Using ISBNs as an Indie Author E-Book

Alliance of Independent Authors

• Herausgeber: Publishdrive
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

ISBNs are unique product identifier codes that help distributors, wholesalers, retailers, and readers find your book and contrary to poor advice, yes, independent authors do need them. Understanding how ISBNs work, why they matter, and how to source and use them will help you distribute your self-published books efficiently and professionally.

But there is a lot of misinformation out there.

In this short guide from the AskALLi team of the Alliance of Independent Authors, you’ll learn all the key facts to make informed decisions about ISBNs and be confident when publishing your own books.

Leseprobe

ABOUT ALLI

ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors is the global association for self-publishing indie authors.

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Copyright © 2020 Alliance of Independent Authors

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All rights reserved.

Font Publications is the publishing imprint for Orna Ross’s fiction and poetry and the Go Creative! books and planners and Alliance of Independent Authors publishing guides by Orna a. Ross.

All Enquiries: [email protected]

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USING ISBNs AS AN INDIE AUTHOR

ALLi’s Guide to Buying and Using Book ISBNs

E-book: 978-1-909888-70-8

Paperback: 978-1-909888-71-5

Large Print: 978-1-913349-57-8

Hardback: 978-1-913349-63-9

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

All good books are a team effort. As well as the author whose name goes on the cover, there’s the creative team of editors and designers and formatters who make the book, as well as the distributors and marketers who take it to readers, and the long list of supporters—from family to work colleagues—without whom a book cannot happen.

Then there are the other writers. Everyone who writes a book owes a debt to long line of authors who have gone before. And to all writers, from journalists and academics to storytellers and poets, who publish relevant ideas, information and inspirations that, quite literally, underwrite the book.

As mentioned in the introduction, Alliance of Independent Author (ALLi) guides also rely heavily on the wisdom and experience of our members and advisors, freely shared within and beyond our non-profit CIC (Community Interest Company) with the intention of paying it forward and benefitting other indie authors.

For this guide to ISBNs, particular thanks are due to Eleanor Pigg of the Nielsen ISBN Agency, ALLi Partner Member IngramSpark, Author Member Giacomo Giammatteo, and all the ALLi members and advisors who have contributed knowledge and experience. Our thanks to you all.

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USING ISBNS AS AN INDIE AUTHOR

ALLI’S GUIDE TO BUYING AND USING BOOK ISBNS

SHORT PUBLISHING GUIDES FOR INDIE AUTHORS

BOOK 4

ALLIANCE OF INDEPENDENT AUTHORS

DEBBIE P. YOUNG

CONTENTS

Introduction

1. What is an ISBN?

2. Cracking the ISBN Code

3. Why Do Indie Authors Need ISBNs?

4. How to Buy ISBNs

5. How to Register Your ISBNs

6. How to Use Your ISBNs

7. FAQs

Conclusion

Your Next Step

Other Guides

INTRODUCTION

Pick up any paper book, flip it over, and on the back cover you’ll find the ISBN at the top of the barcode. This 13-digit number is unique to that book in that particular format and edition.

This deceptively simple string of digits is at the heart of the databases and catalogues that drive the book supply chain, from distributors and wholesalers through to bookstores and libraries. The correct use of ISBNs will help you sell more books, earn more revenue, and reach more readers. Using your own ISBNs will also allow your books – and you as an indie author - to be included in publishing industry surveys.

With ISBNs a perennial topic in ALLi’s Q&A podcasts and members’ forum, the AskALLi team has prepared this short guide to enable you to make informed choices about using ISBNs for your self-published books.

You’re about to discover:

their significance within the wider book ecosystemhow they workwhy you need themhow, when, and where to buy themhow to avoid common mistakesanswers to indie authors’ frequently asked questions about ISBNs.

This short guide from the AskALLi team at the Alliance of Independent Authors offers guidance on the current best practices and ethics, based on the actual experience of ALLi members.

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1

WHAT IS AN ISBN?

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. Itis a unique numeric identifier that gives every format and edition of every book a universal ID reference.

The ISBN was formulated in 1965 when British bookstore chain WHSmith challenged Gordon Foster, Emeritus Professor of Statistics at Trinity College, Dublin to come up with an algorithm to help booksellers track books without the need for long bibliographic descriptive records typical of paper- and card-based systems, saving time and staff costs and reducing copying errors. Being entirely numerical, ISBNs work across different countries and are universally recognisable in any language.

Originally consisting of just 10 digits, the ISBN was expanded to 13 digits in 2007 to accommodate the ever-growing quantity of books published around the world. (The old 10-digit ISBNs may be converted to a 13-digit equivalent using free tools easily found online.)

The ISBN is now a global system managed by the International ISBN Agency and used throughout the book trade for multiple purposes:

to make it easy for distributors, wholesalers, booksellers and libraries to find, order and distribute all the different formats and editions of published books via trade directories, catalogues and databasesto speed up sales in bookstores and facilitate stock control via electronic point-of-sale systemsto allow the granular analysis of sales data, e.g. comparing sales of different formats and editions of a particular book, different subject areas, and different publishing houses.in some countries, to populate the databases of national lending rights schemes that make payments to authors and illustrators reflecting the number of times their books are lent out by public libraries.

Who May Buy ISBNs?

Any publisher, i.e. an individual or organisation who is publishing a qualifying product for general sale or distribution to the market, may buy an ISBN.

A publisher is generally the person or organisation taking the financial and other risks in making a publication available.

It is standard practice for indie authors to buy ISBNs for their self-published books. According to Eleanor Pigg of the UK ISBN agency Nielsen, the largest group purchasing ISBNs today are those who identify themselves as self-published authors.

An ISBN for Every Format and Edition

A book may be published in many different formats by its first publisher. Over time, it may be published by multiple publishers. If you search online by title and author name for any classic novel that is out of copyright, you will find multiple editions and formats. There may also be completely different books that share the same title, as there is no copyright on book titles, nor indeed on author names. Therefore searching for a book just by author name and title can be confusing and frustrating.

Search instead by ISBN, and, with surgical precision, you will find exactly the right book in the format and edition that you are looking for.

This is because an ISBN is not just a number – it is the key to a whole raft of essential data and metadata about a specific edition of a book in a particular format. Not only does the ISBN reveal the title and author of a book, it also specifies the precise edition and format (ebook, paperback, hardback, etc.). ISBNs are unique and everlasting, so they offer a timeless way of recording a book’s details.

Thus the ISBN is a far more powerful and sophisticated search tool than book title and author name alone.