Come aprire una casa editrice

Becoming a publisher

While it’s true that a publisher should, first and foremost, be a cultured, sensitive person with a love of good books and culture, who disdains editorial decisions that are purely commercial in nature, it’s important to recognize that a publishing house is also a business and can survive thanks to editorial decisions and a plan that ensure a balanced balance between revenue and expenditure, editorial planning and sales success, as well as visibility in the publishing market. It must also employ specific professionals to oversee the individual stages of producing a book, from selecting manuscripts and authors for publication, to editing and graphic design, to promoting the book at events, presentations, in print and online, and finally, to its placement in bookstores.

Today, the placement of a book on bookstore shelves is a sore point for many small publishers who claim to be totally “overwhelmed” by the large publishers who occupy the majority of bookstores (a phenomenon that has intensified even more with the birth and development of many bookshops franchised by large publishing brands).

According to the latest Report on the State of Publishing in Italy 2009 by the Research Office of AIE ( Italian Publishers Association ), there are 2,600 active publishing houses in Italy , and in 2008, over 10,000 were registered (both those that were active, i.e., those that published books in the census year, and those that were classified as businesses but had no published titles during the year). Furthermore, a total of 38,000 people are professionally employed in the publishing sector.

Why open a publishing house

Carefully evaluating all the various aspects and developing a proper marketing plan are essential steps before opening a publishing house . It’s important to remember that most newly established publishing houses close their doors within their first year.

Therefore some of the considerations to make are:

• Do I want to open a publishing house specializing in a single line of books or not?
  Do I want to offer a comprehensive catalog of various literary genres (poetry, fiction, nonfiction) or do I want to focus on certain sectors (e.g., local publishing, travel guides, textbooks, university publishing, children’s publishing, illustrated catalogs)?
• Will the publishing house also handle all stages of text editing?
  Does the editorial team (with proofreaders and copywriters who oversee the text), the graphics department (with graphic designers who handle layout and graphics), the marketing department (to handle all tasks related to promoting books in bookstores, organizing press conferences for various presentations, curating and staging events, and scheduling participation in publishing trade shows) provide all these services, or will I rely on external graphic design studios or freelance graphic designers for the graphics?
• Do I already have a solid background in the field?
  For example, have I attended specific training courses, gained experience within publishing houses or bookstores, or is this my experience in the field and am I simply driven by a passion for reading? Being driven solely by a passion for reading, even a strong one, isn’t enough to be able to manage a company that must deal (like all businesses) with many other aspects, including commercial, fiscal, technical, and bureaucratic ones.
• Am I alone in starting this new venture, or do I have partners I can work with?
  In this case, it’s best to choose trusted people whose skills, if possible, complement our own. This way, we can work together and professionally divide up the various tasks (thus avoiding having to hire other staff to perform tasks I’m not capable of doing).
• Have I analyzed the publishing market?
  That is, how many other publishing houses are present in the area where I intend to open my new publishing house? This assessment is important to understand whether I can also offer an exclusive service and offer niche products.
• Evaluate what services to offer.
  That is, in addition to publishing books for my publishing house’s editorial catalog, the publishing house’s Graphic Design Office or in-house editorial team could also oversee and develop projects for third parties (for example, for public bodies or for other graphic design offices or for editorial services that have excess workloads at certain times of the year).
• Conduct an in-depth analysis of the publishing market.
  For example, conduct a thoughtful analysis of the competition and evaluate the potential risks and opportunities of my new venture.

How a publishing house is structured

The internal organization of a publishing house varies greatly from case to case.

Small publishing houses have a small number of internal staff who are assigned various tasks, for example, the Editor and the Proofreader are the same person who can also liaise with the authors, manage book promotion and write press releases and take part in trade fairs in the sector.

In large publishing houses, however, there is a clearer distinction between the roles of the individual professionals who work within the publishing house and there is also a subdivision of the various offices assigned to carry out specific tasks.

Generally, the main business sectors that make up a publishing house are:

• General Management
• Editorial Secretariat
• Editorial staff (editors, copywriters, proofreaders)
• Graphic design office (illustrators, layout artists, graphic designers)
• Marketing Office
• Printer/Printer
• Warehouse

In the case of the Printer or Typography, publishing houses often rely on external printers for the printing of their books. In fact, they very often have a series of names and contact details of various printers that they use based on the estimates that are presented from time to time.

Today, thanks also to digital printing or book-on-demand printing (digital printing machines that produce a finished book from a previously graphically formatted and prepared text file, ie with the pages already cut, bound, and with the cover), it is possible to print even small quantities of book copies, thus avoiding or at least reducing the costs associated with storing unsold copies or copies awaiting shipment in the warehouse.

Another phenomenon that should be considered is that publishing houses are increasingly relying on a trusted and experienced network of external collaborators, or so-called freelancers, to carry out a whole series of tasks, including:

• editing
• proofreading
• reading and evaluating typescripts
• text layout

In other cases, the publishing house relies not only on freelance collaborators but also on editorial services and external graphic design offices to carry out some of the phases involved in producing the book.

Publisher’s tax and legislative procedures

To open a publishing house, there are various tax procedures to be completed, including some fundamental operations to be carried out:

• Open a VAT number and go to the Revenue Agency, where you can also collect your tax code.
• starting from September 2, 2006, it is no longer mandatory to go to the Prefecture and register in the Register of Publishers and Printers;
• Go to the Chamber of Commerce and notify the opening of the new business by paying a registration fee.

It’s advisable to consult a trusted accountant to ensure you’re meeting all legal requirements and carrying out the various operations correctly. You should also be thoroughly informed about any new tax regulations and updates when you plan to open your publishing house, as some regulations may change over time.

To publish a book, you must apply for an ISBN (International Standard Book) code before it can be released for sale. The ISBN is a code that internationally identifies a book title or an edition of a title by an author. Once it has been used for a specific book, it cannot be reused, even if the book is out of print, for example. (The ISBN website provides detailed information on requesting an ISBN.)

The ISBN code is made up of ten digits, divided into four groups: the first group identifies the nation or geographic or linguistic group (for Italy it is number 88); the second group identifies the publisher; the third group indicates the work and the edition; the fourth group is a control number.

Learn more about publishing houses

Websites

• AIE:
  The Italian Publishers Association’s website offers information on training and refresher courses for publishing professionals, industry events and trade fairs, and a wealth of publishing news. The AIE periodically organizes the “How to Become a Publisher” course. For more information, please email your details to formation@aie.it.
• ISBN
  Website where you can find practical information on how to request an ISBN code.

Books

Achille Ormezzano, The Publisher’s Code , Bibliographic Publishing House