ISBN's, How Many Does One Ebook Need?

My book is going into final editing, I have a possible ebook cover for Walk Forward, what do I need next?

Time to think about ISBN's for each version of my book. Since I want my book to be available in various formats, I will most probably buy the set of 10 ISBN's. I know that I will have a .pdf, ePub and maybe a few hard copies of the book down the road. I want to be able to track the book myself. I know that many books have similar titles but each has a unique ISBN.

I plan on uploading the book to Amazon, Smashwords and any vendor that will take my ebook. Down the road, I might want a hard copy too. I know that the ebook cover I made will have to be revised for a hard copy book where the cover wraps around the book. I have no idea now as to how many pages a  hard copy of my book might have. In hard copy, my text might appear in larger font for my target of young adults, but then again, the book is also for adult readers.

I want to submit my book to any online publisher willing to let me upload it, thus, expect more than two book formats. Perhaps, I will publish a version with photographs and one without, this would require another ISBN! Maybe my book will have a new cover or need revisions sooner than I might expect.
Guess it is better to buy the batch of 10 than run out!

The ISBN is the unique identifier for a particular format of the book. I don't think I really need 10 ISBN's but since 10 cost the same as 2, and I am sure I need at least 3, I might as well buy the set of 10.

Are there any negatives to buying 10 ISBN's and not using them all immediately? I don't know but plan to call Bowker, the only company allowed to sell ISBN's. I wonder if there is a penalty in not assigning all 10 ISBN's in a reasonable time period? I can not imagine that it will take me 10 years to write a second book although I have been writing content for my first book for more than 20 years!

Is there a fee or penalty for holding my 10 ISBN's, which I assume will be numbers in a series? I don't know for sure, heard there was some sort of  annual fee? I must find out as hate to commit to annual fees.

What about translations? I assume if someone creates a translation of the book, the new translated version will need another ISBN. If I change the cover design and a few photographs, this would require ISBN's!

Maybe my first ebook will need more revisions than I can now possibly imagine?

Ten ISBN's seems much for my first attempt at an ebook and my second book is but a vision. I have read Bowker's section on why one should buy an ISBN.

No matter the price or how many, as a librarian, I know that an ISBN is priceless!

Ebook Covers

I am editing my first ebook and wondered what to do about the cover. I tried making a simple cover by taking a photograph, bringing it up in Microsoft Paint, adding my book title and saving as a .jpg file. The problem is that when I made a tiny thumbprint of the cover or exploded it, the letters of my title were not readable. I read whatever I could find on the subject and realized that I need to use a graphic program based on vectors rather than pixels.

The ebook publishers, like Amazon, include requirements for ebook covers, such as the size should be 800 pixes in height and 600 pixels in width.

I searched for free graphic and file converting programs. I took Photoshop classes years ago but thought it too complicated for me at this point. I have little experience in the graphic arts but am a bit persistent. I am however, not at all artistic.

I tried a few programs and quickly realized that it would be easier for me to take another picture than play around with the graphic programs. I decided the less I have to rely on any program the better.

I reduced the size of my photograph and cropped it using Faststone. I saved it as a .png and brought it up in Inkscape where I added my title words. I saw the similarity of Inkscape to Photoshop per layering. After having to name my layers a few times, layering became routine. I added text words, the title of my ebook  to the photograph using Inkscape and saved the file as a .png. I then put the .png product back into Faststone to create a .jpg for the ebook vendors. I double checked my final .jpg file size per publisher requirements.

Inkscape does not have the bells and whistles or the precision of Photoshop but if you are starting with a graphic and need only to add the title of your book, you can create an acceptable cover in a few minutes. After about 5 covers, I created one that my husband likes. He is my most difficult critic. I don't know how to use either program very well, but think I assembled an acceptable cover in a few hours.

If I hire a graphic artist to make a better looking cover, at least I have an idea of what may be involved in the process. I still  have a "homemade" website!

If anyone has any great free programs for making an ebook cover for Amazon, Smashwords or any other ebook publisher, please respond to this post or send me an email at rosaraskin@gmail.com and I will be glad to add to this blog.

One of my favorite "how to author" blogs to date is Copple's Writing and Coffee Blog. If  you are interested in ebook publishing. I highly recommend Copple. His blog is the best kept secret in the blogsphere of ebook creation. I tried many graphic programs in trying to make an ebook cover today, as well as several file converters. Copple's suggestions work and I ended up with what I think is more than an acceptable, free, ebook cover!

Please stay tuned as I will be posting more about my journey into ebook publishing live, as it happens!

Treasure Hunt for Missing Funds

It is incredible that each time I search names of family members on missing funds websites, names that I recognize turn up! My niece recently claimed funds and the process was grueling but she got the funds. I see my sister's name on various lists as well as the name of neighbors and friends!

Missing funds sites, sometimes termed "unclaimed funds" or "unclaimed property" are organized in aggregate but knowing the state helps in double checking results. Whenever I check a list, I find a relative or friend's name. I check the names on as many sites as possible but not as often as I should!

