Authors and Publishers: What You Need to Know About Your ISBN Number

So you’ve got an ISBN number for your newly created book and you’re feeling pretty good. Congratulations! You’ve certainly earned it!

But perhaps more importantly is the fact that you need to know exactly what you can and can’t do with your ISBN number –

So what do you need to know about ISBN numbers — and, more importantly, your ISBN number? Well, let’s find out, shall we?

Different ISBN Numbers Are Needed For Every Version of Your Book

In reality, a different ISBN number is indeed needed for each title, revised edition and — most importantly — format or binding. The latter of which consists of paperbacks, hardcovers and e-books. And in this day and age in which many new authors strike out from the world of digital e-books, you’d do well to know — and remember — that should you get your new Kindle book published in actual paperback and/or hardcover form, you’ll need a separate ISBN number for each version.

ISBN Numbers Are Printed In Two Different Places

ISBN numbers are most well-known for being printed on the lower portion of the back cover just above the book’s barcode. However, lesser known is the fact that an ISBN number also must reside in printed form on the copyright page as well. .

Your ISBN Number Must Be Registered With R.R. Bowker

Who is R.R. Bowker you may be asking? Well, they’re only the premier database record keepers for the ISBN Agency. And as such, must be registered with them in order to actually be recognized as possessing an official ISBN number at all.

Book authors and publishers can get free listings in various directories such as Books in Print, Words on Cassette, Createspace and the like, but in order to ensure that your titles ever get into the Books in Print database at all, you must first submit your book’s title information along with the ISBN number you’ve already registered with R.R. Bowker. So there’s that!

Questions? Concerns? Fears?

By now you no doubt have a few questions or concerns about the entire process. And for that, my friend, you can freely contact a number of resources to learn the answers to said questions and/or concerns. Primarily, the official US ISBN Agency should likely be your first stop for any questions, but the good folks over at Sentinel Printing offer a question and answer service regardless of whether you’re published through them or not.

You can contact the USB ISBN Agency customer service department/representatives via their official website over at http://isbn.org/standards/home/contact/index.html and the Sentinel Printing customer service department/representatives via their official website at http://www.sentinelprinting.com/contact-us/.

Alternatively, if you need to acquire an ISBN number for your newly published or finished book, you can utilize the excellent services provided by the following websites (at a small fee, of course) we’ve listed below. Good luck!

ISBN Number Acquisition Services:

http://www.isbn-us.com

http://www.isbnagency.com/

Promoting Your Content With Ecourses and Online Learning Platforms

Ecourses are becoming increasingly popular with authors, publishers,  and content creators because they allow you to create an interactive product, and interactivity always leads to interest and sales. Not only that, but this allows you to offer content to a wider audience since this content delivery system is gaining acceptance amongst many Internet users. If you want to broaden your base of fans, subscribers, and customers, ecourses are a great way to do that.

Popularity and Stats

Ecourses are so popular that about 44% of colleges are now offering them, and this number is predicted to double 2014. The advancement of HTML and other technologies has also made it much easier for content creators to publish ecourses.

However, don’t think that colleges are the only establishments offering ecourse learning. Many online product creators are also offering this because students love ecourses. In fact, you can often see these courses attached to many modern big-ticket items.

There are also a number of online learning platforms that make it easy for you to offer your content in ecourse content, and get paid for doing so.

Monetization
If you are already making money online by selling or offering information, then this section might seem familiar to you. There are two main ways of making money from ecourses.

• The second is to use the ecourse to sell a product. For example, teach people about a certain concept, but then sell them an ebook or program that will teach them even more. You can also sell “supplementary” products. As a variation, you can offer the course for free, and then offer additional training and/or products for sale.

• The third and most common method is to just sell the ecourse package as a product by itself. You can attach other products to it to sweeten the deal, but many are selling ecourses as the primary product. This is very popular and lucrative because people love this content deliver system.

Build a Brand and Share Content
Ecourses are great for building a brand and sharing content. If you are running a blog, then you are relying on interactivity. People love how interactive a blog is, but an ecourse is actually much more interactive.

An ecourse allows people to go at their own pace. They don’t need to attend classes or be on the computer at a certain time. They can follow the course whenever they have the time for it. Not only that, but an ecourse seeks to teach students while giving them actionable steps.

