Comments for TurnKey Publishing by Matthew Chan: Independent Book Publishing, Audio Publishing, CEO Publishing, Accelerated Publishing, Self-Publishing http://turnkeypublisher.com Independent Book Publishing, Audio Publishing, CEO Publishing, Accelerated Publishing, and Self-Publishing Tue, 08 May 2012 18:54:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Daniel Horne http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-2253 Daniel Horne Tue, 08 May 2012 18:54:22 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-2253 There seems to be a proliferation of the "designated agent" concept where a publisher can reserve a Bowker ISBN at a discount and then the author IS the publisher of record with Bowker. It's called the 'Independent Publisher Program" from what I read from publisher websites. Not that I track Bowker, I don't, but I also do not find a thing about this designated agent program on their website. So I'm wondering if this is a publisher using pulling from their own block of ISBNs and listing the book under the guise that it is the author's book and that is why ryan (comment above) lost the big deal. I dislike the system, and the prices, to be sure. But, hassle though it is, I still tell authors to go to Bowker if they insist on being the publisher of record. Of course, then I need a "non-exclusive license agreement" to sell and distribute the book at all. I do wish there was a way for me to do the legwork for my clients because I don't mind the complexity of the process (that doesn't mean I don't want it to change). Blessings to all. There seems to be a proliferation of the “designated agent” concept where a publisher can reserve a Bowker ISBN at a discount and then the author IS the publisher of record with Bowker. It’s called the ‘Independent Publisher Program” from what I read from publisher websites. Not that I track Bowker, I don’t, but I also do not find a thing about this designated agent program on their website. So I’m wondering if this is a publisher using pulling from their own block of ISBNs and listing the book under the guise that it is the author’s book and that is why ryan (comment above) lost the big deal.

I dislike the system, and the prices, to be sure. But, hassle though it is, I still tell authors to go to Bowker if they insist on being the publisher of record. Of course, then I need a “non-exclusive license agreement” to sell and distribute the book at all. I do wish there was a way for me to do the legwork for my clients because I don’t mind the complexity of the process (that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to change).

Blessings to all.

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Matthew Chan http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-2162 Matthew Chan Sun, 15 Apr 2012 01:19:38 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-2162 Sam, Give it time. This may change in the near future. The days of the ISBN will become numbered for those who don't choose to adopt it. Sam,

Give it time. This may change in the near future. The days of the ISBN will become numbered for those who don’t choose to adopt it.

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Sam Greene http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-2161 Sam Greene Sun, 15 Apr 2012 01:11:17 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-2161 It's amazing how skewed their pricing is against the solo publisher/author. This government sanctioned bias should be put to a stop. Unfortunately you need one of these for the iTunes book store if you're charging. It’s amazing how skewed their pricing is against the solo publisher/author. This government sanctioned bias should be put to a stop.

Unfortunately you need one of these for the iTunes book store if you’re charging.

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Larry Flinchpaugh http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-2146 Larry Flinchpaugh Sat, 24 Mar 2012 15:39:50 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-2146 Thanks for the information on Bowker. On my first two books, I found that getting a Bowker ISBN number was nearly impossible for the novice computer user. Their computer application was extremely awkward and since they had a monopoly on the system, their customer service left a lot to be desired. Larry Flinchpaugh, author of "Secrets of Our Hidden Controllers Revealed," "Growing Up In a Zoo"' and publisher of "Letters Home From Civil War Soldier Charles Gamble." Thanks for the information on Bowker. On my first two books, I found that getting a Bowker ISBN number was nearly impossible for the novice computer user. Their computer application was extremely awkward and since they had a monopoly on the system, their customer service left a lot to be desired.

Larry Flinchpaugh, author of “Secrets of Our Hidden Controllers Revealed,” “Growing Up In a Zoo”‘ and publisher of “Letters Home From Civil War Soldier Charles Gamble.”

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Tom LaBelle http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-1426 Tom LaBelle Thu, 23 Feb 2012 17:55:35 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-1426 About this Bowker outfit. Any company enjoying a monopoly needs to be regulated. About this Bowker outfit. Any company enjoying a monopoly needs to be regulated.

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by ryan http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-424 ryan Mon, 05 Dec 2011 20:48:15 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-424 I self published a book and bought an isbn from a website and thought that I was the publisher. When I tried to list my title, I was told that the ISBN number was not mine and was not able to list it and in turn lost a big sale. I still have 2000 of those books left over. I am getting ready to print another book, but am still trying to figure out the right way to get an ISBN. Should I just goto Bowkers so I know I own it? I self published a book and bought an isbn from a website and thought that I was the publisher. When I tried to list my title, I was told that the ISBN number was not mine and was not able to list it and in turn lost a big sale. I still have 2000 of those books left over. I am getting ready to print another book, but am still trying to figure out the right way to get an ISBN. Should I just goto Bowkers so I know I own it?