To start your search, below are a few of the sites for identifying missing/lost funds:

National list: http://www.unclaimed.org/

Ohio:      http://www.com.ohio.gov/unfd/treasurehunt.aspx

Other Sites: http://www.dc2net.com/unclmdprpty.htm
                    http://www.missingmoney.com/

The last site above, missingmoney.com, is great if you do not have  a clue as to which State you should be searching!

The treasure hunt is fun and can be rewarding! If you ever find my name on your search
(Rosa Raskin, Rosa Shine, Rosa Shine Raskin), please let me know!

Happy treasure hunting!

Rosa

Butterflies as Models for Fabric Fiber Colors

Like butterfly wing structure, fibers of various thicknesses have been found to determine colors. Thin films of polyester or nylon of 70-nm thickness are laminated in 61 alternative layers, By controlling layer thickness according to visible wavelength, four colors are produced without using dyes or pigment: red, green, blue and violet.

The butterfly-inspired fibers produce diverse colors, improve material quality and are expected to be used in painting, cosmetics, crafts. The invention is patented, commercialized and identified as "Morphotex" used for clothing, nail polish, mascara, coating musical instruments and fishing rods as reported in NASA Tech Briefs, July 2011, p. 33 -- see also www.techbriefs.com/tow/201107a.html for the full report.

Laboratory Supervisor Opportunity in Applied Coatings R&D

Coatings Research Group, Inc. (CRGI) located in Independence, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, has an interesting opportunity for a Laboratory Supervisor. Coatings Research Group is an international association of paint and coating manufacturers dedicated to the benefits of shared research and development.

Dr. Jackie Savoca, Executive Director of Coatings Research Group, and her team, created the "Green Wise" paint certification program. CRGI is certified as an ISO 17025 accredited testing laboratory by Laboratory Accreditation Bureau. Through a system of international agreements, this accreditation is recognized worldwide.

CRGI operates a 6,000 sq. ft. (550 sq. m.) applied technology laboratory staffed by 6 full time professional employees. The laboratory conducts private studies for global member companies and cooperative R&D projects on raw material evaluations, worldwide product benchmarking (often more that 100 products are evaluated), and paint formulation optimization.

If you are interested in contributing to applied R&D paint and coating research as CRGI's Laboratory Supervisor, contact Coatings Research Group, Inc., in Independence, Ohio.

Research Trends in Anti-corrosion Additives

Research trends in identifying novel corrosion inhibitors include identifying natural extracts, creating new compounds via biomimicry and nanotechnology, studying conducting polymers, incorporating noble metals in coatings and recycling waste streams.

If your goal is to reduce costs of environmentally friendly additives that protect our marine infrastructure, water quality and human health, you might wish to read the current article in APCJ: Asia Pacific Coatings Journal entitled "Research Trends in Innovative Anti-corrosion Additives", Volume 24, Number 2, pages 20-21, April/May 2011.

Reprinted with permission from APCJ at http://www.raskinfo.com/corradfinal.html

Searching the Web

The May 2011 issue of Website Magazine cites some interesting alternatives for searching the web including Blekko, DuckDuckGo (DDG), Greplin, Wajam and Quora.

Blekko allows limiting a search by the use of a slash, "/recipes" while Quora is a question-and-answer site. Greplin, created by a 19 year 0ld entrepreneur from Israel, searches Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Gmail, Google Docs, etc. DDG shares slash tags with Blekko.

Thanks WebSite Magazine, May 2011, "Search Alternatives", p.38, for a most interesting article!

Try them and report back soon!

Rosa

Asia's Most Active Undercoats

What do priming a tooth and etching metal have in common?

Adhesion is an important property in materials science, as well as medicine. Dental crowns, for example, tend to eventually fall out. After much research, a Japanese team patented a method to self-etch or prime a tooth preparing the tooth for bonding to metal, resin or an orthodontic bracket (U.S. patent 7614879). For more details, see my article, "Asia's Most Active Undercoats" in the February/March 2011, issue of APCJ: Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, pp. 31-32.

Transparent and Innovative Fillers

If you are interested in fillers for paint, you might wish to read my article in the Dec/Jan 2011 issue of APCJ: Asia Pacific Coatings Journal, p 16, 18.

I mention food grade fillers in the article too. Food fillers help dysphagia. I am thankful for the food fillers as use them everyday for my 93 year young Mom. The thickeners make swallowing so much easier for her.

Unfortunately, per the APCJ website, the journal is nolonger free full text online and one needs to contact their subscription services.

Should you desire the reference for this article, check my website at http://www.raskinfo.com/publications.html.

Statistics on the Sales of the Book You Authored!

I have had this question more than once from authors interested in the sales of their books.

For book authors who wish to double check sales of their books, in addition to the figures given to them from their publisher, Nielsen Bookscan is one possible source, accessed free for those authors registered with AMAZON.

A recent article in the LA Times (Dec 9, 2010) details how and when authors may obtain the information they seek per the sales of their book.

Please note the LA Times article says the data is free for authors --

Authors, link to the LA Times web site article and let me know if the information is helpful:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2010/12/amazon-gives-nielsen-bookscan-to-authors.html

Thanks in advance,
Rosa