Greetings all and welcome to May! Before we get rolling with this month’s reviews, I wanted to take some time out to discuss a few topics of the POD industry.
Although my Success tab at the top of this page has been extremely slow (hint…hint), it’s been nice to hear from some of you personally about the success of your Lulu books. When asked for advice, I seem to be saying the same thing over and over again…If you haven’t done so already, buy an ISBN for your book! It is the easiest way to improve circulation of your book through all major channels (Amazon.com, B&N.com, Abebooks.com, Books in Print, etc), and it’s the quickest way to get your foot in the door of bookstores. And for those of you shying away in the corner because you may not know what an ISBN is, listen up…
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It’s basically your book’s social security number. It’s also the key to getting your book in the system in most bookstore databases. B&N uses a system called Bookmaster. If your book has an ISBN, then it’s listed in Books in Print. This gets your book into the Ingram database which then gets your book into the Bookmaster system, which means a B&N store could order your book. I work for a medical book wholesaler by day, and the ISBN is the first thing we ask for when people call us looking for a book, next to author and title. Now that doesn’t mean you have to memorize and know it. Bookstores can definitely find you by author and title, but they won’t find your Lulu book in their system without the ISBN.
Recently, you’ve probably noticed two ISBNs listed under the product details of a book online or possibly even on the back of a book. There is an ISBN 10- and an ISBN 13-. The 10 and 13 are not part of your ISBN. Those numbers only tell you how many digits are in that ISBN that follows. ISBNs were once only 10 digits. Last year, the ISBN 13- went into effect because publishers were running out of 10 digit numbers. A quick fix was to just put 978- in the front of the old number. By doing this, it changed the last digit of the ISBN which is known as a check digit. But the middle numbers are the same. This has caused some confusion in the industry because people think you can just drop the 978 and the number will still work. It won’t…unless your system’s search features are that good at finding half a number. Here’s an example of the two ISBNs for one book with the like digits highlighted in red…
- ISBN-10: 1413401031
- ISBN-13: 9781413401035
Here’s how to get started with your ISBN. Sign into Lulu and go to the My Projects tab. Click on the Promote star next to your project. You’ll be taken to a great page that offers all kinds of fun stuff including “Buy” buttons which you can post on your own blogs and websites, bookmarkers, postcards, business cards, etc. But look in the menu down the left side. Under “Marketing & Distribution,” you’ll see a link called ISBNs. Lulu offers two packages, both for $99.95. One is called “Published by You” and one is “Published by Lulu.” But both offer ISBN assignment to your book. Lulu even formats the barcode and ISBN number onto the back of your book for you.
It does take a few weeks for your book to become ISBN ready. There are some steps for you to follow to editing your manuscript for approval (nothing too serious). And overall, it will take a few weeks for the book to start showing up on sites like B&N.com and Amazon.com, but it is truly the best investment you could make in getting your book out there to readers!
But you don’t have to take my advice! After all, I have NOT purchased an ISBN for my own book on Lulu. Why, you ask? Because I mainly used Lulu to publish a 2nd edition of my book which would be more affordable than the 1st edition which I published with a different POD publisher. The first edition already has an ISBN, for both a hardcover and paperback copy. And besides, that book has been out since 2003. I am getting ready to publish a 2nd book with Lulu though, and I will definitely be purchasing an ISBN for it. Here is a link to a website I found which also offers some other great advice about Lulu set-up, especially with creating your own book cover:
Also, Mick Rooney, a UK Lulu author, has a great post on his author site about his adventures with Lulu.
So, that’s about it. I have four reviews already lined up for the month of May. Thanks to all who have continued to support this site on a regular basis, and thanks to the Lulu authors who have posted their books on the “Pick Me!” page. Keep them coming!
Hi Shannon,
I head up the ISBN Agency at Bowker and want to personally thank you for a great blog posting on ISBNs. We value our relationship with Lulu and continue to develop models and service offerings that will advance the value proposition of the ISBN in the digital world. We are launching MyIdentifiers.com soon which will make ISBN assignments IMMEDIATE – no more waiting days or weeks to get them. There will also be a host of discoverability solutions available, and we will launch the site officially in conjunction with the BEA conference later this month.
Your advocacy and support of the ISBN is very much appreciated!
Best,
Andy W.
Shannon,
Great article…
ISBNs are probably one of the more controversial and misunderstood tools available to self published and POD authors who are serious about sales.
As you stated, ISNBs allow authors exposure into major markets that otherwise would not be possible. a book’s ISBN is its fingerprint so to speak and a whole new world of publicity comes with it.
KUDOS to you for clarifying a big “is it worth doing!
Paul
Shannon.
Great article on ISBN’s, an area of book publishing, so much misunderstood, yet, so incredibly important.
Mick.
I’m really confused when it comes to Lulu and ISBN. I’ve already got a few numbers to my name and I reckon I’d like to use them on my book. Sometimes it’s just so hard to understand how to go about doing it. Your post here shed some extra light on it. Thanks!
This is still an important post for self publishers, I’ve made several phone calls that go like “Yes Mr. Marvin thank you for calling, what is your ISBN number?” “It’s 978-0-9822783-0-7″. “Oh yes, I see it right here, ‘Briefs for the Reading Room.’ OK, I’ll order a few, thanks for calling.” Without it, the calls would have been much less successful.
Last I knew, the only thing that had changed from the article above is that “Published by Lulu” price has changed (it was free for awhile, they may charge for it again now).
Dan