ISBN CODE

I AM GOING TO ASK FOR AN ISBN CODE.

IS THIS CODE NECESSARY FOR EACH NEW BOOK (FOR EACH NEW TITLE) ?  OR ONCE YOU HAVE ONE ISBN YOU CAN USE IT FOR MORE NEW TITLES?

THOUGHT …. DEFINITELY … IT WOULD BE NICE IF BLURB COULD OFFER THIS KIND OF SERVICE.

I WOULD LOVE TO PAY  FOR A FULL PACKAGE OF SERVICES: DESIGN , PRINT PLUS ISBN CODE FOR THE SELLING ON BOOKSTORES.

IT WOULD BE REALLY COOL ! ... AND A OF COURSE GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR BLURB AS ADDED VALUE

 mC

Hi Steve

Thank you very much 
Did you have any experience with ISBN  providers ?

Any suggestion ?

I was reading on blurb.com that they are going to offer this kind of service but still is not clear about  a date.

massimo

http://www.isbn-us.com/ - here’s another possibility that says they include the bar code.  I’m checking this one out myself.

Kathy

I found this on the Blurb blog. Have a look… 

The International ISBN Agency explains the <font color="#00adef">uses of an ISBN number</font> and provides a free, handy <font color="#00adef">ISBN user manual</font> spelling out all the juicy numeric details. OK, so maybe not so juicy… here’s the abridged version: As of January 2007, ISBNs need to be 13 numbers (with tens of thousands of books published annually, the world was running out of 10-digit numbers) and should be included on the back cover with a scanable bar code. Apparently the number should be “eye-readable” — as opposed to, what, nose-readable? But you get the idea.

So how do you get your very own ISBN number? Until recently, it wasn’t easy – the U.S. ISBN broker, <font color="#fd7820">Bowker</font>, sold numbers in blocks of at least 10, as did most international ISBN brokers. Authors would get together and buy blocks of numbers and matching barcodes at a price that came out to about $50 per ISBN-barcode combo. But as Kevin Kelly explains in his <font color="#fd7820">indispensable Cool Tools</font> blog, you can actually <font color="#fd7820">get a single ISBN number</font> from Bowker: Call them at 877-310-7333, select voicemail option #4, and request a faxed application to get a single ISBN number for $125. For application details and info on selling your book on Amazon, consult <font color="#fd7820">Kevin’s post</font> on the subject. (And before you ask: Currently Blurb doesn’t offer ISBN services, but we’re looking into it.) 

Once you’ve got your ISBN number, you can include it in your Blurb book. Add a jpeg of your barcode to your image library, then drag and drop it onto the back cover. (You can take your pick of back cover layouts in the layout menu in the upper left of BookSmart.) You can also type your ISBN number on the copyright page opposite your title page for a most official look. 

Or if you prefer, you can create your own fancy back cover PDF with your ISBN bar code on a white background (for “eye-readability”) anywhere but the lower right corner (a tracking code goes there). Save your cover as a jpeg or png, then upload it to your image library. Choose a full-bleed layout for your back cover, then drag and drop your back cover image where it belongs. Nice, eh? A couple of Blurbarians have already done this, and it looks mighty sharp.

Hi All

today I got the ISBN and Bar code in a few hours at

<font color="#fd7820">http://www.isbn-us.com/</font>this is the best service on the NET.

The service is excellent !!

mC

Hi Coquielle – I believe Allison answered your question in another thread, but here’s the info again in cased you missed it. Information on our Custom Logo Upgrade is here and more hands-on info is here.

Hi I also got an ISBN barcode from isbn-us.com but I can’t figure out how to convert it to a small jpeg either? any suggestions? I have tried several things so far such as opening the file in MS word and then pasting into powerpoint and saving as jpeg but the picture comes out so huge in blurb that I cant make it fit on the cover in booksmart, help!

Thanks,

Sasha

Just a clarification on what has already been said. Part of the ISBN number is assigned by the ISBN agency (e.g. Bowker) and part of it by the publisher. If you are going to publish two or more books, the publisher string stays the same and YOU assign the individual book number. Imagine if a large publisher had to back to a central agency each time they wanted to publish a book! Nearly impossible to handle. This is why the publisher gets to assign the item (individual book) number.

While we’re discussing ISBN, you should also look into the CIP or Cataloging in Publication method. When you open almost any book today, you will see a cataloging entry somewhere around the title page. This is a method to insert into the book the cataloging information that the Library of Congress would normally handle. They had the vision to outsource this chore to the publishers and there is no reason why you should not take advantage of it. For more info, just Google it.

will be great if Blurb get ISBN option integrated into booksmart. It seems to be one of the real stumbling blocks for getting books sold!

I’m filling in a form for a set of ISBN numbers for the UK and it asks for the publishing address of Blurb + their telephone number and email and I can’t find this anywhere. As I am applying for UK numbers don’t I need Blurb’s UK address?

ISBN= international static bar number

There is always one isbn for one title . That’s all. I’m knowing only this and nothing else.

Thanks for starting this cool thread.