Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

First and foremost, let’s define the ISSN and the ISBN to avoid confusion. 

An ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is a simple eight-digit number that identifies periodical publications like literary journals, trade magazines and other serial publications. 

But an ISBN is a 13-digit number used to identify monographs (or books) that are expected to have an individual life apart from a periodic appearance. The author, subject and genre could all be the same, but a divergence in primary or secondary title will call for an ISBN. 

Now check out this definition of serial publication:  

“A publication, in any medium, issued in successive parts, usually having numerical or chronological designations and intended to be continued with no predetermined end. But this definition excludes works intended to be published in a finite number of parts. The ISSN is applicable to the entire population of serials, whether past, present or to be published in the foreseeable future. Serials include periodicals, newspapers, annuals (reports, yearbooks, directories, etc.), the journals, series, memoirs, proceedings, transactions, etc. of societies.” 

Essentially, if you want a standardized identifier of a trade or literary series that universities and libraries around the world can reference, then an ISSN might be useful. The flip side of the ISSN, though, is that if any change occurs within the title or the general management of the serial publications, then a new ISSN would be required for coming (altered) issues. 

If you’re confused with all this book identification mumbo-jumbo, we recommend visiting http://www.issn.org/ where you can drop a line to the ISSN International Centre.  

That said – here’s what I would do. 

ISSNs are free, so you (even as an editor) can apply for one as a self-published author (or Editor-in-Chief) at the ISSN International Centre and get your number whenever you’d like. Wordclay won’t obtain the ISSN for you, but you can always receive your own ISSN and include it on your cover (or any of the recommended ISSN hot spots on your periodical) when you publish.  

This will essentially give your publication both an ISBN and an ISSN, which is completely legit. As the Library of Congress puts it, “Yes, you can have both an ISBN and an ISSN. This situation occurs most commonly with books in a series and with annuals or biennials. The ISBN identifies the individual book in a series or a specific year for an annual or biennial. The ISSN identifies the ongoing series, or the ongoing annual or biennial serial.” 

So you’ll have two identifiers for the journal you’re publishing. Not all printers, such as the one that Wordclay uses, Lightning Source, recognize ISSNs, so to them it will just be a number. But libraries, literary centers and colleges, will be able to use the ISSN to reference (and order using the ISBN) your serial publication. So too, only one barcode (the ISBN) will appear on the journal, but the ISSN number itself can appear anywhere you’d like. 

To be honest, there isn’t much of a difference between ISSNs and ISBNs, although ISSNs, unlike ISBNs, contain no inherent data about the publisher or the book. These numbers are both identifiers of literature – one to a series, another to a book. Libraries and university organizations still use ISBNs, obviously, so it will still be possible for them to house your journal. 

Just as a side note, we’re running some end-of-the-month promotions that may be of interest to self-serial publishers. Instead of $80.00, the Be Your Own Publisher single ISBN ($80 value) is now $49.00 (through March 31, 2008); and our Logo Design Package (totally optional) is only $99.00, marked down from $149.00. Personally, I think the Be Your Own Publisher item is the most advantageous to editors who are looking to create their own DIY serial publishing image, which is always cool in my book. 

Those who are interested in more information about how a journal can work in conjunction with Wordclay, please feel free to post comments or questions here. Being at the nerve center, I’m more than willing to do some investigating for you. 

This is Justin Dimos, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.