Need Help with SW-ISBN

[*DrDln* (dr.s.dhillon)]

I know there was a thread in which authors were discussing Smashwords (SW).

If anyone can help with the question about SW-ISBN.  Is it better to have Free Smashwords ISBN in which SW is the publisher or better to pay $9.95 in which you the author is the publisher or doesn't matter?

Your input will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

[*DrDln* (dr.s.dhillon)]

If anyone can help with the question about SW-ISBN.  Is it better to have Free Smashwords ISBN in which SW is the publisher or better to pay $9.95 in which you the author is the publisher or doesn't matter?
Your input will be highly appreciated. Thanks.

I posted this question quite a while back, but either no one saw this question or didn't bother to answer.  But I finally decided to use Free SW-ISBN.  Because they need it to list with apple and sony ereaders.

I wonder what other authors who published with smashwords have done for their ISBN! Wish all the best.

[Talia Jager]

I don't know what to do. I think I'm leaning towards buying a block of ISBN numbers so they can be MINE - but they cost a lot of money.

[*DrDln* (dr.s.dhillon)]

I don't know what to do. I think I'm leaning towards buying a block of ISBN numbers so they can be MINE - but they cost a lot of money.

You are right tjager. It does cost but many people do it. That's one of the ways to do it. I was not sure and went with free that smashwords offer.

[Jeff]

If you buy an ISBN from SW, you will be listed as the publisher and you can use the number for any ePub. If you use the free ISBN, SW is listed at the publisher and you can only use the number on SW. It doesn't matter if you buy a block from Bowker or one at a time from SW.

[Rose Gordon]

You are right tjager. It does cost but many people do it. That's one of the ways to do it. I was not sure and went with free that smashwords offer.

I buy the 9.95 ISBN from SW. If I leave SW, the ISBN comes with me. It's an ePUB ISBN that can be used at B&N and anywhere else ePUB is sold. For now, Amazon doesn't require an ISBN (and neither does B&N or most other places--I think SONY and Apple are it), so I don't see the advantage to having a giant block of ISBNs--unless you have a gigantic backlog.

[bjm]

If you buy an ISBN from SW, you will be listed as the publisher and you can use the number for any ePub. If you use the free ISBN, SW is listed at the publisher and you can only use the number on SW. It doesn't matter if you buy a block from Bowker or one at a time from SW.

Can you Upgrade later? Or will it be too late?

[Rose Gordon]

Can you Upgrade later? Or will it be too late?

What do you mean upgrade it? For every format you sell you book in: print, ePub, Mobi etc you have to have a different ISBN anyway, so you might as well take advantage of buying one at 9.95. For Amazon, B&N, SW (and most of their channels) and CreateSpace (I think, I don't know for sure since I don't use them) you don't even need an ISBN. They assign you product number. That's all you need to sell there. So really, in the grand scheme of things, the 9.95 ISBN is probably all you'd ever have to buy. If that.

[swolf]

I'm curious to know where the claims are coming from that you can take your $9.95 ISBN you bought from Smashwords and use it somewhere else.  I don't see anything in the documentation that states that.  As a matter of fact, the ISBN FAQ on Smashwords seems to say the opposite:

Will Smashwords assign me an ISBN number?
Starting March 2010, Smashwords added support for ISBN-13 numbers with our new ISBN Manager feature. We offer three ISBN options: 1. You can attach your own ISBN number to your book; 2. You can obtain a free ISBN from Smashwords that registers Smashwords as your publisher (your book must be accepted into the Premium Catalog to be eligible to receive the free ISBN), or; 3. You can acquire a premium ISBN from Smashwords that registers you, the author or publisher, as the publisher in the ISBN record and lists Smashwords as the distributor.

What's the difference between the Premium ISBN and the Free ISBN?  Which is better?
We recommend the FREE ISBN because it's free.  We pay for them so you don't have to.  The Premium ISBN offers no advantage over the free ISBN.  The Premium ISBN really a vanity ISBN for those who feel it's important to be listed as the "publisher" in the Bowker Books in Print Database, a database that virtually noone will ever look at.  Of all the Smashwords retailers, only Sony polls Bowker for data in the ISBN record, and the data in your ISBN record is often less accurate than the data in your Smashwords account.  The free ISBN is available to any author, anywhere in the world.  Although it registers Smashwords as the "publisher" in the Bowker record, we are not your publisher.  This designation is due only to the legacy limitations of Bowker's categorization options for ISBNs.  If Smashwords is listed as your publisher in the ISBN record, it in no way limits your ownership of your book, and in no way makes us your publisher. 

Can I acquire an ISBN from Smashwords if I'm not a Smashwords author?
No. We issue our free and super-low cost ISBNs only as a publishing and distribution benefit for Smashwords authors.

