In our last issue, we raised a red flag for self-published authors using 979 ISBNs who might experience trouble selling print editions via Amazon. We received this additional detail from industry expert David Wogahn, whose experience differs from that of author Darcy Pattison: “Several of our clients have published their books with the 979 prefix, using both IngramSpark and KDP, and no issues at all so far,” he wrote. “I’m not saying it’s a non-issue, but maybe there is some unique set of circumstances that causes ordering issues.” If there’s a concern, he told us, it’s that gatekeepers are going to associate 979 with self-published books until some bigger publishers start using them.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
