Links of the week September 16 2019 (38)

Williams wasn't alone: there is a tradition of poets publishing their own books. Williams thought his early poems were "bad Keats, nothing else-oh well, bad Whitman too." Walt Whitman was an appropriate influence; in 1855, he paid a print shop on Fulton Street in Brooklyn to produce the first edition of Leaves of Grass. A newspaper veteran familiar with the world of press and print, Whitman took a hands-on approach. As Ed Folsom notes, Whitman "designed the binding, chose the typeface, designed the pages, worked with an engraver on the frontispiece, and even set some of the type himself." Whitman said "I sometimes find myself more interested in book making than in book writing... the way books are made-that always excites my curiosity: the way books are written-that only attracts me once in a great while."

Early in the ebook revolution Amazon declared ebooks did not need an ISBN. Much to the consternation of Bowker (the official U.S. issuer of ISBNs), and the publishing industry itself, ebook self-publishing platforms had no choice but to follow Amazon's lead. Even Apple, which launched iBooks by requiring an ISBN for ebooks, was forced to abandon its position.

"Who cares?" many self-publishers declared as they forged ahead. Bowker did not or does not adequately explain the value of assigning one, so what's the point?
I can't argue with them.

But like the other technology-fueled revolutions of the past 30 years, self-publishing is becoming more sophisticated. I've been thinking about what value an imprint (and ISBN ownership) provides the author/publisher, and what the consequences are for using, or not using, an imprint.

I know this may seem like minutia to new writers. But I've learned that these early decisions can and do have a long-term impact with little or no chance for fixing or correcting, short of re-publishing.