From that, I get that you can't use the $9.95 ISBN elsewhere, since that would be an 'advantage' over the free one.  Also, the $9.95 still lists Smashwords as the distributor, so you might have trouble using it somewhere else.

[Rose Gordon]

I'm curious to know where the claims are coming from that you can take your $9.95 ISBN you bought from Smashwords and use it somewhere else.  I don't see anything in the documentation that states that.  As a matter of fact, the ISBN FAQ on Smashwords seems to say the opposite:

From that, I get that you can't use the $9.95 ISBN elsewhere, since that would be an 'advantage' over the free one.  Also, the $9.95 still lists Smashwords as the distributor, so you might have trouble using it somewhere else.

From what I understood from the SW FAQ about the "premium" ISBN is that the person who buys it owns it--whereas the free one SW gives is there and if you leave SW, it stays. Therefore, if I get to keep it when I leave SW, doesn't that mean I could use it now on any of my ePUB books?

At least that's how I understood it when I read the FAQ back in Feb. if something has changed it really doesn't matter to me personally (or the majority of the people here) because it's not like I'm trying to sell through Google Books where they require an ePUB ISBN anyway.

[swolf]

From what I understood from the SW FAQ about the "premium" ISBN is that the person who buys it owns it--whereas the free one SW gives is there and if you leave SW, it stays. Therefore, if I get to keep it when I leave SW, doesn't that mean I could use it now on any of my ePUB books?

At least that's how I understood it when I read the FAQ back in Feb. if something has changed it really doesn't matter to me personally (or the majority of the people here) because it's not like I'm trying to sell through Google Books where they require an ePUB ISBN anyway.

But I posted from the FAQ.  I don't see anything in there about keeping it.

If you could keep it, that would be an advantage to buying it, and the FAQ specifically states "The Premium ISBN offers no advantage over the free ISBN"

[Okey Dokey]

ISBN identifies the publisher.

If Smashwords gives you a free ISBN, then Smashwords is the publisher.
If Smashwords sells you a single ISBN, then Smashwords is claiming it's the "distributor" and you're still tied to Smashwords.
Never heard of a traditional book "distributor" claiming this. A published book already has a publisher's ISBN before it gets to a distributor.
In our hurry to get published, ebook "distributors seem to making up their own set of rules in their favor.
If you want to get a free ISBN, that's OK if you remember it identifies the publisher.
For future editions of the same book, you can switch publishers (Smashwords) and get another publisher using a new ISBN.
To really simplify things, save enough money to buy your own block of ISBNs using your own company name like "DrDin Publishing"
You can always use them for ebooks (you'll write several) and the paperback editions for book signings.

[bjm]

Maybe this comes from the 'rule of thumb' saying do the Smashwords first, then do Kindle? It has to do with ISBN. (They must link up somehow?)

I'm curious to know where the claims are coming from that you can take your $9.95 ISBN you bought from Smashwords and use it somewhere else.  I don't see anything in the documentation that states that.  As a matter of fact, the ISBN FAQ on Smashwords seems to say the opposite:

From that, I get that you can't use the $9.95 ISBN elsewhere, since that would be an 'advantage' over the free one.  Also, the $9.95 still lists Smashwords as the distributor, so you might have trouble using it somewhere else.

[Talia Jager]

I went ahead and bought a block of ISBNs from Bowker.

I let SW distribute to Apple. My book was put in the wrong category and I couldn't see sales. After sending two emails with no response, I opted out of Apple. I then went ahead and distributed to Apple myself. NOW... Apple says the ISBN already exists. I can't get an answer from Apple either. The IBSN was put on the ePub version of my book. So, I'm at a loss as to why I can't use the ISBN again.

[Rose Gordon]

But I posted from the FAQ.  I don't see anything in there about keeping it.

If you could keep it, that would be an advantage to buying it, and the FAQ specifically states "The Premium ISBN offers no advantage over the free ISBN"

I e-mailed Mark yesterday to ask if the ISBN could be take elsewhere to use for an ePUB ISBN. His answer? Yes. However, it will still list SW as the distributor. Notice he said distributor, NOT publisher.

As I said before, in the grand scheme of things it really doesn't matter. Buy a block or don't buy a block use the free one from SW or buy the premium one. The problem I see with buying a block is it could potentially be a waste of a lot of money. What if you never use that many? What if you don't sell enough to pay off all the pre-publishing costs (including the ISBN). In the early stages of publishing I think money is better spent on market/editing/covers etc not on an ISBN, but that's just my opinion.

[swolf]

Rose, thanks for asking Mark about that.

Now the question is, how useful is that ISBN elsewhere with Smashwords listed as the distributor?

I agree though, I can think of better things to spend my money on than ISBNs.