Publishing School 296: Record keeping

Careful attention to the details of keeping good records can make a huge difference the success of your self-publishing

Four reasons why you need to keep good records

1. To know how well your book is doing financially
2. To calculate your income tax and other taxes accurately
3. To attract supporters of your publishing venture
4. To defend your financial reports if challenged

Records you should keep

Any documents you have signed, including production agreements, agreements with your artist, selling contracts should not be destroyed but kept in a safe place.

Correspondence between yourself and your information sources, your publishing consultant, buyers, and anyone else involved in creating, producing, or selling your book could also be vital to your future business progress. You may want to include email as well as other types of written communication.

Keep copies of all invoices, receipts, and canceled checks related to your publishing project.

For tax reasons, keep your travel logs showing destination, mileage, purpose of travel as your trip relates to your book.

Maintain an accurate record of all income received for your book, including sponsorships or advertising.

Even if you do not incorporate your business but work only as a free-lance consultant, you need accurate records. Prepare financial statements for your business showing your income and expenses month by month or year by year.

And what about your book?

Tell us about it.

We'd love to hear from you. Call us any time at 800 359-9503. Or send us email (hodi@mindspring.com).