Hey y'all I wonder if anyone can help me out.
I want to publish a single book in multiple volumes. It's a translation of an ancient Buddhist text, and the size is maybe 1500 pages.
I do get your point, but it will no longer be a single book if published as volumes.
So I break the text up into volumes, each has its own cover, no worries.
Indeed, but also keep in mind that Print On Demand is expensive, so you are possibly doing yourself and potential buyers a favour by selling it in parts, and your total page count is way above Lulu's Max. I would go as far to recommend four volumes. However, of course, it will also depend on the dimensions of the books and the font size.
I'm publishing on Lulu. Do they have a way to represent this case? So far as i can see, it's one PDF file = one book, so unless I'm missing something, that's a no.
When you publish on Lulu you will also be given a Spotlight. Your own pages/store om which your books will automatically appear. So all the volumes will be there as a list for all to see. When applying ISBNs the same will apply to most other sites too.
The first issue is with ordering. I'd prefer if readers could order *only* the full text, not individual volumes. I mean it's okay if they can order one by one, but I suspect many people will just do one and be surprised they don't get the full set.
No I doubt that, especially if you make it clear on the covers which is which. And as I say, the fewer the pages per volume the cheaper each book will be and people will buy them one a time due to that, with you hoping that part one will entice them to buy the other parts, anyway. It's not always the case.
The second question is with ISBNs. According to the ISBN agency:
>An ISBN must be allocated to the whole set of volumes of a multi-volume work;
I am not sure about that. A Volume is one book, and each should have its own ISBN, because of the reason books have ISBNs.
also, if the individual volumes of the set are sold separately, each volume must have its own ISBN. Even when each volume is not sold separately, the allocation of an ISBN to each volume is advisable. It facilitates the handling of returns (damaged volumes) and eliminates the possibility of confusion over specific publications. Each volume should list all ISBNs.
Exactly.
Can I assign both a "book" and "edition" ISBN? If so, should I make a barcode for both?
I don't recall Lulu having that option. However, if you (also) buy and register your own you can stick as many as you like on the Copyright page/s.
Or better to just leave the "book" ISBN as metadata in the book and list it on Lulu per volume?
ISBNs are not just that, they also appear on sites.
And of course, as already suggested, volumes do not matter with a E-book, it can all be one with one ISBN.
Any advice is appreciated!
OK, going off at a tangent a bit. Don't forget that each volume will need a Copyright Page, and possibly a few blank pages to make the page count divisible by four.
