The title phrase of this article was made famous by a sharp-toned, tenor voiced actor named Jack Webb. He played hardnosed Los Angeles Police Detective, Joe Friday on a long running radio and later television series called, Dragnet. I chose the title of this piece to point out little known salient facts about traditional book publishing and self-publishing in particular. For instance, what about ISBNs?

 Bowker is a name all authors should know when considering the purchase of ISBN numbers for their book or chapbook. Bowker is a recognized leader in the field of bibliographic information management solutions and maintains the largest Books In Print database in the business.

Why purchase an ISBN number? Why not let the publisher, traditional or POD, provide the ISBN? The answer is in another phrase of days gone by: the whole enchilada. For the novice author, those are the three most important words in the English language. The holder of the ISBN owns the whole enchilada: print, electronic, audio, television, film and international rights, to your novel, short story collection, chapbook or other prose or poetry product.

If accepted by a traditional publisher you may or may not have an agent. If you don’t have a professional protecting your interests, find an attorney familiar with Entertainment Law and let that expert examine all contracts. If you are represented by a professional agent, make sure that individual negotiates a contract as favorable to you as possible. Again, before you put your name on the dotted line, seek the council of an attorney.

Advances, large or small, and distribution are the two main factors you can expect from a traditional publisher. If you’re a first time author, without name recognition, don’t plan on a big investment of marketing dollars from your publisher and you won’t be disappointed. Do plan on the publisher demanding your marketing plan and your time, gas, shoe leather, payment of hotel or motel charges, meals, etc.

If you are agent-less, as I am, and find traditional doors closed to you, as I have, raise up your hands and shout: Halleluiah. You not only get to perform all of the above marketing tasks, but you will be treated to one of the most exciting, humbling, tiring, rewarding journeys of your life. You can take your dream in hand and shape it to your standards. The major caveat in play is whether or not you have the time, humor, courage, and let’s face it, money to accomplish your goals.

I posted an article recently that is available here on Pooch’s Piles. It outlines the methods I used to find the right POD publisher. You can have your work printed and bound for a reasonable setup fee if you do your research and have your cover art done outside the publisher’s venue. I have information regarding the latter and I will cover it in another article. If you’re in need at the moment, you can send an email. If I’m not overwhelmed, I’ll be happy to help on an individual basis.

Regarding POD contracts, I’m willing to voice an opinion, but I’m not qualified to or informed enough, to recommend a course of action. I submitted and was accepted by my first choice of POD publisher. That fact puts me at a disadvantage, because I can’t give you comparisons on the contracts being offered. I strongly suggest you research your POD choices thoroughly.

So, you’re up to date on my facts regarding ISBNs and ownership. Here’s a final reason for educating yourself before making a decision. May 19, 2009, Bowker released statistics on U.S. book publishing for 2008. Traditional U.S. Book production for last year was down 3.2%. New titles and editions projected for 2008 equaled 275,232 compared to the 284,370 titles published in 2007. On the other hand, POD publishing more than doubled. On Demand and short run books in 2008 chalked up a whopping 132% increase over those produced in 2007 with a total of 285,394 books and editions.

Here’s a breakdown, thanks to Bowker, of the top five categories of book production for the year 2008. The numbers indicate there is and will be fierce competition for an audience. We, the new and no-name-authors, have our work cut out for us. The genres of Travel, Fiction and Religion were the big losers last year dropping in production from 11 to 15%. That’s bad news for me and my Fiction cohorts. Should we jump on the Juvenile, YA, Romance or Erotic bandwagon? That’s a question we as writers should examine if we are bent on success in this competitive business.

 1. Fiction – 47,541 new titles

 2. Juveniles – 29,438 new titles

 3. Sociology/Economics – 24,423 new titles

 4. Religion – 16,847 new titles

 5. Science – 13,555 new titles