work directly from home and even be located in different cities of Russia. As the business develops, it is worth renting a small office for the image, in which we will receive authors and communicate with them.

The calculation in this business plan is made without taking into account the cost of the premises. Special equipment is also not purchased, a personal computer is enough.

Recruitment

The backbone of any publishing business is the editor-in-chief. At the first stage, this function will be performed by the business owner himself. The requirements for this position are as follows:

A broad outlook, acquaintance with current writers in the chosen field.
Deep knowledge of the literary process in his genre, constant and daily acquaintance with novelties.
Understanding the trends of the publishing market, a flair for a book that can "shoot". Tellingly, the book of a talented author, best in style, does not always “shoot out”, more often these qualities crowd out memorable characters and a fascinating plot.

The main task of the editor-in-chief is to bring the texts for publication to the ideal together with the authors. In addition, the editor-in-chief will be responsible for interaction with the printing house and organizing sales markets. At the first stage, these functions can be combined, but with the growth of the business and the increase in the number of authors, it is worth separating the functions of the owner of the publishing house from the editor-in-chief.

In addition to the editor-in-chief, several editors are required who will deal with the primary selection of manuscripts and direct work with authors.

You will also need an employee to support the business on the Internet and perform routine tasks: maintaining social networks, parsing email and distributing incoming manuscripts among editors, posting books as goods on the site and on social networks for sale.

We need a proofreader who will proofread the finished texts before sending them to the printing house. It is good if the proofreader has layout skills to create a book layout. If you pay a layout designer from a printing house for this service, this will negatively affect the profitability of the business.

Consider the personnel costs in the table:

Choice of typography

Partnership with a printing house is a key position for the work of a start-up publishing house. It is important to find a partner based on several important factors:

The cost of publishing.
Availability of reliable channels for the supply of finished products if the printing house is located in another region (preferably no further than 1 thousand km, otherwise the cost of delivery will eat up all the benefits of cooperation).
The presence of a full-time designer who will design book covers. If he is not there or he does not specialize in the genre direction you have chosen, you can involve your employee in the work. Moreover, on thematic publics on the Internet, you can find talented young artists who draw in the styles of fantasy, science fiction, cyberpunk and others.

Choosing a printing house should be balancing between price and quality of work. The better the paper and page design, the more professional the illustrations, the higher the final cost of the product.

The cost of publishing one book unit of a standard format can range from 50 to 250 rubles. Moreover, the larger the circulation, the lower the cost of each unit. On average, preparing a print run of 1,000 copies will cost from 50,000 to 200,000 rubles.

Author search

This problem of the publishing house should be approached strictly individually. If the editor-in-chief is personally acquainted with a famous writer, he can intercept cooperation with him from a major publishing house. However, you need to understand that a well-known author will require a fee no lower than that of market leaders. His book will be easier to sell to bookstores, and such cooperation will create some advertising for your publisher. Young and promising authors will come to you more willingly.

If you fail to attract a well-known author, you can go the other way - to publish works by unknown authors. It is risky to invest on your own even in a promising novel, a smaller risk is to publish at the expense of the authors themselves. But there will be a minus - often an extremely low artistic level. This carries certain reputational risks.

Publics in social networks dedicated to science fiction and fantasy.
Livejournal and other platforms in the blogosphere.
Subject sites and forums.
Conferences, literary awards in this genre (in addition to venerable writers, novice authors often appear here, hoping to transfer their manuscript to a publisher).
Organization of literary competitions and awards under its own auspices.

It is important to understand that a good author is a gold nugget that dozens of publishers are hunting for. And it is also important to understand that, even if you find it, it is far from a fact that it will be possible to keep it. The first commercial success will draw attention to the author from major publishers who will do everything to poach him from you. And there are many examples of success in this endeavor.

Advertising and marketing

Large publishing houses actively advertise both on the Internet and beyond. Huge amounts of money are invested in marketing. Moreover, advertising goes in two directions: advertising of the publishing house itself (mostly image-building, creates the status of a market leader and makes it easier to attract strong authors) and advertising of authors (it can be fully funded by the publishing house or co-financed with the writer himself). An author's advertisement is automatically an advertisement for his books, which are published by you and will be sold.

