Did you change your mind about authors buying a single ISBN?

Did you change your mind about authors buying a single ISBN? Absolutely not. Nothing has changed concerning where I stand on the ISBN ownership subject. Whether you are a casual hobbyist, a serious hobbyist or a pro, you should own your own ISBN, no matter what anyone else tells you.

Over the years I have probably written on this more than any other single subject. I believe it is the very heart of self-publishing and is the primary item that separates true self publishing from Vanity Publishing or any other “copy shop” type publishing. The ISBN is what identifies the publisher of a particular title. The “big lie” of the vanity business is the implied author ownership of an assigned “unique” ISBN that actually belongs to the vanity publisher, not the author. Hundreds of authors fall for this deception monthly and it is only when they attempt to change vendors or add additional sales channels that they find out that what they believed was theirs, is actually owned by someone else.

ISBN ownership used to be a little cost restrictive, for the first timer. The minimum number of ISBN’s that could be purchased from the ISBN agency, RR Bowker, was 10. The current cost of 10 ISBN’s is $245 plus $30 registration fee plus $25 per barcode or a total investment of $525, if you buy the barcodes. While this is not a major investment for someone serious about entering the publishing business, it is not a small amount of money for someone just “dabbling”. In addition, for many, it may seem like a waste of money to buy ten when, initially, only one is needed. It is this group of “dabblers” who are most likely to fall for the “ISBN included” line of the vanity industry. If all dabblers, remained dabblers, I guess it wouldn’t be a big deal. Who cares who owns the ISBN if you are only going to buy/sell a few copies for/to “bar buddies”. The problem comes when the “dabbler” experiences a little sales success and wants to take it to the next level. The same vanity press that may have been OK for 10 copies suddenly becomes very uneconomical as the quantity increases. It is only when the author decides to use another service that they find out that they had been sold a “Pig in a Poke” and that they didn’t own anything of value (Other than the movie rights, of course). If they want to move, they need to start all over.

A year ago, a new alternative was made available to the “dabbler” or casual self publisher. This alternative was the legal, single ISBN. While a few companies had been selling illegal single ISBN’s, which were no different than the Vanity Publishers assigning ISBN’s, this was the first time in years that the US ISBN agency, RR Bowker, offered singles to authors. I wrote an article announcing this about this time last year (http://blog.selfpublishing.com/?p=145). The main problem with the single ISBN over the past year was the process was a little inconvenient. The application was impossible to find on the Bowker website and Lulu had the ISBN purchase bundled in one of their publishing programs, making it a little difficult to separate. I offered a PDF download of the single application, through www.BooksJustBooks.com and www.SelfPublishing.com, that could be printed out and mailed in to Bowker but that was a long way from convenient.

Fast forward to fall 2007. I am very happy to announce that my company, RJ Communications, has been named an “authorized agent” of the US ISBN agency, RR Bowker, for the sale of single ISBN’s. Single ISBN’s can now be purchased online for $125 at https://isbn.selfpublishing.com/application.php. The application is simple. The author has the choice whether to use the short from or the long form. Payment is made online and the author receives the ISBN, directly from the agency, within a few days. As an introductory bonus, RJ Communications is throwing in a barcode for no additional cost. Once you receive your ISBN, and the specs are known for the title you wish to assign to the ISBN are known, you will register your title in Books in Print, just like any other publisher.

Once you have this ISBN “in hand” you are free to explore all publishing channels. As you explore these channels, make sure the printer or publishing service understands that you will be using your own ISBN. Possession of this ISBN can be used much like a cross is used to scare away vampires; the ISBN you own can be used to scare away the vanity presses. Let them know you own it and plan on using it, and “poof” they scurry.

See you next month.

Note: If you know, for certain, that you are going to publish more than one title or more than one edition of the same title (like paperback, hardcover or audio), do not buy the single ISBN. Ten or more is still the way to go. To purchase more than a single ISBN, please go to Obtain ISBN

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Ron Pramschufer

Ron Pramschufer has been in or around the printing and publishing industry for over 35 years. His experience, including working in the pressroom, bindery, production office and estimating department helped give him a firm foundation to build on when he entered sales and management. He was partners in a small press publishing company in Annapolis, MD in the late seventies and co-invented and marketed two controversial political board games which sold over 100,000 copies in the early eighties. Moving from his home state of Maryland to New York City after his game experience, Ron sold printing services to, primarily, small to mid-sized book publishers for over a decade before founding RJ Communications with an old friend. Ron recognized the potential of the Internet very early as a powerful communications tool. In 1997 he started one of the first printer related websites, www.rjcom.com, which caters to the professional print buyer. This evolved into www.BooksJustBooks.com and more recently www.selfpublishing.com which target the print buying novice, primarily self-publishers. All three sites are still operating successfully and SelfPublishing.com was named as one of Writers Digest’s, 101 Best websites for writers for 2006. Educating the novice print buyer has been a top priority from day one. To help address this issue, Ron co-authored the popular title Publishing Basics- a Guide for the Small Press and Independent Self-Publisher, now in its Third Edition, as well as Publishing Basics for Children’s Books, in its Second Edition. He is the organizer of the monthly Publishing Basics Newsletter where he writes a sometimes controversial Ask Ron column which addresses various aspects of the publishing process. On the same note, he started the Publishing Basics Radio PodCast in 2005 and serves as the show’s host. A wide variety of topics are covered including a very popular series titled, The Truth Behind POD Publishing, where he conducts interviews with a select group of industry insiders. Since its inception, RJ Communications has helped thousands of customers print over 105 million books. Ron is married and has three children. His daughter, Stephanie, teaches second grade and recently self-published her first children’s book in the Oliver the Clownfish series. Matthew, his oldest son, owns a website design business and Erik, the youngest, is enjoying high school.

