ebook eXperiment: Those pesky little ISBNs!

**Sorry about the late post - my son was sick today!** Thanks for the little notes and tweets asking me when I was posting today! It's nice to be missed. :)


This week

• Budget hasn't changed ---yet.
• I am working to get book to copyedits - people who signed up for the ebook tour should get their review copy the week of Oct 17th which gives you 6 weeks to read.
• Oh yeah - and I'm much more scared this week, wondering if I made a huge mistake in doing this or that it is going to fail but trying to ignore those thoughts. THIS IS HARD WORK! Definitely not the easy way out!

Because I have gotten asked about paperbacks - I am looking in it. The more I looked into libraries and schools - the more I realized they don't all have access to ebooks. Question is how - Lightning source or Createspace?


I'll talk more about that next week. Buy yay!


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Today I want to talk about ISBNs b/c I am still figuring these little stinkers out, but here is what I know (or think I know) so far:


Why do you need one? 

• Your book and you appear more professional. Think of them like business cards. You don't need one, but if you don't have one - you may not appear credible.
• They stay with the book for life.
• The distribution is wider especially with schools and libraries. That is how most of them order books so you are cutting out your market if you don't get one.
• It's best to buy ISBNs in blocks of 10, 100 etc - that way you can use them for other books or when publishing new editions that have changed.

What do the 13 digits mean?

• A "978" prefix
• A group or country identifier;
• The publisher identifier; (This is you!)
• The title identifier, which is for a particular title or edition;
• A "check digit" at the end, which validates the ISBN

Tips:

• You do not need one for Amazon. They assign their own number. ASIN
• You do not need one for Barnes and Noble. They assign their own number.
• You do need one for iTunes/iBooks.
• If you use Smashwords, they can assign one for their customers. But I believe it is only good for Smashwords. You can get a free one and list Smashwords as publisher or you can be a premium member and pay 10$ for your own.
• You have to have a different ISBN for different formats - so ebook formats would each need 1 and paperback would be another.
• Make sure it is 13 digits (not 10) - most places require 13.
• You can buy them from Bowker or isbn.org - 10 costs about $275.
• Even when you have an ISBN - you must register them at Bowker. 
• A self pub ISBN has a number that identifies it as an indie/self pub book so bookstores know when they see it.
• ISBN goes on the copyright page. And above the scan code on a physical book.
• If you want a library to order - you will also need a LCCN.
• You need an ISBN for each ebook file you publish (epub, etc) - I'm still trying to figure out what this means. So now I think I have to buy 10.
• On some books you may see a 10 digit ISBN and a 13 digit - They changed the format a few years ago and kept both identifiers.

So basically if I do ebook and B&N, Amazon, and Smashwords. I will need ISBNs (again I think they are important) for each format as well as for paperback. 


So looks like I'm going to have to add about $275 to my budget? Sigh.

If you have any additional tips or clarifications - let me know!