13 CommentsBlog

jlundberg posted a list of 10 rules that German publisher and author Michael Kruger came up with for Independent Publishing. I decided to come up with my own rules:

10 Rules of Independent Publishing
1. Only publish works you love
2. Do not expect to make a living publishing
3. Do as much as you can yourself (learn to do layout, cover design, book-keeping, inventory, royalties, taxes & contracts)
4. Ask for favors, help and volunteers, be grateful for any help you can get
5. Present as professional an appearance as possible despite a small budget
6. Cultivate satisfaction in a job well-done, there will be very little recognition or reward of your efforts
7. Remember that to love a work does not require you to love the author
8. Do not publish a work you don’t believe in for any reason (profit, convenience etc.)
9. Avoid becoming bogged down with queries and submissions
10. Never let them take you alive

I’ve definitely broken at least 4 of these rules, probably more.

13 comments

  4. shaun

    Rules are made to be broken, although since you actually do make a living publishing maybe these rules don’t apply to you. Maybe I should modify it to “Do not expect to get rich publishing.”

  6. shaun

    I’m glad you enjoyed them! I don’t know how much use they might be to others but I should probably tack these up on the wall to refer to periodically.

  7. oldcharliebrown

    I think most of the rules should apply to me, as on this level of publishing, it still works out to be true, as for any independent publisher. I might occasionally whore myself out to do projects that I know will pay for five full-time employees (and one intern!) but the majority of projects are those that I love and believe in.

  9. shaun

    I’m not sure what you mean but maybe I broke them at different times in different situations.

  10. shaun

    It’s so awesome that you’ve got 5 full-timers. Early on I had dreams of hiring help but those have since been smashed to little itsy bitsy pieces.

  13. shaun

    Yes, although sometimes it’s a real struggle to be professional while trying to juggle doing everything yourself!

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