ISBNs and Things

Been doing some research over the last few weeks in regards to doing some actual publishing. I want to publish something soon and in order to do that I need to look at all my options. So my first thought was to go to createspace and start with the a basic design of my first book. I decided a while ago to put all my poetry into one volume and go from there. The only thing left to do wast to start the process.

So, I did some playing around and I realized I need to do some template work since I have to decided what sized book I want to publish. That was something that seemed pretty easy, of course I would have to reformat whatever I pick, but I think that is something that just comes with the territory. Of course, I would have to figure out a cover. This is a point in which I feel I need to take a picture of whatever I feel really displays the essence of my book and the poems within. In terms of the title, I have already thought one up.

It took me awhile to get to a title. I had been thinking about it for months actually, but last week it just hit me. I have decided to call it My Twisted Life Through Lines of Poetry. It just hit me when I thought about all the poems that I have written over the last few years. When I give some thought to the things I have written, I try to imagine the frame of mind I was in when I wrote them. I came up with the scattered works on a canvas. Since I am very much a Gemini, my work seems to be random but yet with a specific purpose. I feel the title embodies me. I just need to work on getting a picture that will speak to me as well.

Creating the actual book seems to take as just as much creativity as writing the text within. So, I have come to fully expect that this process may take awhile. I do not want to rush getting this done, but at the same time...I want to get this done. Which brings me to the part about a very interesting thing about something called an ISBN.

Every book has an identifier that seems to very much be a bar code on the back cover. This is a code that identifies this book as whatever it is. I can choose one or have one chosen for me, but there is a catch. See, I can get a free ISBN and publish by week's end, the only problem is that it is not a universal identifier. It would only be recognized by Amazon and sold in that manner, thus I would have issues if I wanted it sold by a chain like Barnes & Noble. However, if I wanted a universal ISBN that is recognized by all (including libraries), I would have to pay a fee of $99.  That does not seem too bad, however I am currently trying to work through my budget and that is something that I simply have not planned for. I have often made the joke that when you are broke...everything seems to cost a thousand dollars...lol

So, I asked a friend who is currently selling his book on the Barnes & Noble website. Andre Cole is the author of The Unholy Servants and a very good friend of mine. We both attended Syracuse University and survived. I knew that he had self published and quite frankly this seems to be the way to go. I knew that he would have some answers about the ISBN thing for me. Not that I did not believe what I was being told, but I need to talk to someone who went through this process.  He basically told me that he bought a bunch of these! I am assuming I got this correct when he told me that every format will need its own ISBN. Hmmm....this is proving to be an investment (nothing wrong with that of course).

It made me think a little more clearer on a another project that I started. I would really want whatever it is that I write to be in as many formats as possible. What would be the point of any book if you cannot provide the reader with a format they may find convenient. So now,  I know what it is I need to do in order to get my work published. I cannot help but feel very proud that a good friend of mine has published. No, he is not the first person I know, but Andre is the closest, which gives me the motivation to work harder on this.

It is not easy to find the time and the energy to sit down and write. I have plenty of ideas in my head and I wanted to use the collected poetry as a starting point so that the second time around I know what I need to do. My countdown to get things done as begun in my head. I will need to focus on this and this is something that I know I can do because I have already written the material. With that being said, I do plan on writing new material so that all the poems published are not all from my blogs.

Please take time to click the link to The Unholy Servants. The e-book is only available at the moment but  we are eagerly awaiting the hard and soft cover editions. I have not read this book yet, but I plan to add it to my book club reading list. This way I am helping him out as much as he is going to help me out in this process.