It is almost impossible to sell books by little-known authors to offline bookstores. The maximum that is possible is to agree on cooperation with online book hypermarkets such as Ozon.ru, Labyrinth and others.

In addition, the following promotion strategy is selected:

Creating your own website and publics in social networks with the ability to post book products.
Active promotion in social networks, on forums and in other areas of "hangouts". Your potential readers may include teenagers who prefer horror, steampunk, cyberpunk, action fantasy and other sub-genres, and people in their 25-40s whose literary tastes were formed by Stephen King, Tolkien or Roger Zelazny. There are a lot of small segments in the chosen direction, the tastes of readers are very different, and it is important to feel these nuances subtly and work for certain target audiences. Otherwise, success will not be achieved.
In social networks and blogs, the publisher/editor-in-chief gradually forms the status of a connoisseur of literature and a professional in his field. This makes it easier to work with potential authors and increases their willingness to pay for publications.

This approach takes a very long time (sometimes a year or more), but the output is almost free. Therefore, if you do not have the budget to launch a full-scale publishing house, attracting well-known authors, this path will be optimal for you.

It is important to get feedback and reviews of well-known literary critics on the works published by the publishing house, they will attract the attention of a wider readership to you.

Financial plan

It is practically impossible to calculate the profitability of a publishing house in advance. This business is unpredictable and unpredictable. A perfect "dark horse" can become a bestseller, and a novel by a famous writer can turn into a real fiasco. This problem cannot be avoided even by large publishing houses.

Therefore, we will calculate the cost of publishing one literary collection of stories at the expense of the authors.

The collection is published in a circulation of 500 copies on 300 pages. The average cost of publishing one page is 1,000 rubles (ranging from 750 to 1,500 rubles, depending on the number of pages). Each author receives an author's copy as a gift. The proceeds received from the authors will amount to 300 thousand rubles.

Approximately 100 copies out of 500 will be sent to the authors as author's collections. Another 50 will be given to the jury of awards, literary critics, and distributed as prizes.

The remaining 350 copies, theoretically, can be sold at a price of 250 rubles per copy and bring another 87,500 rubles.

Thus, a publisher can earn about 220-230 thousand rubles on one collection. But in practice, the publication of one collection can take about 3 months - to find authors and the necessary work. Therefore, the yield is not as high as it seems at first glance.

The profitability expressed in figures can be high, and the payback is very fast due to the relatively small starting and monthly costs, but these indicators are not key here.

prospects

Business prospects - a gradual transition from publishing at the expense of authors to making money on the sale of books and paying royalties to deserving authors. But this will take a lot of time: at least several years to build a reputation, build personal relationships with current writers and “grow” bright and original writers from novice authors.

Publishing is a business in which the intangible result should play no less important role for the creator than money. Otherwise, it's better to do something else.

Risks

The key business risk is the unstable situation in the printed matter sales market. Therefore, in the future, one should focus on the diversification of production: conducting commercial special projects, organizing awards and competitions, launching thematic online magazines with earnings on advertising publications, and creating electronic and audio books.

In second place in terms of importance is the general decline in people's interest in reading. The risk looks somewhat exaggerated, however, it is offset by work in a narrow market segment with steady demand - science fiction and fantasy, in which interest remains both among the younger generation and older people.

In third place are the possible reputational risks arising from publication at the expense of the authors. To destroy this risk, it is planned to carry out strong editorial work, so as not to turn collections into "trash" of unreadable texts. We work especially closely with the best authors, because in the future it is they who can become the backbone of your publishing house, one of the leaders in the selected segment.

In fourth place are financial risks. The terms of collecting texts for collections or searching for authors for individual publications can be delayed for a long time. First, it is fraught with negative consequences for the entrepreneur himself. Secondly, violation of the deadlines for the release of the collection will have a negative impact on your business reputation.

Eventually

The publishing business is the most complicated direction, which is designed more for a special entrepreneur than for a wide circle. It is important to know the literature, the ability to understand the market and predict its trends. Otherwise, the result will not satisfy you. When thinking about whether to engage in book publishing, take the advice of Steve Jobs: answer yourself the question, would you be engaged in the chosen business if it was the last day of your life? If the answer is yes, then this is your path. And whether it will be successful will not be shown by the forecast and business plan, but by your work.

