If you have published an ebook, I need some advice please

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   pstraubie48posted 10 years ago

   If you have published an ebook, I need some advice please
   
   Did you purchase an ISBN # (or already have one)? Please advise as to where I apply for one. I have seen many on line but do not know which ones are reliable. Thank you.

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2. 61

   Mai-Keraposted 10 years ago

   If you publish your books through Amazon.com, you don't need an ISBN. Others, do ask you to have one. (Barnes and Noble, iTunes). In my experience, the bulk of my readers use Amazon/ Kindle, so I've never bought one myself. However, this is the place where I was referred by an agent.
   
   www.isbn.org
   
   You can buy one, but it's more cost effective to buy them in bulk. If I were to go this route, I'd buy ten versus just the one at $250. Again, I think you should consider the market before you put money on an ISBN for an ebook.

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      pstraubie48posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      thank you for your insight...i had no idea how much they cost or if  I should get one...

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   2. 0

      Medievalistposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I used to suggest people buy ISBNs, but now, I'd suggest unless you plan on being a publisher, I'd hold off until you see how your book(s) do, and keep your costs down.

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   Medievalistposted 10 years ago

   For most people and most self-published ebooks, you will have most of your sales from Amazon, followed by B & N. I'd suggest not getting ISBNs unless you start making serious money and publish more books; the ISBN identifies a single edition of a single book in a single file format. You can re-publish your books with ISBNs later. For now, I'd go with Amazon, and no ISBN and for other file formats/retailers, I'd go through Smash Words and their free options.

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   M. T. Dremerposted 10 years ago

   I published through book baby and one of the features they offered was to get the book an ISBN number. The cost of getting that number (which is separate from publication costs) is about $20. So, it's not too bad. I went with book baby over other publishing services because they distribute to all the major retailers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Scribd, itunes, etc.) So I didn't have to worry about whether or not a friend would be able to read it because they didn't have the right ereader.

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      Medievalistposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      There isn't much point in an ISBN for most self-publishers, and there's even less if you're not buying and controlling the ISBN directly. An ISBN from a service provider like Book Baby or Smashwords will identify your books as published by them.

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      M. T. Dremerposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I would actually prefer a publisher be listed on my book.

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      Medievalistposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      If you want a publisher listed, then you need to buy your own ISBN from Bowker; much cheaper in a block of ten. But honestly, it's not going to help with sales. Libraries won't see it; book stores  won't buy it unless a customer orders it.

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