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Quick ISBN question???

by Kevin AKA Hubcap
4 replies
So i'm getting ready to sell some material in iBooks (Apple's e-book store).

They require an ISBN number and numerous companies (Lulu for example) are willing to give one to you for free if you use their service to format your e-book.

They all state the author retains any and all rights.

Are there any advantages (or disadvantages) of using an ISBN from a company such as Lulu?

From what I understand they're listed as the publisher of record. Again what are the advantages/disadvantages of this from my (the author's) viewpoint?

Kevin
#isbn #question #quick
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin AKA Hubcap
    Anybody?? ANYBODY???
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  • Profile picture of the author jonat2005
    When you use ISBN, you are simply telling readers that your book is approved and the contents are valid. Its more like a form of standardization
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by jonat2005 View Post

      When you use ISBN, you are simply telling readers that your book is approved and the contents are valid. Its more like a form of standardization
      Sorry - I have no idea where you got all this from, but it has absolutely nothing to do with what an ISBN is.

      An ISBN does not signify any of those things. There's no "approval process", and no checking of the validity of the contents at all.

      It's purely an identification system, to facilitate efficient marketing by booksellers, libraries, educational institutions, wholesalers and distributors.

      I know of no disadvantage or risk from getting your ISBN allocated through Lulu (and I hope you'll excuse the observation that if I were about to publish a book in "that kind of way", Lulu is just about the very last place I'd think of using. Are you - at least - aware of the other options, Hubcap?).
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  • Profile picture of the author Craig Fenton
    Hi Kevin:

    At one time you could purchase ISDN's from a company which allowed you to completely have control over how you format/sell a product.

    You can Google/Yahoo search to see if this is still possible.

    If you do business with a specific publisher they will take care of the ISDN for you.

    Make sure that you have in writing (I can tell you this as an author) that the E-Book or regular physical book is your property and at anytime you can do with it as you please with no penalty,

    Good luck,
    Craig
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