This Cartoonist's Road to Self Publishing Thus Far

Well, I decided to share a little on how things are going so far with self publishing. I'm not anywhere near as close as I thought I was to getting a book into print. Primarily because my chosen printer requires in their application process for you to provide at least one ISBN. They didn't mention that anywhere prior to that step.

A little "hey before you apply make sure you have your ISBN(s)" would have been nice.

Now I'm sure most have an inkling of what an ISBN is. Those are those serial numbers with the barcodes on your books.

What you might not know, I didn't, is that pretty much anyone looking to publish a book can buy them. Just go here. http://www.isbn.org R.R Bowker is the company that handles ISBNs in the US. You can find out more about the whole deal there.

The catch is that they sell ISBNs in groups of 10 and they're a few hundred bucks. However, you're pretty much a publisher at that point. And it's up to you to find a printer.

Also you will need to purchase a barcode as well if you're looking for retail distribution. Good news is Barcodes are only about $25. Again, more information on Bowker's site. I'll touch on that more later myself as there are more artisty designy things associated with that.

I do have to say I have stumbled across self-publishing information way easier than I thought I would. Or perhaps the universe decided to cut me a break. Not break enough to have the $275 for my ISBNs right now, but it's a start.

Now there are options out there that might save you a few bucks, but as usual there are catches to them. And I will get to those soon enough. Not right now because, well I've had a full day and this evening is getting long.