Today, the publishing business is one of the most popular in the Russian Federation. Now there are about 16 thousand of them! This figure is primarily due to the low cost of entering this market, but it is very difficult to stay here. In addition, the success and profitability of a particular publishing house is difficult, and sometimes simply impossible to calculate.

This market is open due to its specifics. Judge for yourself, because food consumption is a limited phenomenon. More than one or another consumer will not be able to physically consume. That is why the dilemma inevitably arises to buy a product of this manufacturer or give preference to its competitor? The book business is different. A man can have as many books as he needs! If the consumer acquires the book, then does not do any damage to the other.

Before launching a project, you must first find your specialization and choose the direction of the literature that you will publish. In addition, think about your target audience, how you will convey the finished product to potential consumers. If you think everything through to the smallest detail, then the chances of success are great: our country is large and any useful and good book has more than a million potential readers.

Investments

The low entry price to the market is exactly what will play into the hands of any novice businessman. Attracting large investments for one or two books is not required. If we calculate the cost of publishing one book with a circulation of 10 thousand, then the result will be about $ 1. Accordingly, you will need to invest from 5 to 10 thousand dollars.

You will have to rely solely on your own strength! This is because you will not be able to get a loan or help from any bank. This is due to the exceptionally high risk of the business. The author may not submit the work on time, and the book may not be in demand at all. Such force majeure situations in this market are the most common occurrence, so you will first need to prepare for this!

In this case, the following options for financing projects are observed:

First option: attraction of private investors. Considering that you do not need a large amount of money, many people willingly invest in publishing a book. Someone does it for the sake of their status, someone for the sake of the soul, but many still count on a good profit. The main thing is to correctly present the next project (of a particular book).

Second option: small publishing companies quite often turn to their "big brothers". “Kids” come to reputable publishers with a good idea, and if it is of interest, then funding is provided. This practice is quite common in Russia.

Specialization

Novice businessmen should not even aim at the universality of their publishing house. To do this, at least a fairly large staff is required. If, nevertheless, you want to become a generalist in your field, then it will be necessary to divide the publishing house into several editions of various specializations.

In addition to personnel issues, such publishing houses will have to solve a large number of different problems: working with several printing houses, large volumes of various books, branching out in a network of distributors.

Advice: if you are just starting out, then you just need to first of all choose a specific niche in which you are at least slightly versed. Just do not choose fiction - this genre is not suitable for starting a small publishing house.

What is in demand today?

Several areas can be listed:

Cookbooks.
Floriculture.
Homestead farming.
Esoterics.
Psychology.

If we consider the statistics for Russia, the following facts should be noted:

20% of the total sales is occupied by action books and educational, applied literature.
15% - children's, teen and fiction.
8% - modern prose, science fiction, fantasy, as well as business literature.

Of course, from such calculations, one can safely conclude that fiction is a real chance for a newly minted publishing house. However, you will have a lot of competitors! Moreover, large publishing houses will simply “crush” you. It is best to occupy a narrower niche.

Examples: "Rosman" - focused exclusively on children; Armada is fantasy, BBPG is scribes about everything related to wine.

If you follow this example, then there is a high probability that you will achieve success after the second edition.

Publishing business from scratch and selection of authors

This is the hardest part of the publishing business, and the hardships are only doubled for those just starting out in the business. This is because the “sharks of the pen” that have already taken place will definitely refuse to work with a newcomer, since large publishing houses can offer attractive conditions for cooperation.

Example: the annual budget for promoting individual authors can be as high as $100,000! At the same time, the likelihood that the publisher will be able to safely enter the market with a newcomer is very small. Of course, no one canceled the nuggets, which have not yet been noticed. A striking example: the Zakharov publishing house believed in a young, then still unknown author, Boris Akunin, who is known to many today!

A successful tandem is the key to success

Remember that you can become known thanks to the author! How the publishing house "Sofia" became recognizable because of its author Paolo Coelho. However, there are few such examples. It is simply impossible to calculate this factor. Even a young publishing house can receive up to thousands of manuscripts, of which only a fifth can be recommended for publishing. That's just from this number of authors of 2-4 thousand copies, no more than 20 will be sold and only one or two authors will create real bestsellers.

