e-Readers that don't require ISBN's

[kateharp]

Does anyone know if there are any e-readers besides the Kindle and Nook that DON'T require ISBN's in order to publish your work? -Kate

[Worldwalker]

Well, my Sony 505 certainly doesn't require an ISBN. The majority of my ebooks do not have any (I'm fond of very old books).

[kateharp]

Last I looked Sony only accepts things through smashwords and they require ISBN for Sony, and Apple requires ISBN

[Worldwalker]

Nope. I can download (or create) anything I want, in any format (epub, pdf, txt, etc.) that my e-reader can understand, and load it on there.

I joke that I bought it so I could read Project Gutenberg in bed, and while that's not entirely true, there are a thousand or so books from PG on there. Trust me, they don't have ISBNs. Nor, for that matter, did they ever go near Smashwords (though I have bought books from there).

[kateharp]

sorry -- maybe I wasn't clear with my question -- I didn't mean download something -- I meant publish something -- like publishing your article on amazon for sale.

[GA Russell]

The jetBook and jetBook Lite don't require ISBN's.

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by kateharp

sorry -- maybe I wasn't clear with my question -- I didn't mean download something -- I meant publish something -- like publishing your article on amazon for sale.

If you think I couldn't read your question the first time, what makes you think I'll be able to read it if you ask the same thing again? Either I can read or I can't; in neither event will insulting someone who just tried to help you solve whatever problem you're having.

You asked what e-readers don't require ISBNs. Several people have listed some for you. What part of our responses don't you understand?

By way of example, Barbara Hambly is publishing new stories in the worlds of book series no longer of interest to publishers. Since they are electronic only, and not going near any bookstores, she hasn't bothered to buy ISBNs for them. I have one such story on my Sony Reader. So I can attest that it does not require an ISBN.

[kateharp]

According to this, sony requires ISBN numbers to publish:

Sony requirements from their website:
"If you are an independent author or a publisher with only a handful of titles, please sign up with one of the following self-publishing companies to make your titles available at Reader Store."
http://ebookstore.sony.com/publishers/

Smashword instructions from their website:
"Smashwords retailers such as Apple and Sony will not accept your Smashwords book unless you have a unique e-ISBN."

http://www.smashwords.com/dashboard/ISBNManager

[pholy]

Kate - It is the stores, not the reader devices, that require the ISBNs. I have created two epub books myself; they read very well without those big long numbers anywhere in them.

I suspect you will find that all the big bookstores will require ISBNs; it is probably the unique primary key in their databases. Perhaps Smashwords will sell your books themselves, but won't be able put them to Sony, Kobo, et al without the ISBN.

[jehane]

Kate, you are confusing e-readers (devices) with e-publishers (shops). e-readers (Kindle, Nook, Sony readers, Jetbook, etc) do not require ISBNs. Publishers (Amazon, B&N, Smashwords, Apple) may or may not require ISBNs.

[kateharp]

Yes, I am talking about the stores -- Sony says their store will not accept documents in without an ISBN number.

I know I can convert and transfer almost anything and put it on my kindle including sending blog posts with instapaper or doing by a cable. I'm talking about writer publishing books on all the different e-reader stores. So far, the only stores that I can find that accept books without ISBN are the Amazon Kindle Store and the Barnes and Nobel Nook Store.

[mr ploppy]

I haven't looked for a while, but Smashwords used to sell an ISBN for $10 if you wanted to be the publisher, or give them away for free if you didn't mind Smashwords being the publisher. If you choose to pay the money is taken from your future sales income rather than paying up front. I'm not sure what happens if you don't sell enough copies to cover the fee.

[DMSmillie]

The only ebook stores I know of that do require ISBNs for ebooks are the ones you mentioned, Kate - Sony and Apple. None of the other ebookstores that accept independently published ebooks, including the other retailers that Smashwords distributes to (Kobo, Diesel, etc) require ISBNs, and nor do Amazon or B&N. As mr ploppy points out, though, if you use Smashwords to publish to Sony and Apple, you can get an ISBN from Smashwords for little or no cost. The same applies to publishing your ebook via Lulu (for distribution to Apple iBookstore).

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by kateharp

Yes, I am talking about the stores -- Sony says their store will not accept documents in without an ISBN number.

If you are talking about the stores, then why did you specify in your post and in your headline that you were talking about the devices, and get rude with people who assumed that you meant what you said? People were supposed to ignore what you actually said, and guess that you meant something totally different? You might want to consider an apology.

Pholy is probably right about the ISBN being the database's primary key for most of those stores; it makes sense, since of course a database entry needs a unique key, and an ISBN is unique. It's also something that you should really obtain, not try to figure out how to get by without. It's a cost of doing business, like the cost of paper to mail off a manuscript used to be.

You're going about this backwards: you're trying to figure out which stores you can sell your book through most cheaply, regardless of their sales; you need to figure out which stores you can sell your book through most effectively, regardless of their costs. That is, you're looking for the most profit, not the least expense. If it costs you nothing to publish through Outlet A but you only make $100 in revenue, while it costs you $50 to publish through outlet B and you make $1000 in revenue, you scare up the money and go with B, because the ROI is so much greater. If you can, you sell that book through both A and B, but if you have to pick one, you pick the one that brings in the most money, and if you have to live on dried beans and rice for a couple of weeks to afford it, I recommend making chili.

[Marseille]

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

If you are talking about the stores, then why did you specify in your post and in your headline that you were talking about the devices, and get rude with people who assumed that you meant what you said? People were supposed to ignore what you actually said, and guess that you meant something totally different?

For the record, the words "in order to publish your work" are in the first post indicating what she really meant, and when she tried to correct herself, she apologized for not being clear. You're reading rudeness in where there isn't any, and while her wording wasn't perfect, there was sufficient clarity even in the first post to know what the topic was. The only real rudeness in this thread has come from you being over-defensive.

Originally Posted by Worldwalker

You might want to consider an apology.

Originally Posted by kateharp

sorry -- maybe I wasn't clear with my question

You might want to consider one as well WW.