#isbn publisher

[copperbadge]

Earlier this year, when I was getting ready to publish Fete For A King, I thought, I want to level up and buy my own ISBN again, like I did for Six Harvests. 

An ISBN is the identifier that allows bookstores to sell your books and libraries to catalogue them, and while Lulu will issue you one for free, they retain certain rights if you accept, and I like to own as much as possible of the work that I do. In other countries, you can just...ask for an ISBN and it’s given to you, but in the US some shady-ass nonsense company called Bowker owns all the ISBNs. One will cost you $125, but you can also buy in bulk; 10 will “only” run you $295. And I thought, well, I will probably write nine more books in my lifetime and if not, I can give them to friends. 

And then I wrote two more books this year and published a compilation of all three.

Each book needed two ISBNs, one for epub and one for paperback, and the compilation needed three because of the hardback, so this year I went through nine ISBNs. Given that I have more books in the pipeline and could use to assign ISBNs to some of my older work, I went back to Bowker today to look at buying another bulk of 10, and noticed that for $575 you can buy 100 ISBNs. 

I’m worried what kind of output I’ll ramp up to if I know I have 100 ISBNs to fill before I die, but I definitely could fill more than another 10 ISBNs just with my back catalogue, and if I buy two sets of 10 ISBNs that’s $590 anyway. 

I’m gonna need to wait a paycheck or two, but...yeah I think I’m gonna buy 100 ISBNs. And then just...pray for my immortal soul or something. 

I mean, if we subtract twelve-ish for the books that already exist that need them, and another eight for various special editions (hardcovers, compilations, etc) that’s 80 remaining, and if each book requires two, that’s forty books. Which is only one per year if I live to be eighty-three. 

Forty books. And that’s terrible. 

I suppose I could just like. Become a publisher. There's nothing saying I have to WRITE all forty...

[seawardboundsammy]

so @extreme-neutral made this post about in universe chargestep shippers, i printed out the art in the post, some jokes were made, and then i got a little extra. Please enjoy my day's work

also an extra (note the date in the bottom left)

[keyboardandquill]

If you're looking to self-publish but don't have the funds to buy an ISBN, I found this short list of places you can get one free:

[nanowrimo]

A Comprehensive Guide to Self Publishing Your Book

Publishing a book is every author’s dream, but the path there can be rocky and blocked by a huge wall of information that you need to know. Today, Deborah Dixon has written a comprehensive guide to self-publishing discussing editing printing, distribution, ISBNs, and marketing.

Publishing a book is a rewarding experience, but it can also be confusing or demanding as well. Here is a very brief look at the steps an author can take towards being published.

Traditional vs. Self-Publishing

First ask yourself if you would prefer to be traditionally published or self-published. Both routes are viable and respectable, but they are very different. Traditional publishing involves finding an agent through the process of querying. Authors submit documents like synopses, query letters, and first chapters in hopes that the agents they submit to are interested enough in their manuscript to represent them. Once accepted, the agent finds a suitable publishing house for the author, and all parties coordinate to publish the book from there.

Self-publishing involves much more direct author participation. The author will generally handle editing, marketing, printing, and distributing the book, often with assistance from third parties. There is no need to query agents, but an author should still be prepared to explain their book from a sales standpoint. In self-publishing, the author is their book’s best advocate.

Editing

Usually, the first step in self-publishing is having the manuscript professionally edited. This is a crucial step that should be taken even if the author is an excellent self-editor. Even the best editors can overlook common mistakes in their manuscripts! The Editorial Freelancers Association is a wonderful resource for finding an editor.

Printing & Distribution

If you’re planning to print your book, you’ll want to decide whether you want to print a run of books upfront or set up print-on-demand. Book printers like Gorham can print many copies of your book and ship them to you for placement in bookstores and the like. Alternatively, though, you can use print-on-demand (POD) services like IngramSpark or Lulu. KDP Print is a great option for authors who are mostly looking to sell print books on Amazon. POD is often considered the cheapest option because you don’t have to invest as much upfront. Rather, POD vendors will take a (pretty big) cut of every book you sell, but you get the added bonus of not dealing with printing, distributing, or shipping. 

If you elect to pursue distribution through your own means, you’ll have to purchase your own ISBNs. Think of an ISBN as the ID card of your book. Every book needs one, and they will need a different one in every format. If you want to publish your book as an ebook, hardcover, and paperback, you’ll need 3 ISBNs. Therefore, it might be more economical to buy them in bulk. If you’re in the US, you can buy your ISBNs from Bowker, and they never expire, so you can use them for future projects. If you go with KDP Print, Amazon will provide you with a free ISBN, but bear in mind that it's not truly free. Since KDP “owns” your book, it will be difficult to get into brick and mortar bookstores, Barnes and Nobles, and other distributors that could get your book more reach. On the other hand, if you purchase your own ISBNs, you can distribute them anywhere.

