Are ISBNs necessary? I am getting close to self publishing some of my works and am wondering about the value/necessity of having a book number. Comments please.
All You Self Publishers Out There - ISBNs?
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Comments
No.
No. But, it would be wise to register your works with the ECO, Electronic Copyright Office. It is not that hard.
Though, due to the economy, and a number of other factors, publishing might not be worth it. At this time. Given the nepotism and semi-monopolism of both the publishing and advertising industries at the moment. Along with the collapsing economy, where even the big companies are only profiting a few cents for each e-book. It is all but impossible to get your foot in the door.
Still, the situation will eventually change, and improve. Until then, just get everything ready, and increase your list of contacts.
I hope this helps.
I haven't used one.
But I also haven't done the ECO thing either. According to the various copyright acts, as long as you post that you own it and can prove such (you have the old files, etc.) it's yours. Unless I'm missing something.
From my own experience, self publishing is fighting a serious uphill battle; you need to be able to promote as much as you write, and that's where I'm falling short. Just no idea how to reach people at all.
Hope you have better luck with it than I am.
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Here is what you are missing.
ISBN is a stocking number for books. The ECO is a notarized legal registration of your work, proving it is your work, in a court of law.
Registering your work with the ECO is a good CYA move to do on your part.
As to promoting yourself, that problem is, the advertising industry has to much nepotism and semi-monopolism. Internet advertising is some of the worst. Last I looked into it, a few years ago, there have been multiple "click-gate" scandals. When web advertisers using bots to click the ad banners of their customers, to charge their advertising customers, with inflated traffic numbers.
The worst part is that it is so corrupt at that level, nothing was done about it. Even in the courts.
It is actually quite easy
This site was very helpful when I published a book (non fiction)
http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2010/03/isbn-for-self-publish...
For those in the UK then the Nielsen Agency should be where you go
http://www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk/controller.php?page=158
(don't forget to send a copy to the British Library...)
We're working on this
We're working on a publishing solution for BC authors. Several different solutions. One thing would be to do the publishing and promoting for authors and share royalties. Another would be to do the work for a price and the author gets all the royalties. Another would be to share marketing with people who are doing their own publishing. There are easy ways to get ISBNs whichever route you use. And registering copyright is optional under US law but it does help protect you from rip-offs.
More on this later.
Hugs,
Erin
= Give everyone the benefit of the doubt because certainty is a fragile thing that can be shattered by one overlooked fact.
And thank you for your work.
And thank you for your work, Erin.
What you are doing, on the publishing side of BC, may offer an actual foot in the door for starting authors. I hope you might even help authors here with ISBN numbers, and such.
The only thing that I am concerned with, on your business model, is amazon. I just don't trust them. I trust you. But, I don't trust them. I know people that have been burned by them.
On the thread, I have tried to delicately state the truth of the situation, in the publishing system. But, it seems I am just going over the heads of some people. I cannot get more detailed, without discouraging new authors. Which, I wish to avoid.
Anyway Erin, I wish you luck with your efforts.
Yes it is necessary
ISBN is more than just a number. Think of Social Security Number for literary works. You want your book in the books stores, libraries, and listed in published books by the Congressional Library? Every thing that looks at your book besides the person who picks it up in the bookstore, is scanning, trading, tracing, ordering, and selling it by that ISBN number.
When do you NOT need an ISBN number? If you are selling your books from the back of your station wagon or out of your garage.
There are several On Demand Publishing companies who will assign an ISBN number to your book if you order from them and request an ISBN. Stay away from the companies who offer to publish your book and ask for thousands up front. They are called Vanity Presses.
Of course you can order your own ISBN numbers if you are printing your book yourself. I don't recommend that route but it certainly is an option. You will need to be able to put the bar codes on the cover for ISBN and pricing.
LuLu.com is one of the On Demand Companies that comes to mind. Amazon has a side company that does the same thing if I remember right. Don't remember the name though.
Lots of luck. Writing is the easy part. Getting it in print and sold is the hardest job you will ever face in your life. Having said that. People do manage even when they aren't anointed by the big publishing companies.
Watch for the wolves. They will ask you to mail them several or a dozen copies of your book with the promise of ordering hundreds, thousands more for their church, school, business, libraries, whatever. I have yet to find one that wasn't a scam when I researched back on them.
If you use an On Demand Publishing company, I don't recommend ordering more than one or two dozen books and see how that works for you. They can print runs from one book to tens of thousands of books. Don't tie up your money in paper sitting in your living room or garage when you can order them as you sell them.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
ISBN is worthless
An ISBN number is worthless, because it is a fixed system. Even with an ISBN number, book stores will not stock your book, because you are not part of the their distributor chain. And to be part of the distributor chain, you have to have the book stores' permission.
It is the old scam, you have to have the permit to get the permission, but you have to have the permission to get the permit.
It should be noted, that like a lot of parts of the economy, bookstores are dying.
ECO
Requires a fee; not sure how much since they won't even let me register to find out (their password requirements are draconian and do not work, at least not for me). For someone wondering if they will be able to pay for lights, heat or internet next month, I'm not sure any fee is worth it.
