Doing Research Prior to Buying ISBNs

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Here are links to some to some of the sites I’ve visited today:

Barcode generator:

Bowker:

At https://melindamartin.me there’s a mountain of information:

From https://shaylaraquel.com/:

All of this information is overwhelming, but…I’m going to buy a 10-pack of ISBNs tomorrow and just get moving. My publication date is now Dec. 31, 2019. Really.

ISBN Numbers, QR Codes, and Title Registration, Oh My!

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I’m obsessing over ISBN numbers, QR codes, and title registration. I’m absorbing a lot of new information. I’m stressed out and excited at the same time — I’m getting to the end of this project. I think this is good stress.

Here’s a list that summarizes my state of mind

  • I’ve learned that ISBN numbers are a cinch to create for free online — there’s no need to pay the Bowker tax. Hooray to that!

  • Title registration is a process slightly less grueling than filling an IRS income tax form. I’m not exaggerating. Look at this PDF from Bowker.

  • I still haven’t paid for my 10 ISBN numbers. I’m not ready.

Barcode Code Generator for ISBN Numbers

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I’m on the verge of buying a package of 10 ISBN numbers for $295. But I want to be able to create my own barcode images. Bowker charges about $25 each on top of the $295. I call this the bowker tax. It seems a little greedy.

I found al alternative: The Online Barcode Generator. It looks good, and it’s free.

In other news, I added a drop shadow to the book’s title text.

Cover_Image.jpg Drop shadow, title text, pop!

Speaking of ISBN Numbers

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In the United States, there’s only one place to buy ISBN numbers: Bowkers. Bowkers has an unquestioned monopoloy on these numbers. It costs pennies to generate an ISBN number but the least expensive price for a single ISBN number is $125. I do realize that there’s some infrastructure around the ISBN system that will raise the cost above mere pennies, but $125 for a single computer-generated number lays a punitive burden on self-publishers who are not likely to never need hundreds or thousands of numbers. I’m speaking as a self-publisher.

My question is why are there no other options for buying ISBN numbers? Here’s the Bowker price list to mull over.

isbn_price_list.png Bowkers fees for ISBN numbers

Just keep movin', folks. Nothing to see here.

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My inch forward today is nothing more than opening InDesign and staring at the screen. I scrolled through my book from beginning to end and began to feel the pressure of the blank front matter and back matter. There’s a lot of empty space that needs something to fill it up.

  • I have to create the realistic images of the Steller’s Jay and Monarch Butterfly for the back matter.

  • For the copyright page I need an ISBN number — in fact, I have to buy a batch of 10 ISBN numbers to get a decent price for the two that I’ll need, one for the print book and one for the e-book.

  • I need a bar code for the last page and the cover, which shouldn’t be a big deal — there’s software for that sort of thing.

  • Oh, yeah…I need to create a cover image. I just thought of that after 8 months of nothing thinking about it. The book has to have a cover.

And that’s it, as far as I know … at this point. I’m wised up enough to know that I really don’t know what I’m clueless about. I overlooked the cover. What else did I forget? We’ll find out.

No picture today. That’s sad. Between my day job and tweaking the pages and text, I haven’t drawn or painted anything since the last meeting of the Al Fresco Art Club four day ago.