Monthly Archives: June 2013

The ISBN, not as boring as you thought it was.

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I guess the title of this blog should’ve been “ISBN, stuff you should know, but never cared enough to ask”. The truth is, if you are a self publishing author, the ISBN is either useful to you or it’s not. It all really depends on what you expect your book to do. In order for your book to be sold by most retailers and tracked, you need an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and a barcode.

Why Should I own my ISBN?: It’s recommended that you, the author, are the owner of your ISBN. There are publishing houses that offer to sell you an ISBN at a cheaper rate, but the fact is that you don’t own it even if you pay for it. If you haven’t signed up for the ISBN, you are not the owner of the number and thus don’t own the rights to the book it is registered for. Long story short, it’s better to buy your own.

Where can I get my own?: You can sign up for an ISBN here. This website also has everything you need to know about ISBNs and can answer any questions you may have so rather than regurgitate all of that information, I will recommend you go there. Fill out the documents, pay the fees and you will be good to go. It is a rather lengthy process so prepare for that. You also want to have all the information about your book ready.

 

 

 

 

Black, white & read all over

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If you are a self published author, you know that there is no easy way to get your book published and printed unless you have serious financial backing. That being said, some print companies like PrintPapa.com are making an effort to change that reality.

How? Well, let’s explore that question. One way is to simplify the book printing process. Offering short run’s , reasonable turn-around times on hard copy proofs and very competitive pricing are just a few of the benefits when printing your book through PrintPapa.com. They’ve recently made a few production changes that directly lowered the pricing on Black & White book printing so not only do you get very comprehensive customer service and an excellent product, but you also get all of this at a terrific price.

There are no laser printers on the production floor at PrintPapa.com. Your books will be printed on 2 state of the art HP Indigo’s on premium paper. Though the prices are kept competitive, there are no corners cut so don’t expect dirt cheap. Quality is paramount at PrintPapa.com and that is blindingly evident in their product.

Out of all the options you will find at PrintPapa, the one thing you won’t find is outsourcing. All book printing and binding is done in house which is yet another reason why, as of June when the prices were lowered, they can offer such a superior product and come in under your budget.