Required personnel

The formation of your state should begin with the search for good editors . If in the product path the most important thing is the director of product sales, then in the publishing house absolutely everything rests on the editors! It is they who select the manuscripts that will eventually be published.

It is these specialists who should imagine who will be able to read this or that “masterpiece”, how to correctly convey information about the book to the reader. The cover must match, affordable price, choose the right channel for sales.

Product Sales Director is the second most important person. Since there are situations when a book becomes a bestseller in a stall at a bus stop, but is not sold at all in large stores!

Very large companies have over 500 employees, but you don't need that many people to be a good publisher! Here's an example for you:

"Mann, Ivanov and Ferber" - This publisher works without any staff at all. The three founders of the company are exclusively involved in the process of creating a book at the level of merchandising and the overall concept. Everything else is done by contractors!

Distribution

Large funds, as we mentioned earlier, a businessman will not need to open a publishing house. Production does not take much time: it takes about 4 months from the approval of the author's manuscript to the release of the book for sale. However, this is only part of the job!

An important problem is the lack of an effective marketing system. In Russia, it is rather difficult to convey a book to a potential reader: the country is very large, and there are quite a few shops. Any wholesale companies and distributors that distribute finished book products from Moscow to other regions focus exclusively on large publishing houses and large volumes.

So if your book doesn't have a popular author's name on it in the first few years of development, or if there's no proof that you actually have a bestseller on your hands, the distributor won't want to work with newcomers to the publishing business. However, even if the wholesaler agrees to sell your product, this does not guarantee you high levels of sales. Since the book can simply be lost on the edge of the far shelf.

Optimal output:

It's worth it to promote your products yourself! No one will do it better than you. So you should take matters into your own hands:

Establish contacts with retailers.
Negotiate product support.
Run an advertising campaign.
Convince the store that your book should take advantage of the window display!

And this is not a complete list of your obligations! Moreover, your efforts will not cost you much, and they will certainly bear fruit.

Important point: you should count on all stores in the capital and regions! Gathering all your strength and distributing the book exclusively to well-known bookstores in the center is not worth it. Since, according to statistics, they sell bestsellers only in accordance with 1-2%, and ordinary ones are completely sold in single copies.

Publishing business from scratch and entrepreneurial risk

For example:

The publishing house was able to make a name for itself on one of the authors. On the one hand, this is very good - there is no need to spray on several authors, the public is already responding to his name, etc. But there is a downside - now your success and reputation will depend on his "pen". In addition, not every author can issue (or rather, almost no one) one masterpiece after another. Sooner or later, any author's sales decline as a more interesting writer enters the market.

If in such a situation the publishing house cannot diversify, then 100% will remain with nothing. This is a fairly typical situation for those who are engaged in publishing.

Another option:

You may start to disagree with the authors! For example, a writer will demand higher bonuses and conditions for work, or he will want to experiment! Such turns may not suit you. In addition, the author can be lured by competitors.

Legislation will not be on your side, since in this matter everyone will be on the side of the author. You will not be able to conclude a contract for poor books. So you can't keep writers near you. Moreover, a small publishing house will not be able to offer a high fee, unlike major players in the book market.

In addition, when starting such a business, you should remember two important points:

Firstly, the success of books cannot be calculated. It often happens that a book fits all the canons and simply has to become a bestseller, especially since the author is well-known and the plot is interesting. There are no sales! Any marketing technology in the book market guarantees only 20% of success, the remaining 80% depends on how much the reader likes the book.
Secondly, you will not have a chance to sell your business! This is because there are no assets in the publishing business that would be of interest to investors. Nobody needs unsold goods that will gather dust in the warehouse! Everyone is interested only in the authors.

Compare all kinds of risks and think about whether you want to get involved in such a “paper adventure” or not? Remember that with good hands, you can provide yourself with not just a comfortable life, but live in peace in a mansion on the seashore!

Encyclopedic reference: a publishing house is an enterprise (often a full cycle) engaged in the production of printed materials: from preparation to release.

