Couple of basic questions.
I just purchased 10 ISBNs at Bowker and they're listed in my Bowker account.
(1) Before entering any additional info at Bowker, can I just copy the first ISBN number from that list, and enter it into the ISBN page in my CS Dashboard?
OR - BEFORE entering that ISBN on my CS Dashboard, do I first need to at least enter my book's title at the Bowker website, assigning my title to that particular ISBN at Bowker?
(2) And whenever I do enter my book's info at the Bowker site, can I do it just a little at a time, maybe just enter my title first and then come back later and fill in the rest, bit by bit?
(I took a quick look at all the book info that Bowker requires, and a number of the required specs I found kind of confusing at first glance.)
Thanks!
(1) I have never seen a place to insert ISBN in Dashboard
or: Yes, enter your books author title and date of publishing at Bowker under the ISBN of your choice. It is probably best to go from 1 down the list and copy that ISBN number.
(2) Some details you can add at a later date, such as price. Bowker will tell you in red what they want to know.
(3) Copy the ISBN number into your copyright page of your title before uploading to CS.
On second page of set up, enter your ISBN number.
It should appear in the book's page for preview. CS add barcode on back cover to match your ISBN
Good luck. Marie
Yes, CreateSpace will verify the ISBN you enter, so you'll want to assign the ISBN to the title in your Bowker account first. Also make sure the title, subtitle (if applicable), series (if applicable), author name, and imprint name associated with the ISBN in your Bowker account are exactly the same as what you will enter during CreateSpace setup.
Beyond those data fields, I initially enter the format (paperback) and trim size when assigning the ISBN in my Bowker account, but I wait to fill in all the other data on Bowker -- usually until the day before I'm ready to approve the proof and release the book in the case of print-on-demand titles.
Thanks, Marie.
(I thought Setup was considered an aspect of the Dashboard, but you're right. They're distinct. I stand corrected.)
Thanks again.
Lighthouse, thanks so much for the helpful clarifications. Really appreciate it.
Couple of other really basic questions:
(1) Am I, as sole author, to list myself (at Bowker) under "contributors"?
(2) And whenever I enter info about my book at Bowker, I know to press "Save," but should I also go to the last page (the "Sales and pricing" page) and press "Submit," even though the info I've entered is incomplete? Or do I wait until a later date when I've finished entering my book's info, and only then press "Submit"?
Yes you'd list your name as "Author." Generally that would be the only contributor unless you have a co-author, illustrator, translator etc.
...you'll want to assign the ISBN to the title in your Bowker account first.
Interesting. I say this because I have never done that. I have always waited until later on to even go to my identifiers and enter anything at all. I have a list of my Bowker ISBN's in Excel and when I use one of them, then I enter certain details in my spreadsheet, but I merely go to that spreadsheet and grab the next number when setting up a new title on both CS and also IS. I believe that IF (big if) CS/IS verifies an ISBN that they merely verify the name of the owner or verify that the number I enter has not yet been used.
Dan'l
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Thanks for your input, awin and Dan'l.
danwiz wrote:
I believe that IF (big if) CS/IS verifies an ISBN that they merely verify the name of the owner or verify that the number I enter has not yet been used.
As is often the case here, the most consistent thing about CreateSpace may be its inconsistency.
I know firsthand that CreateSpace has flagged imprint names that don't match what Bowker shows, so they must be checking it. (One of my more prolific clients has two imprint names that he created, both registered trademarks, but he forgets exactly how to spell one of them -- or just rushes through the initial setup step and gets it wrong -- and CreateSpace flags it every time. It's happened twice this month.) However, as in your case, if you haven't entered anything on Bowker, then there's nothing to check. But that brings up the next issue.
Since IngramSpark appeared, several members here have posted about the following problem: They published books using their own ISBNs through CreateSpace initially, then tried to publish the exact same books, with the same physical properties using the same ISBNs through Ingram. Ingram rejected them saying that the ISBNs submitted belonged to CreateSpace and could not be used (even though that wasn't the case). This led a number of authors and bloggers to conclude (and advise) that when using your own ISBN, one must set up a new title on Ingram first, even if the intent is to print through CreateSpace first.
We think this conflict on the Ingram side may actually occur because (when publishing through CreateSpace first) the upload of all new title metadata and print files (to the Amazons and other channel partners to make newly released book available to them) is done by CreateSpace in a batch process, with CreateSpace's publisher info globally entered into any missing data fields. So to Ingram and the rest of the wholesale/retail world, it looks like a CreateSpace title.
However, if the publisher assigns the ISBN within his/her Bowker account first, then the metadata fields in any type of cataloging system would reflect that, and (we believe) any attempt to replace those in a batch process would be flagged -- ultimately ensuring that (a) Amazon and other channel partners had the right cataloging info as intended by the publisher, and (b) IngramSpark (or other printers) would correctly recognize the ISBN as belonging to the publisher, and not see it as belonging to CreateSpace.
This may or may not be what's really happening under the covers -- there's no way to know. So I can only relay what I've experienced with our titles and those of the clients we handle -- and doing the initial Bowker setup as I suggested in my previous post has never resulted in any problems.
Thanks for that light of "additional understanding" Lighthouse. It is appreciated. I've never entered the same ISBN in both CS and also IS because I use IS for hardcovers only and CS, of course, for the paperback editions.
Dan'l