So as I take baby steps towards possible self-publishing of \u2018The Plains of Kallanash\u2019, I\u2019ve found myself thinking about ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers \u2013 those long strings of identifying digits that most books seem to have). You\u2019d think it would be a simple enough procedure \u2013 I need an ISBN (or ten, since that\u2019s the minimum you can order), I contact the agency, here\u2019s my money, ching ching, ISBNs are in the post. Well, not quite. There\u2019s a 4-page application form, for a start, and a 10-page booklet of instructions, not to mention awkward questions like how many pages is your book and what price will you charge and who\u2019s publishing it. Hmm. This needs thought.<\/p>\n
I should point out that no individual actually needs to get an ISBN at all. If you only intend to sell as an ebook, you don\u2019t need one. Amazon, for instance, will issue its own ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number) \u2013 an internal product code, basically \u2013 which uniquely identifies a book (or kettle or lawnmower or DVD or anything else it sells). Even if you want a print book, which has to have an ISBN, self-publishers will be given one free from CreateSpace or their print-on-demand company, and authors with a traditional publishing contract don\u2019t need to worry about it, since some company minion will organise these details.<\/p>\n
So why bother? For me, it seems tidier to get my own ISBNs and have full control of the process. There\u2019s also the issue of professional presentation, which is a big issue for self-publishers. If my book only has an ASIN that\u2019s a clear sign of a self-published book. If it has an ISBN issued by (say) CreateSpace, then the book is technically published by CreateSpace. The information shown on the book\u2019s page on Amazon will say quite clearly \u2018Published by CreateSpace\u2019.<\/p>\n
Well, call me a control freak, but if I\u2019m self-publishing, I don\u2019t want some other company as my official publisher. So I\u2019m happy to stump up the money. There\u2019s no point in paying for professional cover art and editing and all the other gubbins, and quibbling over \u00a3132 for ISBNs.<\/p>\n
But the first question on the form is a stumper. \u2018Publishing name\u2019 it says quite clearly. Is that my own name or a company name? Here in the UK, there\u2019s nothing to stop me doing everything in my own name. The books will then say \u2018Published by Pauline M Ross\u2019, but Amazon will pay my royalties (if any! ha!) direct to me, and I can use my own personal bank account for the publishing income and expenses.<\/p>\n
However, I can also create my own publishing company. The downside is that I may have to set up a business bank account, but that will help me keep the finances straight anyway, although it will cost something after the first year or so. My tax return will be much the same either way \u2013 income and expenses for a small business have to be declared as such in the UK \u2013 but it makes it easier to claim legitimate business expenses if there\u2019s a business bank account.<\/p>\n
So that\u2019s what I\u2019ve decided to do. \u2018The Plains of Kallanash\u2019 will now be published by Sutors Publishing, a small but innovative startup specialising in a very select brand of epic fantasy. Probably.<\/p>\n
[Legal disclaimer: yes, you know what I\u2019m going to say, don\u2019t you? I\u2019m not a lawyer, and this is just stuff I\u2019ve looked up on the internet, and anyway it only applies in the UK. So be sure to do your own research before committing yourself to anything major.]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
So as I take baby steps towards possible self-publishing of \u2018The Plains of Kallanash\u2019, I\u2019ve found myself thinking about ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers \u2013 those long strings of identifying digits that most books seem to have). You\u2019d think it would be a simple enough procedure \u2013 I need an ISBN (or ten, since that\u2019s the minimum you can order), I contact the agency, here\u2019s my money, ching ching, ISBNs are in the post. Well, not quite. There\u2019s a 4-page application form, for a start, and a 10-page booklet of instructions, not to mention awkward questions like how many pages is your book and what price will you charge and who\u2019s publishing it. Hmm. This needs thought.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":527,"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523\/revisions\/527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulinemross.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}