Publishing Tendrils to the Moon turned out to be way harder than I thought. Soon after the ebook went life, enough people asked me for hardcopies that I decided to publish in paperback, too. Per the directions of David V. Stewart, who has several good videos on designing book covers, I used Createspace, which is basically Amazon's imprint, to design my paperback.
I was quickly faced with several questions, such as the paperback's size, price, distribution channels, etc. But the question I agonized over was whether to buy an ISBN.
To publish a paperback, you need an ISBN, whereas it's industry-standard to not require ISBNs for digital ebooks. Many paperback and ebook vendors, including Createspace, offer ISBNs for free, because in great quantities they're extremely cheap. Their cut of your sales will cover the cost of an ISBN easily.
However, a single ISBN (which was never an option for me personally) costs $125, and 10 ISBNs costs $295. I balked at this expense. Theretofore, all the work I had put in to write the book, edit it, proofread it, design the cover, and publish the ebook had been free. Buying the rights to the cover art cost only a couple of dollars. Now I was being asked to shell out $125 to publish one paperback. Why would I do that when I can use Createspace's ISBN for free?
Take a step back and look at it like this. Self-publishing is about giving the writer control of the publishing process. Having your own ISBNs enhances that control. With your own ISBNs, you can publish under your own imprint, essentially starting your own publishing company. That helps with branding. It also makes you the point of contact for sales and distribution. Most independent and chain bookstores do not carry books from the Createspace imprint. Finally, it gives the author warm and fuzzy feelings. (Don't discount the value of warm and fuzzy feelings.)
Read more about ISBNs here.
For awhile I was committed to buying a block of 10 ISBNs and starting my own imprint, Dooley Fiction. I even started designing an imprint logo. In the end, this is what my wife and I decided: Don't overcommit to a whole course of action just to publish one paperback. Use a free ISBN this one time for Tendrils to the Moon. Get your feet wet in the publishing world. Learn some more. Write another book and try to get that one traditionally published. If that doesn't work out, start our own imprint and buy our own ISBNs.
Let me know what you think in the comment section below! I'll reply to you as soon as I can. I invite you to read the first 3 chapters of Tendrils to the Moon for free, and see if the last 9 chapters are worth your time. The paperback version is on sale at Amazon for $8.99. The ebook is only 99 cents.
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