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- Find a great book to start your press with, either through someone you know or an open submissions process (see newly-formed Repeater Books as a good example). Anthologies often work well as a first book. Edit it in MS Word and make sure all contributors are happy with the alterations.
- Download a crack of Adobe Indesign and Photoshop (or pay, if you want to).
- Learn which format you want your book to be in. Basic guides are "B (standard novel size), "Demy" (slightly oversized), "A5" (a bit square) and "Crown Quarto" (big bastard) are the standard sizes.
- Choose bookwove cream 80gsm. There's no need to print text on anything else. It's darker and sexier than white, so text reads better off the page.
- Register your books for ISBN with Nielsen. This is the unique identifier that means libraries and bookshops can catalogue your books. Once your book has an ISBN it will automatically appear on online retail sites.
- For most books, set your Indesign file margins as 20mm on the inside and 16mm on the outside. This means the text won't tuck into the spine in the middle of the book. Set the dimensions as per your book size and off you go.
- Find a printer. There are many short run, digital printers—from Berforts to Short Run Press to Bell & Bain—who will help you. Or you can find a cooperative printer like Footprint. Once you have decided who gives you the best price, ask them for a spine width calculation—then design the cover with this in mind. Most short run printers will give you 30 to 60 days to pay your bill after the delivery of your books, this gives you time to sell them before paying the invoice.
- Send two files off—a pdf of the text and a jpeg of the cover—to the printers. They will send back unbound proofs so you can see what the book will look like and spot any mistakes to correct before doing the print run.
- Do some "branding"—e.g., design a logo.
- Ask other small and independent publishers for advice. Most of them are more than willing to offer pointers and help you.
- Set up a website with a payment gateway plugin such as PayPal or Big Cartel. Set up a twitter account. Tell people about the book and get them to order it.
- Once the book is back, take it to bookshops with an "Advance Information Sheet" (A4 paper with book cover, synopsis, details on the author, key selling points, and contact details). Convince the bookshop to stock it on sale or return. Bookshops such as Housmans, Freedom, and Bookmarks stock a truly wide range of radical literature, so approach them first. Also take it to your local shops. See what happens—it might do well.
- Send copies to bloggers, writers you like, other publisher types and get the word out there.
- If you liked doing that, repeat the process with a new title.