Author Beware: Unauthorized Resellers of ISBNs

An Important Message Bowker which is the exclusive U.S. ISBN Agency source of publisher prefixes and ISBN numbers for eligible publishers:

“Please be aware that there are unauthorized re-sellers of ISBNs, and that this activity is a violation of the ISBN standard and of industry practice. Only companies you designate as your publisher should assign ISBN’s to your publications from their block of ISBN’s.”

“Bowker provides information and advice on the uses of the ISBN System to publishers and the book trade, and promotes the use of the Bookland EAN bar code format. In addition to their ISBN prefixes, publishers also register their titles with Bowker for inclusion in the “Books In Print” databases (worldwide). See also:

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/08/31/important-expose-your-book-to-the-world/

You may encounter offers from other sources to purchase single ISBNs at special offer prices. Companies that provide limited services such as distributing, retailing, bar code services, printing, and/or marketing should NOT assign ISBN’s from their company to your publications – unless you allow them to also hold publishing rights. If you use one of these reassigned ISBN’s, you will not be correctly identified as the publisher of record in “Books in Print” or many of the book industry databases. The result may be extensive costs to apply for a new ISBN and the application of stickers to books already printed and in circulation.”

For the correct address to obtain your ISBN number in the USA and Great Britain & Ireland, Australia or Canada (where ISBN numbers are free!) go to:

http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/isbn-numbers-and-how-to-get-one/

“If you are a new publisher, you should apply for your own ISBN publisher prefix from the US ISBN Agency. Assigning ISBNs from your own ISBN publisher prefix will identify you as the publisher of your titles, and link your contact information to the specific publisher identifier. This will ultimately aid in circulating your books properly in the industry supply chain.
If you have any questions about re-sellers of ISBNs, do not hesitate to contact the US ISBN Agency for further advice. If you are a self-publisher who has already purchased an ISBN from a re-seller, and you are experiencing problems or need advice, please contact the US ISBN Agency at isbn-san@bowker.com.”

My comment:
There are “aggregators”  or “POD publishers”, how they call themselves, that are purchasing ISBN numbers in bulk for $1 a piece! and sell them to authors for a “special” of $25! for one ISBN – a mark-op of 2,000 percent!  I wrote about this unethical practice already month’s ago, just search under “Writer Beware” on this blog.
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Hyper Smash

 

ISBN Numbers and How to Get One

Selling your e-book on Amazon doesn’t necessarily require one, but it will, as soon as you start a print version. Any book on your bookshelf or in book stores has an ISBN.

ISBN is the International Standard Book Number, a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies books published anywhere in the world. The five parts of an ISBN are:

• group or country identified
• publisher identifier
• title identifier
• and the check digit

ISBN numbers are assigned by a group of agencies worldwide coordinated by the International ISBN Agency in London, England.  http://www.isbn-international.org/agency

In the United States, ISBNs are assigned by the U.S. ISBN Agency: R.R. Bowker is the independent agent in the US for this system.  You can apply for an ISBN online. On average it takes about two weeks for ISBN’s to be assigned.

The publisher registration fee is US $24.95 plus a service fee that starts at $225.00 for 10 ISBN’s.  There’s also a $25 annual fee for each publisher, so whether you have one ISBN or a thousand, you’ll have to pay that additional amount too.

For a new publisher to get an ISBN – or better ten – will cost (in 2012) US $250 (or US $25 per ISBN). Since you can get 10 ISBNs for the same price as one, it is worth applying for books you have in mind too, rather than just the one you are right now going to publish.

Where to order ISBN’s :

USA
http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/secureapp.asp
see prices above

United Kingdom & Ireland
http://www.isbn.nielsenbook.co.uk/controller.php?page=121
10 ISBN = £118.68

Australia
http://www.thorpe.com.au/isbn/
Single ISBN=Australian $40.00 and a block of 10 ISBNs=$80.00

Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ciss-ssci/041002-2000-e.html

The application process is simple and FREE of charge – but only if you are living in Canada.

 

Not Yet Convinced to E-Publish?

e-Readers

You CAN make money with e-publishing.
There are authors that made already a million with their e-books, but also authors that barely sell a hundred books per year – it all depends on the quality of your book(s) including cover art, layout and reviews – and how well they are marketed. Same how it works with paper books.

There is overhead cost in e-publishing.
Like paper books, e-books need proof-reading, editing, lay-out, cover design, an ISBN number plus converting in various e-book formats for e-Readers and most important: Marketing.

Editing is essential.
Some e-book authors don’t do it to save money, and some e-publishers do it minimal or not at all. But proof-reading and professionally editing is the most important part in publishing.

E-publishers have to invest in e-books.
…or they will fail.  Just because authors are rarely paid any advance (but rather higher royalties) doesn’t mean there are no investments to make. 

It is not so much easier to get your book out with a reputable e-publisher.
Professional e-publishing houses have their standards to carefully pick their authors in order to deliver quality literature. I am here not talking about vanity publishers that are also to be found in this field and easily can be recognized by charging authors beforehand. I read a good advice: “As an author the only place you should be signing a check is on the back to cash it.” 

It can be a stepping stone to traditional publishing.
Yes, there are e-book authors that have been picked up by the “big six” publishers – but with e-books becoming common-place as do e-Reader devices, in the future e-book publishing will for sure overtake paper book publishing – and the “big six” are coming along with it.

More and more people read e-books.
Also paper books will stay with us, there are many practical reasons for e-books: We don’t need to carry heavy stacks of books to the cottage or on the plane. And we can read at night in bed without using a bedstand lamp (my dog hates bright light in the bed room

 

How important are Book Covers?

 

 

How important are covers in terms of selling a book?

A book cover has less than 8 seconds to catch a reader’s attention. Maybe store placement also matters, but book covers are extremely important to sell both: printed and ebooks.

Three aspects of a book make the greatest first impression on potential readers.

• Cover
• Title
• Opening sentences

If the cover art does its job well, it will portray the tone and genre of the book accurately—and help it stand out from its competition on the bookshelf.

Practical considerations:

Key elements must be present in your book’s cover for it to be properly distributed

• ISBN number
• EAN bar code,
• Title
• Author name
• Publisher logo
• Blurbs

• Select a working title and a subtitle.
• Use ‘sans serif’ font for display headers.
• It is important for your book cover design to inform readers of your book’s subject.
• NEVER USE WHITE as background color. Your book would be almost invisible on Amazon’s website (and many others) especially at their thumbnail size book images.  Color sets the mood and background colors should match the topic. Purple doesn’t fit on a business book and pink not on a DIY book.

Covers are a marketing tool.
They target major buyers as much as end-readers. It’s a fact that buyers for the chain stores will order more copies of a book they find visually appealing, so their opinion counts, even to the extent that publishers will entirely change a book’s cover if an influential buyer doesn’t like it.

An interesting and compelling cover often means an interesting and compelling read.

You only have 8 seconds to capture your audience and generate interest in your published book. Don’t waste your time. Create that “BUY NOW” emotion.

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Hyper Smash