This is similar to an instructive ebook, but the difference is that an ecourse is longer and more interactive. Building a brand on technology like this is very solid because people love learning. This isn’t something that will go away in a few years. People have loved learning from classes for thousands of years, and that won’t change any time soon.

This is also a great way to share content. Not only are people more likely to share the content through social media, but they are more willing to follow along. The problem with a blog is that many readers will peek in and out, but they won’t remain consistent.

Ecourse learning, on the other hand, gives them a reason to keep coming back. They don’t want to fall behind, so they will keep returning to get more information. This ensures that you have a strong readership.

Popularity with Students
Students love ecourses for many reasons. First of all, it allows them to follow along whenever they can. Students have jobs and other responsibilities, and expecting them to attend class at a predetermined time is unrealistic.

Students also love how it puts them in control. They determine how quickly the course goes. They can go back and forth as they wish without a teacher telling them that the class has to move forward at a certain pace.

They also like ecourse learning because it requires commitment. Unlike an ebook or blog where the only commitment is read the content whenever it’s interesting, enrolling in a course makes them feel obligated to attend every session or learn from every module.

This makes them more actionable, which increases their results. Since they get better results, you will get more students and better reviews.

Conclusion
Ecourse learning is fairly new, but it’s a booming content delivery system that students love and creators are profiting from. If you want to make money while teaching your students something useful and actionable, then start using this delivery system. Not only will it help boost your brand, but people will enjoy being in control of how the content is delivered to them.

If you’d like to learn more about leveraging  your content as an ecourse, check out Under The Radar List Building, which shows you how you can build a subscriber base in nearly any niche by leveraging the power of ecourse platforms.

5 Surefire Tips to Help Prevent and/or Overcome Writer’s Block

Ah, writers block. The mere mention of it will oftentimes clear out a room of writers faster than if you’d told them said room housed the bubonic plague. While most of us don’t honestly believe that writers block is contagious or anything, some do still believe that the mere mention or thinking about it can help to bring it upon you when it would otherwise have stayed far, far, away.

In the interests of helping out any of you readers who are currently experiencing writer’s block and/or would like to arm yourself with tips in case it happens in the near future, today we’re going to take a look at 5 surefire tips to help make it go away or never come visit you again below. Please do enjoy!

1. You’re not glued to your computer seat – so feel free to get up, move around and even *gasp* go outside!

We oftentimes feel such a strong connection with our stories and writing that we almost don’t ever want to leave their side until they’re finished. It’s almost as if they were our very own children in this way! Fortunately, getting up and away from your writing area can have amazing effects on your ability to surpass any writer’s block you may experience.

2. Disconnect Your Internet – You Don’t Have Writer’s Block, You Have a Thing Called Procrastination

Don’t feel bad – with so many amazingly useless wastes of time available to us in any of a thousand places online, the allure of these mindless pleasures can oftentimes be too much. So put your big boy (or girl) pants on, cut the wheat from the chaff and do what you need to do to get your writing all written!

3. The Anti-Writer’s-Block Joys of the Rough Draft and/or Outline

Yes, it’s going to entail you put in some extra work, but actually jotting down your thoughts, ideas or an outline before you even sit down at the keyboard can quite literally be the antidote to  writer’s block you’ve been searching for for oh so very long!

4. Stop Proofreading and Editing As Your Writing and Just Let It Flow

This is a common mistake many beginner writers make – namely trying to complete a final draft copy that needs minimal editing or proofreading on their first try. Unfortunately — unless you’re some kind of writing guru or outlier or something — that’s just not how the process usually works, so get with the program and say goodbye to the ever present threat of your writer’s block in the process!

5. Read, Read and Read Some More – Preferably About Things Unrelated To Your Particular Writing Genre or Topic

Consider this tip a double whammy of sorts – namely in that not only will it help you stave off writer’s block if need be, but it’s also arguably one of the most commonly recited writer tips and tricks in the history of writing. Many people mistake the fact that simply writing themselves will help them become better writers, when in reality, both reading and writing equally contribute to the process. Not only will you stimulate your mind and give yourself an ear for various prose, but you’ll also learn new words, styles and help get your mind off of the very thing that you’ve been obsessing over against a brick wall for days and weeks on end.

So there you have it! While there’s obviously a lot more (don’t worry, there’ll be a Part 2 eventually) these are definitely five of the best that I’ve ever come across. And please feel free to share your own anti-writers block remedies in the comments – I’d love to hear from you!