smashwords 'free' ISBN

[Valdieron]

My ebook has been accepted into smashwords' premium catalog, which enables me to get a free ISBN paid for by smashwords, but saying that smashwords is the publisher....

good or bad idea???

[James_Wilde]

I'd say depends on the deal (I can't remember the terms of the Smashwords author contract). Let's face it, you're in the game to get published, right? And Smashwords are serious about e-books.

How much freedom to distribute elsewhere do you get? If I remember, the Premium deal makes sure you're on Amazon, B&N and a bunch of others, even if not prominently.

I have my own isbn's so I'm not in quite the same position (have you thought about applying for your own?), but if you're not published by someone, you'll not get sold, and famous.

[Worldwalker]

As I understand it, ISBNs are specific to author/publisher/edition, so if you have a book published in hardcover, the paperback gets a different ISBN, the ebook gets a third ISBN, and if it's picked up by a different publisher, you start over again.

Also, Smashwords is your publisher. They're packaging the book. They're selling it. They are, in other words, publishing it. So yeah, the ISBN would reflect that they're your publisher.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Look at it this way: It's a free ISBN through Smashwords, allowing you to sell through Sony and Apple, which require ISBNs, as well as booksellers that don't require ISBNs. But you can still opt out of any vendors on Smashwords' list and sell your (non-Smashwords edition) ebooks directly through them if you want. So it does no harm to do it.

[starrigger]

For $10 against your account, SW will get you an ISBN that lists you as the publisher, meaning that they are the distributor. I don't think it's really a big deal either way, but I opted to spend the $10 against the possibility that it might make a difference in the future.

[Valdieron]

As I am overseas, I cannot get the $10 ISBN, my only option is the one where smashwords gets me one for free and they say they are the publisher. I just didn't know if this should send off warning bells or not. I feel pretty secure doing it that way, like you have said its all about getting out there anyway.

Cheers,
Rob

[J. Strnad]

I didn't see any problem with it. The ISBN is just an identifier, not a designation of ownership. If you want to sever ties with Smashwords and publish your own edition, you can buy an ISBN of your own for that edition. Ten dollars for one through Smashwords is a bargain.

[wannabee]

Originally Posted by Valdieron

As I am overseas, I cannot get the $10 ISBN, my only option is the one where smashwords gets me one for free and they say they are the publisher. I just didn't know if this should send off warning bells or not. I feel pretty secure doing it that way, like you have said its all about getting out there anyway.

From what I've been able to grasp about the sale of eBooks through iBooks and Amazon is that you had better be the publisher.

iBooks and Amazon keep 30%, the publisher gets 70% and of that the publisher gives the author 20%. So for a $2 book you get 28 cents from a publisher or $1.40 if you publish it yourself.
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

You will need a US tax number and bank account to open an account with iBooks or Amazon. The tax number is quite doable from Australia. When I tried to open an account with iBooks it provides the forms during registration if you are outside the US (I read that it takes about 6 weeks) but not sure what hoops you have to jump through to open a bank account from here.

For ISBN's in AU. New publisher rego $40 1 x ISBN $55 or 10 for $80. http://www.thorpe.com.au/isbn/ One good thing about eBooks is you don't need to generate a bar code at additional cost.

That's what I know so far Valdieron. Maybe someone who has self published with on line retailers from outside the US might help with some insight as I expect to have to do it shortly and would love the benefit of their experience. This organisation has the benefit of having a US branch with a bank account there already so that's one less hoop.

[Smashwords]

Originally Posted by wannabee

From what I've been able to grasp about the sale of eBooks through iBooks and Amazon is that you had better be the publisher.

iBooks and Amazon keep 30%, the publisher gets 70% and of that the publisher gives the author 20%. So for a $2 book you get 28 cents from a publisher or $1.40 if you publish it yourself.
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/

aving a US branch with a bank account there already so that's one less hoop.

Hi there. Whether you acquire your own publisher ISBN from your local ISBN monopoly or not, it has no bearing on the royalties you'll earn from the retailer. That's really dependent on how you reach the retailer. With the Apple example you cite, if you upload your own book to Apple, they'll pay you 70% of the list price. If you use a distributor such as Smashwords (regardless of whether you take advantage of our free ISBN or our $9.95 on, or even if you supply us your own), we'll pay you 60% of the list price. We take a 10% commission.

As J. Strnad and others here correctly pointed out, an ISBN is simply a digital identifier. It connotes no ownership rights, regardless of who's registered with the ISBN record as the publisher. ISBNs help supply chain participants keep track of your book. As Steve pointed out, only Apple and Sony require them, but for that reason alone you should have one. If Apple and Sony stopped requiring them, then the ISBN's value to ebook authors would be questionable IMHO. I'm a big believer in identifiers, though the ISBN falls short on many levels.

Here's our FAQ on ISBNs: https://www.smashwords.com/about/supportfaq#isbn which also has links to Bowker, the US ISBN registrar which offers its own good collection of helpful online resources about ISBNs.

[wannabee]

Thanks for the precise explanation of the use of ISBNs Mark. Appreciated.

That Smashmouth pockets just 10% sounds good for anyone that doesn't want to go to the trouble of opening accounts for multiple on line stores. I'll certainly be investigating that option in future.

Thanks for the link.