There's only one site in the US for International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs): Bowker.com. I used Bowker twenty-one years ago when I self-published a limited run of my book of stupid humor, Scary Spasms in Hairy Chasms (from which my blog's title is derived). At the time, I bought a set of 10 ISBNs from Bowker and found an online barcode generator, but Bowker now has barcode service, too, and it's more legit (I guess), so I shelled out for barcodes as well. Lastly, I bought Bowker's ePub converter so I can take my book's manuscript and convert it into an e-book. I think Amazon CreateSpace also has its own way to convert ms data into e-books, but if I understand correctly, CreateSpace also accepts e-books that are already in .epub format. All of this has cost me a pretty penny (a bit under $500), but it's money well spent, I think. I knew I'd be shelling out for the ISBNs, at least.
Finalizing my e-book and getting it online will be one of several projects over the lunar new-year holiday (we're off Monday through Wednesday next week; the idea of being off the entire week fell through). I plan to do my crazy, once-a-year 60K walk from Sunday night to Monday afternoon, but tonight and tomorrow, I'll be devoting my energies to finalizing my book, especially since I'm so close to being done. I think it's safe to say the book will be online and for sale within the first two weeks of February. Things are coming together.
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