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Comments

Frederiko Aguilar says:

October 22, 2007 at 1:55 pm

Ron
Thanks for being involved with the ISBN’s. I have a book out now and it’s been a nightmare with the vanity co. I’m with. I want to start my true self-publishing shop. I’ve learned so much the last two years. The V-company raised their prices to re-edit etc. Funny how they swayed me to go with them. Now the price is up. Thanks for all the advice you pass along. I actually do the same for the future authors I meet, and I offer my personal knowledge of self-publishing to the local schools in Las Vegas, NV. Thanks for your newsletter.
Laurie Barrows says:

October 22, 2007 at 5:04 pm

Thanks for clearing up the ISBN issue. I find myself explaing this to my illustration clients over & over again. I’ve seen some really get taken advantage of! Now, I’ll just email them your article.
John Ware says:

October 22, 2007 at 8:31 pm

Frederiko, would that vanity publisher happen to be authorhouse?
Etta Brown says:

October 23, 2007 at 10:36 am

thanks for the single ISBN number. My self-publishing company insists upon using their own ISBN. Now I have the confidence to do what needs to be done.
Esther Allison says:

October 25, 2007 at 11:22 pm

Thanks Ron. You answered my question about single ISBNs. I’m glad you have been named as an authorized agent for Bowker. I will be ordering an ISBN for my mother’s book. Thanks for looking out for us “dabblers.” Thanks also for the newsletter. This is my first issue and already I have learned very valuable information!
Wallace H. Little says:

November 7, 2007 at 10:10 am

7 November 2007:—What can you tell me about “on-demand” publishing?
I am in the process of writing a book on specific debatable religious doctrines. My goal is to get this out but only with limited press runs to fulfill individual small-number orders. I am well aware this is not a money-making approach, but deem it sufficiently important to make the effort.

Thanks.

Wallace H. Little
Helen Gallagher says:

December 8, 2007 at 2:18 pm

Thanks so much for the single ISBN offer, Ron. I’ve posted the December special on my blog, hoping to send a few clients your way.

blog: releaseyourwriting.blogspot.com

Helen Gallagher
Jeff Howard says:

January 18, 2008 at 9:27 am

Ron, since you are the expert, explain the breakdown of how these single isbn s work. I was under the impression that the second portion of the isbn represented the publisher ie 0-955521-111-2 (the publisher number would be 955521). I know that the single isbn from bowker and their agents all have 0-615 starting. If those of us who buy single get isbns, we all have the same 615 publisher identifier? How do stores know who is the publisher if we all have the same prefix?

The ISBN system is based on the structure that there is one international agency and then there are local agencies–one per country. A local agency has the authority to set aside a prefix (a block of ISBNs) and assign them to self-publishers as single ISBNs. No publisher has the authority to do this. Only the official ISBN Agency in a country can do this. (Verbage straight from RR Bowker)

IE: If you buy the single from Bowker, you\’re fine. If you buy it from another publisher, no matter how they disguise themselves, it\’s not.

Ron
Miss Caroline Brandt says:

January 18, 2008 at 11:20 am

That’s a nice service you have over there, the single ISBN for ebook or self-publication. I only wish you had the payment by Paypal option, as it is often convenient to make online payments by Paypal.
Nolan Lewis says:

January 19, 2008 at 12:59 am

Hi Ron,

I don’t know how many times I have posted similar statements on various forums, and how violently other writers have defended their publishers for making it asy to get an ISNN. Hope you have better luck than I have had at getting the word out.
Krissy Guidici says:

February 13, 2008 at 6:59 pm

Is there a website for us to check the books in print titles to make sure our company’s name is designated without payig a fee to Bowker? Would love to see how these companies are listed.
T. FENDRICH says:

May 20, 2008 at 11:45 am

Heidi Weber from BOWKER took 3 e- mails to state that you are not autyhorized to issue ISBN’S and she is not aware that you were authorized to do what you are doing. I am confused. AM I GETTING A SINGLE ISBN IN THE NAME OF AGA ENTERPRISES?????? FOR $99.00 OR NOT?????