I mean, if someone tries to take any of my work, they have to get past all of you, who know who wrote what. My paying fans know my real name and timeline for when things were published, making my stuff very hard to steal. Even if they succeeded, in fees alone they would take a major loss, since my books really just don't sell much. Then of course they would have to write the rest of it as well as I do to keep what fans I do have happy.... more power to them.
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no it isn't
an isbn is a stock number for book ordering, but it is also a FEDERAL Government time/date stamp of copyright.
an isbn is the only thing absolutely required for getting your book distributed widely.
and even celebrated mainstream authors do not seem to make a whole lot of money. JK Rowlings being an exception, not the rule .
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Dawnfyre...
That's kind of my point; the costs required for someone to take one book away from me would be more than ALL of my books have made to date. If they want to go into the hole that badly in order to try and shaft me, more power to them. My books do have ISBN's that I never use; amazon tags them all itself whether I want them to or not; I assume for ease of keeping track of them.
And if someone wants to take on Amazon directly over copyright issues, well... again, good luck.
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If you appreciate my tales, please consider supporting me on Patreon so that I may continue:
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Making money
I published a book of Phorographs in 2000. I got it on Amazon and sold just over a hundred copies from an initial print run of 50. Ironically most of them went to people in the area where I took the photos. I sold the remainder to the local bookshop at cost+ a small bit. They sold the rest of them over the next 18 months.
Bit it wasn't about making money. I did it for the pride in doing it. I could say, 'I did that'.
Would I do it again?
Possibly. There was quite a lot of effort involved. If you took the time I spent putting it all together and getting a proof and, and, and then no I didn't make money. That wasn't the point.
There is a world of difference between that sort of book and a book of fiction.
For a work of fiction the likes of Amazon (and others) can do you a deal for 'Print on Demand'. They don't hold stock until someone orders one. When someone orders one they print a few copies (could be as few as 10). It is a lot cheaper than trying to get your book into chain bookstores.
At least I can put the fact that I'm a published Author on my CV (along with the ISBN). Yay!
If you are wanting to publish some fiction then I'd say wait until we get the details of what Erin (and her merry women) are cooking up.
Samantha
Where are you going to sell it?
I've published a few through Smashwords and have assisted a friend to publish on Kindle Direct. Both of them want you to have an ISBN number. Smashwords distributes your work to large retailers, like Kobo, Apple, BT, Overdrive, Flipkart, GoodReads, which require an ISBN.
If you publish a dead tree version at FeedARead, they'll want an ISBN.
Hugs
Patricia
Happiness is being all dressed up and HAVING some place to go.
Semper in femineo gerunt
Ich bin eine Mann
In response to Patricia Marie Allen's comment...
Neither kindle nor kindle select require an ISBN... I publish there just fine without one. If you don't have one, they issue on of their own, a sort of in house ISBN that works for them. Believe me, if starting out I'd have had to pat 100 $ just to get my book on kindle, I wouldn't have bothered, mainly because I wouldn't have been able to. The fact that smashwords requires me to is just more convincing I didn't need to never try the site.
Draconian formatting rules, a hundred dollar sunk in cost, all to distribute a book that may sell 5 copies at 3$ a pop? Yeah that makes sound fiscal sense.
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If you appreciate my tales, please consider supporting me on Patreon so that I may continue:
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Let's clear up a couple misconceptions
Books stores will accept your book only if it has an ISBN number. And the book stores in your home state are usually enthusiastic to carry a home grown author. Even the big chain book stores. Because it is on their shelf doesn't mean it will sell. Pushing that book sell is up to you not them. You have a heck of a learning curve ahead if you want to go that route and be successful at it. There are Book Clubs in most states who will help push home grown authors. Libraries will be more than happy to have authors push their books in a book club meeting in the library.
Are you getting the picture yet? You stopped being an author and became a salesman. How good of a salesman are you? Most authors aren't. They are writers. They suck at promoting their own book. That is why the best authors have publishers and agents doing the grunt work for which the author is woefully not mentally geared for.
And if it all comes together for you it will look something like this only with your name on it.
Change of Heart~Passion of the Soul
A CHANGE OF HEART is dedicated to ....
Every Bobbi Stone in the world. To those who believe and those who understand.
To those who don’t understand but accept it because they love the other person so much.
Every day I thank God for the difference between all the men and women and those caught somewhere in between.
To Dawn, Charro, Dee, and Jean. I love them more than life itself. They are the sum total of my life
PUBLISHED by
CHIFFON PUBLISHERS
ELK CITY, OKLAHOMA
Copyright O 1998 by Barbie Lee
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the publisher. Exception, inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
For information and copies of CHANGE OF HEART~ A PASSION OF THE SOUL and other publications produced by Chiffon Publishers contact Chiffon Publishers, Elk City, Oklahoma 73644.
ISBN: 0-9642120-8-0
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
LEE, BARBIE
A CHANGE OF HEART A PASSION OF THE SOUL\BARBIE LEE\FIRST EDITION
INCLUDES TABLE OF CONTENTS \CHAPTER TITLES \ PAGES
ISBN 0-9642120-8-0
1. ROMANCE
2. CONTEMPORARY FICTION
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CIP TXu 730-669
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Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl