And So It Begins

Well I've done it. I've begun setting up my new website! No more domain forwarding or free webhosting for me. It's simply not good for your internet visitibility and generating traffic. Ok if it goes to another site...it means when I accidentally re-forwarded my domain, things haven't been processed yet and I haven't been able to cancel the forwarding. Oy, we lrean more from our mistakes though. yeesh.

Finally http://hootnannyonline.com finally just goes there! Which means I can now submit my site to directories around the net and better my odds of getting more search traffic, more google loves, and hopefully some funding via ad revenue.

Eventualy this blog will actually have more cartooning information that is directly about cartooning. Still I figure any information I can provide to others like myself whom are trying to get their studios and projects off the ground may be of use.

I've stumbled across things in my efforts I never thought I'd have to think about. There is way more than simply putting up a site and waiting to be found. It's an adventure for sure. Hopefully the things I discover and share will be of use to others.

Back to the Books: ISBN and Barcodes

Ok, at last I'm getting back to my self publishing adventure thus far.

In my previous post I just gave a quick blurb about ISBNs and Barcodes you need for self publishing. Do be sure to check out ISBN.org you'll find lot of important information there.

I'm not simply going to send you off there and let you do figure everything out, nay, I've already done some of that. Especially with the barcoding, they go hand in hand. You can't simply have your ISBN. You can, but without the barcode it pretty much defeats the purpose of trying to publish your book for real.

RR Bowker also has Bowker Barcode Service there are others out there, but I'm just going with them for ease of posting.

Barcoding is a pretty simple thing. Once you have your ISBN assigned to your book, you take the number and use a barcode generator, that such a service would offer. They use your ISBN and, well, generate your barcode. They then send the code off to you, however they will.

So now you have your book, your very own ISBN(s) and a barcode. What's next?

Next will be putting it all together. But first, a special note on ISBNs!

ISBN SPECIAL ALERT!

When it comes to publishing whomever buys the ISBN associated with a book is considered the publisher. Period.

There are services and companies out there that offer ISBN's for sale "affordably priced". The honest ones will eventually tell you the catch, the shadyones won't tell you a thing.

What these places do is buy ISBNs in large numbers from RR Bowker and get a volume discount. They then turn around and sell the numbers individually or at "reduced" prices and make a profit.

What this means for you is, when it comes to the big publishing picture, these companies are considered the publisher of your book. In all the databases and everything your book is attached to their company/or whatever name they registered not you.

Furthermore, very few companies are authorized with RR Bowker to sell individual ISBNs. One being Lulu.com

Anyother company or individual offering ISBNs for sale WILL BE CONSIDERED THE PUBLISHER OF YOUR BOOK.

So always besure to proceed with caution and read everything that affects your works.

When next I post, It'll be on to layout, design, and printing! YAY!

The Cartoon Syndicate

I'd like to give a bit of info on a pet project of mine. I know in the previous post I mentioned adding more publishing info, which I will.

Anyhow, The Cartoon Syndicate is an idea I've had for a long time. I'm trying to find ways to make it a site/service/resource for other cartoon minded folks out there, especially the little guys and fledgling creators like me.

The main focus is making animated toons, and I would hope it would become a place for cartoon loving individuals of all applicable talents to mingle with the potential to come together to make their own toons. The name isn't just catchy, it's quite litteral.

I'm ever stewing the structure I would like for the site and just the right associated community set up. Infact, when I have time I must again edit the site.

Also when I can I'll be dropping my free host to do away with the need for having all my domains forwarded. That way I can hopefully get more visibility and traffic to my sites, and hopefully make some advertising money at last.

I do have some really big plans for Cartoon Syndicate, that I have not and shall not go into just yet.

So for the time being I figured I could at least shed a bit of light on it here. Also there is a Cartoon Syndicate Blog With over lapping information with this one. Because they're both mine. The CS blog however I have new ideas for.

Please do check out the Syndicate's site, in all of it's neglected glory. Also if you're a toon-minded person, aspiring creator, that likes the sound of it, please do let me know. It helps me know where I need to focus my efforts.

Til next time!