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Matthew Chan http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-423 Matthew Chan Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:49:16 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-423 Thanks for sharing the historical perspective. I found that piece interesting. I understand the purpose of the ISBN and why Bowker would want to use a different ISBN for each edition available. It is great for THEIR mission. Unfortunately, they have taken what was considered a noble instrument and twisted it into an easy money-making machine without providing additional value. Many newer, smaller, and independent publishers are entrepreneurs. What they seek is often incongruent with what libraries, Bowker, and other "old-school" interests are. Quite frankly, newer independent publishers don't care or want to pay for the privilege of making the interests of Bowker, libraries, and other institutional interests easier. All these publishers (like myself) care about is getting our works into the marketplace and, quite frankly, they don't really do that. As much as they may tout their Books-in-Print program, mainstream audiences browse Amazon nowadays with little regard to the ISBN. And the fact that a single Identifier such as a single ASIN can be used repeatedly for ongoing updates of a given title or project may be problematic for traditionalists but a boon to others. Admittedly, I am biased towards the private sector. While it might be nice to receive academic accolades within "proper" cataloging systems, it really is very low priority for me because I know where my "bread and butter" audience is. They are not browsing Bowker's "Books in Print". And I personally don't care if my published works are recognized by academia or not. We cannot be all things to all people. The advent of Amazon, ASIN, print-on-demand, and ebooks are some of the best things that could have ever happened to the publishing industry. They have uprooted conventional publishing wisdom rules and when many of us independent publishers look closely are the old rules, many are worth throwing out altogether. We all vote with our words, actions, and dollars. With a few exceptions, I have boycotted the ISBN system and refuse to support that system unless it specifically meets my needs. I cannot say I won't ever use an ISBN again especially in the case of hard-copy, print books but for ebooks, ISBNs are pointless now that we have the ability to update our ebooks at will at anytime. For that matter, there is a school of thought from a subset of independent publishers that refuses to update their ISBNs even when they release a new and updated edition of their work. I know that makes the traditionalists cringe. However, the rationale is that their ISBN represents a hard-earned ongoing project to be built up over time, not an item to be casually discarded and restarted simply because of Bowker's mandates. Additionally, it helps stymie the used book marketplace by ensuring that customers who want the latest version of any given title will buy it new since a particular ISBN is not necessarily being used to designate a particular "snapshot" of a work anymore. As you have pointed out, Bowker's existing system is already broken since there are publishers who (intentionally or unintentionally) muck up Bowker's rules of usage. As a point of reality, I tend to believe that traditionalists will continue to follow Bowker's rules since they like and appreciate the rules. But I can promise you, there is an increasing legion of independent publishers who will "do it their way". Unless Bowker wants to get into the ISBN-policing business, it is futile. Essentially, there will be two marketplaces. There will be those who conform to the traditional ISBN usage and then there is everyone else. The "everyone else" group will simply use a web browser to search out phrases and titles, not ISBNs. Thanks for sharing the historical perspective. I found that piece interesting. I understand the purpose of the ISBN and why Bowker would want to use a different ISBN for each edition available. It is great for THEIR mission. Unfortunately, they have taken what was considered a noble instrument and twisted it into an easy money-making machine without providing additional value. Many newer, smaller, and independent publishers are entrepreneurs. What they seek is often incongruent with what libraries, Bowker, and other “old-school” interests are. Quite frankly, newer independent publishers don’t care or want to pay for the privilege of making the interests of Bowker, libraries, and other institutional interests easier. All these publishers (like myself) care about is getting our works into the marketplace and, quite frankly, they don’t really do that. As much as they may tout their Books-in-Print program, mainstream audiences browse Amazon nowadays with little regard to the ISBN. And the fact that a single Identifier such as a single ASIN can be used repeatedly for ongoing updates of a given title or project may be problematic for traditionalists but a boon to others. Admittedly, I am biased towards the private sector. While it might be nice to receive academic accolades within “proper” cataloging systems, it really is very low priority for me because I know where my “bread and butter” audience is. They are not browsing Bowker’s “Books in Print”. And I personally don’t care if my published works are recognized by academia or not. We cannot be all things to all people.

The advent of Amazon, ASIN, print-on-demand, and ebooks are some of the best things that could have ever happened to the publishing industry. They have uprooted conventional publishing wisdom rules and when many of us independent publishers look closely are the old rules, many are worth throwing out altogether.