Are you thinking about how to open your own publishing house and start publishing newspapers, magazines or books? The information in this article may be helpful.

Step by step to the final printed product

Step one: choose a specialization

The choice of specialization directly depends on the experience. Thus, a universal publishing house is a luxury that large companies, the “sharks” of the publishing business, can afford. It is safer for beginners to choose their own niche: books, magazines, newspapers. If books, then not “fiction in general” (not recommended for starting because of the difficulties of miscalculating the market), but cooking, esotericism, science fiction, children's literature, etc.

Important: despite the abundance of printed materials, the system for its implementation is poorly developed. It is especially difficult to market books. Conclusion: consider the possibility of selling products by the publisher.

Step two: we select personnel

The personnel issue is the main one in the publishing house, requiring a solution in two areas: the choice of the author (authors) and the selection of personnel.

The authors are the main opportunity to achieve success and the main risk factor at the same time. Working with a new author is like a lottery: a book will either "go" or not. At the same time, an eminent author is unlikely to agree to work with a start-up publishing house. Only for a good fee.

The brain of the publishing house is the editor. The quality of products and their attractiveness in the eyes of the audience depend on his ideas and professionalism. It is also important to take care of a specialist who will deal with sales. The publishing house also needs many other specialists: from typesetters and proofreaders to printers and cutters.

Important: any publishing is a production associated with stress. The end result is affected by the need to urgently respond to news, deadlines, deadlines and other factors. Conclusion: we need a team that can work in a stressful situation.

Is it possible to do without a team? Can. We need contractors who are easy to find on the market.

Step three: form the material base

The choice of material base depends on what scheme you decide to work on: produce from A to Z on your own or use contractors. In the latter case, apart from a properly equipped editor's office, nothing is needed: the preparation of materials, prepress and printing will be performed by subcontractors.

If you started a full-cycle enterprise, you will need:

Equipped rooms for staff and meetings with authors;

Computers for prepress: from typing to layout;

Printing equipment;

Post-printing devices: cutters and sheet collators, booklet makers, bookbinding and other equipment.

Important: the growth of production volumes is inevitably associated with the expansion of the material base. Conclusion: you need mating equipment, as well as machines with a margin of productivity.

Where to get money?

It is difficult to accurately answer the question of how much it costs to open a publishing house. For example, in 2010, investments in the publishing house of one book, according to experts, amounted to 5-10 thousand dollars. This amount changes every year, and not only because of inflation: to estimate the amount of investments, you need to conduct your own research.

Due to the high riskiness, banks do not issue loans secured by the publishing business. Three funding options:

Own funds;

A loan secured by property or another business;

Investments.

Keep in mind that at the initial stage, investors in your project may be more interested in the image side: the publisher is prestigious. The question of profit can be raised only after several successfully implemented projects.

There is an alternative way - to find a larger publishing house, use its material base (printing and post-printing equipment) and your own idea (texts, materials).

Underwater rocks

Book publishing is considered a high-risk business. From the beginning of the production of the book to the release of the circulation, a certain time passes. During this period, reader tastes may change. In addition, the publishing house is heavily dependent on authors and staff. If texts or other materials are not ready on time, the publisher loses valuable time and attention of the volatile reader.

The main risk isinability to calculate demand - Valid for both books and magazines.

Summing up

There is no unequivocal answer to the question of whether the publishing house is profitable. With the right organization of work, accurate calculation and the presence of a certain publishing instinct, outstanding success can be achieved. Book publishing has more potential in terms of profit, but it is also more risky. It is easier and safer to focus on the release of magazines and newspapers, but in this case, experts recommend paying special attention to finding your own niche or unique “chip”.

Once our country was the most reading in the world. The reform of education and the wholesale occupation of commercial activities led to the fact that at first people simply did not have enough time to read, then interest in literature faded by itself, and the publishing business ceased to be so popular from scratch. Indeed, life was so hectic not so long ago that a person barely had enough strength to eat a semi-finished product and fall into bed.

Today there is an opposite trend. For what reasons is unknown. But every year the number of people who are happy to buy and read books is growing. And real, paper, not newfangled electronic devices. It is this trend that makes it possible for passionate people to start a book business from scratch today.

