MJRyder.net

The Next Hurdle

So after the fiasco of trying to sort out and pay for the PO Box forms, I’ve finally got everything sorted and sent off to the Royal Mail. The next step it seems, is just to wait.

My next ‘task’ is to sort out ISBNs, but without an address, I can’t sort out ISBNs, so there is nothing to do but sit and wait.

Technically of course, I could use an ISBN purchased from the publishing company I am using, however this would mean LuLu would be my registered publishers, not me or ‘my own’ publishing company.

This is something I’m really not comfortable with. As a result, I am in a sense, stuck in limbo till I have a PO Box address I can use on the ISBN forms with which to register my ‘company’. Oh, and I also have to find the £112 it costs to buy ten ISBNs.

It certainly isn’t cheap.

On the plus side, this does mean I have nine more ISBNs to use for future projects, or to alternatively sell/give to other people in a similar position to my own.

There is then, at this stage, nothing more to do than sit and wait…

Some useful ISBN-related links...

Only one company in the UK can officially issue ISBNs, and that is Nielsen UK. For anyone interested, or in need of more information, please visit the following links:

Nielsen UK ISBN FAQs

Nielsen ISBN services for New Publishers

The Front Cover

While this whole PO Box/ISBN business is going on, my friend David Lawrence is busy designing a cover illustration for me. Things are looking good illustration-wise, and all things being well he says he should have something close to a final draft done within the next few weeks. Fingers crossed this should be ok to send off to the cover designers when I get to that stage. It's all going on!

Writing update

Ok, so I'm struggling with my writing a bit at the moment. I've got the opening, the prologue, and the first chapter done, but am at something of a barrier with the opening to chapter two. My whole job/housing situation certainly isn't helping things at the moment. Nor is the fact I find I am far less able to be creative when not being mentally stimulated in some other direction at the same time. In order to try and counter this wierd form of writer's block, I am considering going to the library and doing some maths. My goodness, I didn't think I'd ever think I'd find myself saying that again!