how to self-publish
Oct. 20th, 2009 11:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calimacA friend is self-publishing a special-interest book through Lulu.com and asked if I knew how to go about getting things like ISBNs by oneself instead of hiring their package deal to do it. As my answer included lots of links, I sent it by e-mail and am putting it here as well in case anyone is curious.
If you want a single ISBN (and if you get the optional barcode to put on the art/layout of the back cover, it'll make life easier if any stores carry your book), you can buy it for $150 here. If you ever plan to self-publish again, it'll be cheaper to get a block of ten which you can get either there or from the main site.
Another thing you may want is "Cataloging in Publication", which is the block that looks a bit like a catalog card on the verso of the title page of most commercial books. This will make life much easier for any libraries that buy your book, and I recommend doing so. It looks professional. Occasionally self- and small publishers, seeing that in other books, think publishers create CIP themselves, and do so themselves. That is a mistake on the order of making up your own ISBN. Oh boy, don't do that.
The Library of Congress supplies CIP for commercial books, but does not do so for self-published books: they only have so much resource, and have to apply triage. But if LC will not, these people will - details are at the linked page. They charge $100, and require a plain ASCII text (not a Word file) of your entire book. You will need the ISBN in hand already when you apply.
When you get the CIP copy from them, reproduce it EXACTLY (wording, spacing, punctuation, capitalization, everything) at the bottom of the t.p. verso. Some publishers, even commercial ones, tinker with it. That does NOT look professional. Catalogers will know on sight, and shake their heads sadly.
Another thing you might want, and will help if you're intending to self-publish again AND intend for your book to be sold to libraries, is the Library of Congress Control Number. You can apply for those by opening an account with LC. As with the ISBN, if you get one of these, you should already have it in hand when you apply for CIP.
Information on copyright registration.
And that takes care of the stuff I know from the catalogers' end of the publishing biz.
If you want a single ISBN (and if you get the optional barcode to put on the art/layout of the back cover, it'll make life easier if any stores carry your book), you can buy it for $150 here. If you ever plan to self-publish again, it'll be cheaper to get a block of ten which you can get either there or from the main site.
Another thing you may want is "Cataloging in Publication", which is the block that looks a bit like a catalog card on the verso of the title page of most commercial books. This will make life much easier for any libraries that buy your book, and I recommend doing so. It looks professional. Occasionally self- and small publishers, seeing that in other books, think publishers create CIP themselves, and do so themselves. That is a mistake on the order of making up your own ISBN. Oh boy, don't do that.
The Library of Congress supplies CIP for commercial books, but does not do so for self-published books: they only have so much resource, and have to apply triage. But if LC will not, these people will - details are at the linked page. They charge $100, and require a plain ASCII text (not a Word file) of your entire book. You will need the ISBN in hand already when you apply.
When you get the CIP copy from them, reproduce it EXACTLY (wording, spacing, punctuation, capitalization, everything) at the bottom of the t.p. verso. Some publishers, even commercial ones, tinker with it. That does NOT look professional. Catalogers will know on sight, and shake their heads sadly.
Another thing you might want, and will help if you're intending to self-publish again AND intend for your book to be sold to libraries, is the Library of Congress Control Number. You can apply for those by opening an account with LC. As with the ISBN, if you get one of these, you should already have it in hand when you apply for CIP.
Information on copyright registration.
And that takes care of the stuff I know from the catalogers' end of the publishing biz.