Once you have your books in print, you’ll want to reach out to your local bookstores to place your books there as well. Many book stores will sell your books on a consignment arrangement with you, meaning that you receive your portion of the sale when the book is bought. Building relationships with your local booksellers is also a part of marketing, as booksellers make great advocates for books they like!

You may also want to consider distributing your work as an ebook. For this, you’ll want to create accounts at Apple iBooks, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Amazon if you so choose. These all generally take a portion of your sales as payment, and so are free to set up initially.

Marketing

Another important step in self-publishing is marketing. It is a good idea to have a marketing plan set up in advance of selling the book. Marketing covers many facets, like book design, book promotion, and publicity. It is its own discipline, and many authors might not have the time or know-how to develop a solid marketing plan. For those authors, services like Reedsy, Scribe, and BooksGoSocial can be of great help.

Through all of these steps and going forward, you want to be marketing your book. Consider going to book fairs and other book events, whether in-person or virtual, and reach out to your local and national news outlets. It never hurts to tell people about your book—and the more who know about it, the more who will read it!

With this baseline information, I hope you feel ready to embark on  your self-publishing journey!

Deborah Dixon is a writer and author advocate with Shalamar. She is also an editor for Radon Journal and a student of George Washington University's Publishing program. She lives with her partner and their dog, Spirit.

Photo by Stephen Phillips - Hostreviews.co.uk on Unsplash  

[mejomonster]

Debating if it's worth self publishing or just making like 20 personal copies for me and friends. I do not like that Amazon charges authors back if people return an ebook instead of just not giving the author the money until the return option deadline passes. I do not think I could afford -200 dollar charges hitting me randomly if people returned ebooks, since I predict like a profit margin of 0-50 dollars max (I mean 50 is hugely optimistic as i predict almost 0 profits and just ppl I tell who love my writing to check it out). Maybe there's a company that allows self publishing without the "charges you for ebook refunds" that's not Amazon. Hell maybe its not an issue maybe it's just do NOT spend money the same month u make it in case everyone returns their ebook, and if I just put book sales in a specific area then I can always have the money if someone returns an ebook...

I do not think publishing companies is a route I can do because with no writing degree experience and connections I have no idea what a pitch letter is or how to do one people don't throw out and I didn't learn until recently if a publisher asks you to pay it's a red flag and I don't know how to find open calls for submissions and it's just a lot of knowledge that I'm sure is basic af to anyone who's done it before or worked around it but to me it's as much of an unknown-no-idea-of-expectations as me trying to do like a Javascript example code of X program for a job interview having never studied Javascript before. And then even with people who do amazing and know exactly how to make the best job impression with good professional actions done in the preferred format with prior publishing on their resume, people still get rejected a ton. So if I can't even confirm the technical aspects of my submissions would be adequate, it's not worth it. If I'd submit I'd want to know rejection is due to novel quality or content, not due to a pitch or contact letter that's formatted wrong or lacking implicit content inclusion I didn't know was expected.

[em-dashes]

anyway while i wait for the distribution to sort out, i submitted an isbn deposit for the e-book edition of Suddence, so i did do something productive (❁´◡`❁)

[thoughtsofthegirlwiththecurl]

Today we are irrationally angry at display boxes. I know librarians and teachers love them (or so I'm told) but my god! I want to drive to the warehouse and chop them all up with a box cutter and then set fire to the whole mess and not have to deal with them anymore!

[oscill4te]

holy shit. on jan 1st, 2025; cramp twins (not the cartoon, but just the book itself) will be 30 years old. the first book was published in january 1st, 1995. it will soon be 29 years old, this New Years. i kind of can't wrap my mind around that....

[lunarose99]

I'm going to put my head through a wall I just want to upload my books for preorder is that so hard.

according to every distribution channel out there, yes, yes it is.

[youhavereachedtheendofpie]

Congratulations to Cambridge University Press for having the worst! fucking website!!!

[the960writers]

BookBaby:

ISBN FAQ: What’s An ISBN And Why Do You Need One?

[hesitationss]

i love book design! graphic design is my passion !

[boyplushie]

thriftbooks sent the wrong edition of the book i ordered 11 dead 7 injured

[frecht]

my book arts teacher is going to diagnose me with something when she reads my self-assessment for my prospectus project and i say "i would have loved to make up a copyright page for this fake book but i ran out of time :("