We all vote with our words, actions, and dollars. With a few exceptions, I have boycotted the ISBN system and refuse to support that system unless it specifically meets my needs. I cannot say I won’t ever use an ISBN again especially in the case of hard-copy, print books but for ebooks, ISBNs are pointless now that we have the ability to update our ebooks at will at anytime. For that matter, there is a school of thought from a subset of independent publishers that refuses to update their ISBNs even when they release a new and updated edition of their work. I know that makes the traditionalists cringe. However, the rationale is that their ISBN represents a hard-earned ongoing project to be built up over time, not an item to be casually discarded and restarted simply because of Bowker’s mandates. Additionally, it helps stymie the used book marketplace by ensuring that customers who want the latest version of any given title will buy it new since a particular ISBN is not necessarily being used to designate a particular “snapshot” of a work anymore.

As you have pointed out, Bowker’s existing system is already broken since there are publishers who (intentionally or unintentionally) muck up Bowker’s rules of usage. As a point of reality, I tend to believe that traditionalists will continue to follow Bowker’s rules since they like and appreciate the rules. But I can promise you, there is an increasing legion of independent publishers who will “do it their way”. Unless Bowker wants to get into the ISBN-policing business, it is futile. Essentially, there will be two marketplaces. There will be those who conform to the traditional ISBN usage and then there is everyone else. The “everyone else” group will simply use a web browser to search out phrases and titles, not ISBNs.

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Paul T. Jackson http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-422 Paul T. Jackson Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:06:02 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-422 Back in the 70s I was given 100 ISBNs by Bowker...they were giving them away in order for people to use them...having just decided to use the process that the Europeans had adopted in the 60s. The publishing consortium gave RR Bowker the responsibility of keeping track. One of the main uses, and why publishers, libraries and academics want and need to use a unique number is that in citing a work, it is the only real way to know which edition of the work (a single title) one is citing...or being ordered by you or the library. I may not want the paperback, or I might want the ebook because of added material not in the hardbound. How would one order that without some unique number, or a direct contact with the publisher. The mis-use of the ISBNs is another problem. Some legitimate publishers are using the same ISBN for different versions/editions of the same title and when libraries are capturing this information into their databases for catalogs, often they get the wrong information. I've also run across the same ISBN for two completely different books; resulting in corrupted library databases. ASINs probably are useful, but they are yet to be recognized by cataloging systems naturally when online capturing book records. It also doesn't help with duplicate records/books. I agree the pricing of the ISBNs seems out of control, and it seems that Bowker could actually pay for these (administration and equipment) through it's sale of Book in Print usage on the back end, rather than front end by the publishers. This is especially critical if one has to use a different ISBN for each and every ebook format. A different model for costing out the administration; perhaps like that of domain name registration is in order...but then there wouldn't be a single 'book in print' database. Back in the 70s I was given 100 ISBNs by Bowker…they were giving them away in order for people to use them…having just decided to use the process that the Europeans had adopted in the 60s. The publishing consortium gave RR Bowker the responsibility of keeping track.
One of the main uses, and why publishers, libraries and academics want and need to use a unique number is that in citing a work, it is the only real way to know which edition of the work (a single title) one is citing…or being ordered by you or the library. I may not want the paperback, or I might want the ebook because of added material not in the hardbound. How would one order that without some unique number, or a direct contact with the publisher.
The mis-use of the ISBNs is another problem. Some legitimate publishers are using the same ISBN for different versions/editions of the same title and when libraries are capturing this information into their databases for catalogs, often they get the wrong information. I’ve also run across the same ISBN for two completely different books; resulting in corrupted library databases.
ASINs probably are useful, but they are yet to be recognized by cataloging systems naturally when online capturing book records. It also doesn’t help with duplicate records/books.
I agree the pricing of the ISBNs seems out of control, and it seems that Bowker could actually pay for these (administration and equipment) through it’s sale of Book in Print usage on the back end, rather than front end by the publishers. This is especially critical if one has to use a different ISBN for each and every ebook format. A different model for costing out the administration; perhaps like that of domain name registration is in order…but then there wouldn’t be a single ‘book in print’ database.

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Beginning Readers http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-418 Beginning Readers Thu, 03 Nov 2011 23:29:20 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-418 Their web sites were all down from Oct 29 to Nov 1 due to a heavy wet snow causing power outages all over New Jersey. Their web sites were all down from Oct 29 to Nov 1 due to a heavy wet snow causing power outages all over New Jersey.

]]> Comment on Stop Paying Bowker Outrageous Fees for ISBNs by Matthew Chan http://turnkeypublisher.com/2011/04/30/stop-paying-bowker-outrageous-fees-for-isbns/comment-page-1/#comment-416 Matthew Chan Tue, 01 Nov 2011 17:24:06 +0000 http://turnkeypublisher.com/?p=368#comment-416 According to Twitter feeds, Bowker has been affected by the snowstorms and are currently down. According to Twitter feeds, Bowker has been affected by the snowstorms and are currently down.

]]>