What you need to know if you want to open a bookstore

The bookstore has nothing to do with various outlets. It should be noted that books cannot be attributed to such essential items as food or clothing. Based on this, before starting a book business from scratch, you need to analyze all the pros and cons and develop a clear business policy.

Key points to consider when opening a store:

1. The most important condition is the location of the store. If it is possible right in a residential building, then you should try to choose a place for a bookstore. The place should be passable and be in plain sight so that not only regulars, but also casual buyers can enter there. Such places include train stations, airports, subways or places located in the city center. It is not necessary to buy or rent large areas. You can just pick up an interesting assortment of literature.

2. The second most important condition is the assortment. How to understand which books are worth selling, and which of the proposed literature will be in demand. To do this, it is important to thoroughly study the market, to understand what different segments of the population are interested in. It is best to adhere to the golden rule: to have on sale classics, detective stories, and numerous fantasy and mystic books so beloved by young people.

3. The issue of purchasing literature for some reason never arises. When the owner begins to search for and purchase the necessary books, he encounters difficulties in the form of rather high prices. It is most profitable to buy books for your store directly from publishers. Moreover, depending on the publisher, the cost can vary significantly. In addition, transport costs affect the cost, so it is also better to think over the issue of delivery in advance.

4. Various types of services and sale of related products will help to get additional profit and attract new customers. As a service, you can offer the acceptance of used books on a commission, as well as their subsequent sale with a minimum margin. Many small shops, in fact, with these incomes and exist. And for many years. In addition, in the store you can put a copier, install a booklet maker. As for the sale of related products, it all depends on your imagination. You can sell anything: puzzles, calendars, board and educational games for children.

5. If you decide to take a more thorough approach to opening a store and plan to occupy a large room for it, you should think about holding themed parties, children's parties and presentations of books by various writers.

In principle, starting a book business from scratch is not so difficult. But it is in this case that it is necessary to have some start-up capital (for example, to purchase books or rent a room). The benefit of opening such a store is that with small margins, you get a stable flow of customers. I would also like to note that bookstores, once opened, rarely close!

How to start your own publishing house

For many, the concept of a publishing house is associated with a printing house, that is, a place where various newspapers, magazines and letterheads are printed. In fact, the printing house is one of the divisions of the publishing house. If earlier only wealthy people could afford to open a publishing house, today everything is much simpler. So, what is important to know in order to start a publishing business from scratch:

1. Since the publishing business primarily involves working with authors, you should look for new authors or venerable writers of interest. As for promoted authors, only the most profitable fees can interest them. Working with new authors, even not very well-known ones, is often fraught with the fact that it is impossible to plan the profit from sales.

2. What to look for when choosing an author? Of course, to reach the audience. The wider the potential circle of buyers, the higher the profit. That is why the shelves of stores today are full of a certain kind of literature that is bought to be read once and put on the shelf.

3. Working with authors is not only about signing contracts. Very often, publishers acquire the rights to a particular work, which are then resold to larger publishers. In addition, works submitted to the publishing house must be proofread and edited. This will make it possible to filter out the weakest works of applicants. That is why it is immediately necessary to get a good editor on the staff.

4. Very often, among novice writers, there are really promising authors. You can keep them only by signing an exclusive contract. If the writer is very good, it is worth trying to conclude a contract for several works at once in the future.

5. Very often, people who organize a publishing business from scratch try to cover everything at once: think over the concept of a publishing house, rent a printing house, equip an office. In fact, at the beginning of the publishing business, you will not need your own printing house, this will only entail extra costs. The most important thing is to focus on attracting authors to cooperate.

In addition, I would like to note that you can publish not only books. It is quite possible and necessary to start a publishing business from scratch by publishing various magazines. This includes both popular science publications and a variety of entertainment magazines. You need to start your business in the field of publishing, having a fairly serious capital, which will allow you to rent the necessary space at first, as well as pay fees to authors and employees.

In order for your investment to pay off handsomely, even before starting a book business, it is important to clearly form a concept that you will adhere to. For example, the main activity can be the production of children's literature or textbooks for the school, additional activities - the production of popular science literature. Clear prioritization will help you avoid unnecessary costs.