Part 7: Business, Income, & Taxes

The Definitive Guide To Self Publishing

A Hard Day’s Night

Time to roll up those sleeves because you’re startin’ a business! At least, I hope you are!

As a writer myself, opening and operating a business is the last thing on the planet I want to do, but it’s a necessary evil. If you were traditionally published, all the big wigs would take care of most of this for you, but they would also be taking most of your money. The uncertainty of filing for your own company is scary (believe me, I know), but I will do my absolute best to get you to the ribbon cutting no matter what state you live in.

Why I Recommend Starting An LLC

Believe it or not my name isn’t actually Sodak Publishing—it’s Chris Berke (heh)—and I think the best decision you can make as a self-publisher is to make your own LLC. There are many reasons

  1. Separate your home and work life
  2. If you get sued for copyright (Which you won’t because you read Part X!) they will only take your business assets and not your home.

*To be clear, if you are just publishing one book to sell or hand out to friends/family, then don’t worry about any of this. Go ahead and take that cash and enjoy a treat!

*Note: This is a living guide, which means I will consistently make updates and improvements as new technology and resources become available!