Writing and Publishing News

Two of my articles appear in publications this week. My piece on shifting your writing into high gear in order to survive the economic downturn is in the October 2009 edition of the Freelance Writer’s Report (print version). If you’re a freelance writer, you really must subscribe to this newsletter. I’ve been subscribing for years.
http://www.writers-editors.com

Ron Pramschufer features my piece on successfully dealing with competition in his September 2009 edition of Publishing Basics. Read it at http://www.publishingbasics.com/current.

Also in this edition of Publishing Basics, you’ll find articles by Brian Judd and Peter Bowerman—both professionals whom I have had the pleasure of meeting.

While you’re checking out Ron’s publication, be sure to read his MOST informative FAQ page related to the ISBN. I’m pretty sure that if you have a question about the ISBN—no matter how off the wall it is—Ron has an answer for you on this page. Use the link above to find the newsletter and then click on the FAQ for ISBN link on the first page of the newsletter.

For those of you who are interested in buying just one ISBN, Ron Pramschufer is an agent for Bowker and is authorized to sell single numbers. He charges $99.

For years, I’ve been advising against purchasing just one ISBN. Why? Because publishers, like myself, were selling them. Since, when we purchase a block of them, our publishing companies are tied to those particular numbers, any books with our ISBN would be tied to our publishing company, as well. It can make things rather sticky when trying to place books in bookstores, get a distributor, etc.

But now, finally, you can purchase just one ISBN from Ron at Publishing Basics as well as from RR Bowker.

This is, of course, for those authors who wish to self-publish in the traditional way—by establishing his/her own publishing company. If you go with a “pay-to-publish” company, they will provide the ISBN in their name. If you land a traditional royalty publisher, they will use their ISBN to identify your book within the industry.

For more about self-publishing (including a handy timeline), locating and approaching a traditional publisher and when to choose a pay-to-publish company, read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

This book does not tell you how to write, publish and market your book. It gives you your options and helps you to sort out the pros and cons so you can make the right decision for you and for your project.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009 at 5:32 am and is filed under Publishing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.