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castleb

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I'm about to go into a second printing of my book. It's now typo-free (fingers crossed) and I have a choice of two splendid, newly designed covers. Can't decide which one is best though. So my question is: can I print half with the one cover and half with the other ... using the same ISBN for both?
 

castleb

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Thanks stephanf. Could you cite any documentation that I can show to the publisher? They maintain that I need a new ISBN for every different cover.
 

stephenf

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Hi
Have a look here
www.cmp-uk.com/isbn-notes.pdf


If you look under what is the purpose if ISBN
It's not completely satisfying from your point of view , there is no mention of the cover. But the point of the ISBN is to identify a specific version of a book . The cover has no affect on the contents . Publishers often change covers on reprints , but the ISBN can stay the same , if every thing else is the same . If a different publisher reprinted the book , they would need a different ISBN number ,
 
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Old Hack

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Thanks stephanf. Could you cite any documentation that I can show to the publisher? They maintain that I need a new ISBN for every different cover.

Who is the publisher?
 

Deirdre

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There are a number of big-5 published books that have had alternate covers (usually a different colorway) and the same ISBN. HTH.
 

profen4

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Fixing typos is one thing -i.e. if it's minor typographical changes. But if you've changed the substance of the text - added or deleted scenes etc, you'll need a new ISBN. Well, at least you are supposed to get a new ISBN for such things. I know many SP authors who don't bother, but I think it could cause some rather significant reader confusion if you didn't indicate it was a 2nd edition. I've seen a few Stephen King books with a variety of covers and the same ISBN.
 
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