I know what an ISBN is and that I need some but where do I get one from? I can get one from CreateSpace but then they will be my official publisher. To be independent I need to buy some myself BUT... I'm a New Zealander living in France (uncertain how long I can stay) and my main market will be the US. With no real fixed abode which country can I get one from? Does it have to be France (the afnil site is atrocious). And I notice that in France there's something called a legal deposit - that's news and how much does it cost?
Can those of you who have published please advise me where I register for my ISBN and do I have to do this legal deposit thing? thanks
Thanks for the tip Brian!
Everybody should, it is surprising what we can be paid for. For instance, if above a certain number your words are quoted in a review in a journal or magazine, the publisher has to pay a fee; each time anything of yours is photocopied or scanned in a library or other public resource and when people go to google books and publishers' pages where parts of texts or whole books are available a couple of pence is collected. It adds up on top of royalties. I have been a member for many years and never had a year without something.
When we published in the UK, we got the ISBNs through the printer and in Sri Lanka, we went to the local rights organisation. I like the sound of ALCS Brian. I shall be joining them forthwith!
How about joining the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS)? Although I am no longer in the UK I am still a member. They collect copyright fees and other bits of money for authors. It is free to join. I get a couple of hundred pounds from various publishers and people who photocopy my work every year from which they take a tiny bit in lieu of a membership fee. For you they have every imaginable bit of information you might need about ISBN, author's copyright and so on. They are at www.alcs.co.uk
I got an ISBN from my publisher then when I got the rights back for my books and republished them fpr Kindle I was assigned an ASIN by Amazon.
Are you self publishing? If you are the publisher should be able to help you, if you're going with a traditional publisher leave it to them to do all the work.
Never heard of a legal deposit.