Every £4 raised adds another book to our haunted bookshelf.
Help our ghosties fill the shelves – one ISBN at a time.

Our Books Need Numbers – Can You Help?

Yes, books need numbers. And not just page numbers. They need those sneaky little codes on the back covers too. 

Did you know that it’s the ISBN that officially registers a book for sale and tells vendors about its printing and distribution and other important information? In many countries you get them for free, but in the UK and US you have to pay for the privilege. 

Are we surprised? No, I didn’t think so.

But it gets worse. If you want to publish your books professionally, you need a new ISBN for each format of each book. So, take my latest title Tied Together, for example. The eBook needs an ISBN. If I want to release a paperback version? It needs a second ISBN. Hardback? A third ISBN. Audiobook? A fourth ISBN. A Swedish translation? A fifth ISBN. A second edition? Well, you get the drift…

And they’re not cheap.

A single ISBN costs £93 in the UK, but you can get them in bundles of 10 for £174, 100 for £387, and 1000 for £994. If I could, I’d buy us a lifetime supply (for less than a pound a piece!) and set about getting our books out in as many different versions as possible. For now, I’m trying to set a more reasonable goal:

We need to raise £387 to pay for a batch of 100 ISBNs.

This would help us level up our imprint, Libertalia Press, from a scrappy startup to a proper indie press and finally set us on the path to release our first print books. And, as a stretch goal, I’d like to get there in time for the holiday season. This year.

Yes, it’s a big step. A good step. Unfortunately, it’s also too expensive for a skint spoonie scribe.

So now, I’m turning to you asking for help. Not for me, but for the stories. If you’ve enjoyed my writing, if you’ve ever read one of my Substack posts, whispered “oh, I love this character”, or just quietly cheered me on from Freyja’s spot in the crow’s nest, you’re already part of this journey.

Here’s how you can help:

Every little helps, and together we could actually make this happen.

Love, ink, and loads of tea,

– Linnea Lucifer 🏴‍☠️
Captain of the Resilience