My passion is well-written content; my
job exists to ensure that your readers
enjoy what you write without the hang-ups:
badly placed commas, dangling modifiers, typos,
or misused words.
My passion is well-written content; my
job exists to ensure that your readers
enjoy what you write without the hang-ups:
badly placed commas, dangling modifiers, typos,
or misused words.
Official website: https://www.myidentifiers.com
You need a separate ISBN for each format (softcover, audio, ebook = 3 ISBNs)
Best to purchase a batch of your own so you have direct control of distribution. Some publishers include an ISBN in their package. It’s worth looking into how and why ISBNs are used before you decide on purchasing one yourself or using one a publisher includes in their packages. This site has some really great info.
Where should you publish your book?
You have many options! Part of your decision will be influenced by how you want your publishing experience to go. You can choose to self-publish or you can publish through a hybrid publisher, small press, or traditional publishing… and even some in-betweens. I advise you to do some research on publishers… believe it or not, there are a lot of presses that cater to certain audiences, genre, or topic.
Before you choose a publisher, carefully consider what you get out of any “package deals”… vanity publishers exist to make money off authors, and they operate on an author’s lack of knowledge. If you go into it thinking the publisher is going to do your marketing for you, you might be surprised… those are usually additional expenses/package deals, and even then you have to look carefully at what they’ll actually do for you. The vanity publishers tend to rely on pretty low-cost professionals (either freelancers or people they keep on staff), which will affect the quality of the outcomes. Turnaround time is also something to consider. The book layout and cover designers I’ve run with are serious about their craft and don’t hurry the process to make a buck.
I’ll do my best to answer as unbiased-ly as possible. I’m not anti-AI, as I think it has it’s place, but let me break down my thoughts.
1. AI cannot do a human’s job. It does do a great job picking up typos, wordy sentences, potential misspellings, and a number of other technical jobs, but it lacks the ability to understand a human’s perspective. It also can strip your voice straight off the pages. Something that I love about being an editor is the possibility of collaborating with author’s and asking questions about what they’ve put down on the page. AI can’t do that. It runs off algorithms and makes judgments without hearing the author.
2. AI has a place. Yep. And, ultimately, it can help an author cut some costs when they hire a human editor! Something you’ll find universally across the industry is the sentiment that authors must self-edit. This can be overwhelming, I know! But it’s a crucial step before delivering your manuscript to an editor. AI can help you with this step, so you shouldn’t feel bad using it! But do be careful and judicious in your use of it.
3. I will ALWAYS recommend a real, human editor. One of the biggest barriers is the cost, which I want to acknowledge up front. Editing can be intense mental work, and many editors have spent a lot of time learning, honing their skills, and perfecting their own style of editing. You pay for that knowledge and skill. An editor is an investment. There is a wide range of editors—some specialize in certain genres, others a more generalists (like me!), so look around and see who you can find. Also, don’t be afraid to ask about sample edits to see if you vibe well. Many editors offer a free hour or perhaps a few pages so you can get an idea of what to expect.