Questions about ISBN numbers

hurricanehanni · Feb 19, 2008

If I publish with LuLu and LuLu owns the ISBN # and a traditional publisher wants to pick up the book, what does that mean to me?

Thanks,
Ryan

victoriastrauss · Feb 19, 2008

Nothing. If another publisher wants to publish the book, you'd terminate your agreement with Lulu, sign a contract with the publisher, and the publisher would assign one of its ISBN numbers to the book.

- Victoria

hurricanehanni · Feb 19, 2008

ISBN #'s. Are there different ones? selling to a bookstore vs. public?

Is there a difference. The site I was on said I had to pay $155.00 to be able to sell to a wholesaler or bookstore?

ResearchGuy · Feb 19, 2008

hurricanehanni said:
Is there a difference. The site I was on said I had to pay $155.00 to be able to sell to a wholesaler or bookstore?

They lied.

See http://www.bowkerpubservices.com/prodids.htm

--Ken

p.s. Bear in mind that your book does NOT require an ISBN. An ISBN gets it into Books in Print and is pretty much essential for the book trade, but you can sell books to individuals without one. Read a good book on self-publishing for more information -- Poynter's or Tom and Marilyn Ross's.

Joycecwilliams · Feb 19, 2008

Well bookstores need ISBN it is how they order their stock. A man in my writing obtained an ISBN for his book, but I believe he got it through the publisher (it was a small press, locally owned).

Getting a book into bookstores maybe a task. All of the publishers fight for space in a bookstore.. Books are sold by what categories they fit in. It is really all about marketing instead of writing unfortuantely...

You might want to check with the library congress...

hurricanehanni · Feb 19, 2008

ResearchGuy said:
They lied.

See http://www.bowkerpubservices.com/prodids.htm

--Ken

p.s. Bear in mind that your book does NOT require an ISBN. An ISBN gets it into Books in Print and is pretty much essential for the book trade, but you can sell books to individuals without one. Read a good book on self-publishing for more information -- Poynter's or Tom and Marilyn Ross's.

thanks. One other question, would you suggest purchasing the #'s directly from isbn.org?

ResearchGuy · Feb 19, 2008

Joycecwilliams said:
. . . A man in my writing obtained an ISBN for his book, but I believe he got it through the publisher (it was a small press, locally owned).

. . .
You might want to check with the library congress...

Then the ISBN belonged to that small press, not the man in your class (group?). ISBNs are specific to the publisher who purchases them and are not resellable.

As for Library of Congress -- it has nothing to do with issuance of ISBNs. Full information in the U.S. comes from Bowker. See the definitive resource, http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/ .

--Ken

ResearchGuy · Feb 19, 2008

hurricanehanni said:
thanks. One other question, would you suggest purchasing the #'s directly from isbn.org?

See http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/ .

Lulu.com can obtain a one-off ISBN from the category used for miscellaneous small publishers. If you need only one and want to use Lulu.com, then that might be a good choice. Otherwise, you buy a block of 10 or more from the issuing agency. See http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/ .

--Ken

tombookpub · Feb 19, 2008

I believe that the ISBN has a certain stigma associated with it - if issued by a POD. Reviewers and book retailers can spot the code and may turn the other way.

Joycecwilliams · Feb 19, 2008

ResearchGuy said:
They lied.

See http://www.bowkerpubservices.com/prodids.htm

--Ken

p.s. Bear in mind that your book does NOT require an ISBN. An ISBN gets it into Books in Print and is pretty much essential for the book trade, but you can sell books to individuals without one. Read a good book on self-publishing for more information -- Poynter's or Tom and Marilyn Ross's.

Thanks for posting this..

Joycecwilliams · Feb 19, 2008

ResearchGuy said:
Then the ISBN belonged to that small press, not the man in your class (group?). ISBNs are specific to the publisher who purchases them and are not resellable.

As for Library of Congress -- it has nothing to do with issuance of ISBNs. Full information in the U.S. comes from Bowker. See the definitive resource, http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/ .

--Ken

All I know is he told me he got a ISBN for his book (It was previously published 20 years ago without one). He may have been refering to his book getting an ISBN.

ResearchGuy · Feb 20, 2008

Joycecwilliams said:
. . .He may have been referring to his book getting an ISBN.

Yes, apparently. The publisher used one of its ISBNs (purchased in blocks) for that book. That is how it ordinarily works. The publisher owns a block of ISBNs (from ten to thousands) and assigns them one-by-one to books as it prepares to publish them. The information (title, author, etc.) then is filed for inclusion in Books in Print and becomes available to the book trade. But the author does not own the ISBN. I gather that the author was casual in his phrasing.

--Ken

DeleyanLee · Feb 20, 2008

And getting them isn't difficult. Fill out the form, send in the money, get them.

I have a friend who was debating on setting up a small press business several years back, decided against it, but still has about 50 ISBN's sitting in her files if she ever decides to use them.

Maui Author · Mar 22, 2008

ISBN

I'm about to publish a few books through Lulu and after reading through the boards, it was mentioned that Lulu will own the ISBN number and several people didn't like that. I know there is an option to buy your own ISBN number on the Lulu site, but why is it bad if Lulu owns the ISBN?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

ResearchGuy · Mar 23, 2008

Maui Author said:
I'm about to publish a few books through Lulu and after reading through the boards, it was mentioned that Lulu will own the ISBN number and several people didn't like that. I know there is an option to buy your own ISBN number on the Lulu site, but why is it bad if Lulu owns the ISBN?

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Lulu has a "Published by You" option. The ISBN is assigned to you, as publisher. I bought one of those (when they were on sale for $50 -- now they are back up to $99.95).

The only catch to "Published by You" that I see is that you are prohibited from using the ISBN outside of Lulu's distribution network. I am not exactly sure what all that implies, but I would assume it includes not being able to make arrangements directly with distributor or wholesaler for same book under same ISBN. You can ask for clarification via Lulu's Live Help.

If someone else (Lulu or iUniverse or anyone else) owns the ISBN (as, for example, for a "Published by Lulu" ISBN), THEY are the publisher, not you. If you want to be the publisher of record, you have to own the ISBN. At the end of the day, maybe that makes no difference for your own specific purposes.

--Ken

Maui Author · Mar 23, 2008

Perfect, thanks! That's what I needed to know!

Questions about ISBN numbers

hurricanehanni

Where Is Ziggy?

victoriastrauss

Writer Beware Goddess

hurricanehanni

Where Is Ziggy?

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

Joycecwilliams

hurricanehanni

Where Is Ziggy?

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

tombookpub

Nonfiction writer

Joycecwilliams

Joycecwilliams

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

DeleyanLee

Writing Anarchist

Maui Author

Halfway between here and there

ResearchGuy

Resident Curmudgeon

Maui Author

Halfway between here and there