ISBN: Incredibly Significant Book Number
Kristin Nelson, over at Pub Rants, brings up an interesting point that is little discussed (at least from what I’ve read so far) in the arguments over whether one should self-publish, (and as an aside) if one should post work online.
Recently, we were presented with two opposing viewpoints on posting work online. Strike that — one viewpoint seeks to clarify and refine why it may not be a good idea.
- Jane Friedman of Writer Unboxed, “Stop Being Afraid of Posting Your Work Online”
- Chuck Sambuchino of Guide to Literary Agents: Editor’s Blog, “Be (Slightly) Afraid of Posting Your Work Online”
I wasn’t going to post about the two articles above because I felt that forwarding an opinion in this matter wouldn’t be prudent merely because of the fact that “it depends,” and as we know, the environment is in a period of flux. Having said this, I would give more weight to Chuck’s stance.
Anyway, what Kristin brings up pretty much stands above all other reasons to think long and hard about what a writer wants to achieve with his writing. Her point is that once you’ve published a book (whether on your own, or through a publisher) it is assigned an ISBN number…
The ISBN number allows everyone to track its sales. If you can’t put one-and-one together, get a cup of coffee and read, “An ISBN That Could Hurt.”
