Creating a Book

Few subjects confuse new indie authors more than the ISBN. The key to understanding it is simple once you see it: ISBNs relate to format, not edition. This guide explains what that means, where to get ISBNs, and how ScribeCount uses them to track your sales.

A QR code is the only practical way to turn a reader holding a physical book into a reader on your website, in your newsletter, or in your store — instantly. This guide covers placement, design, the static-versus-dynamic question, and how ScribeCount Universal Links solve both the permanence and tracking problems at once.

An author bio is one of the few places in your book where readers meet you directly, not your characters. This guide covers what to include, where it goes across formats, optimal length, photo considerations, and how to use AI as a drafting aid without losing the authenticity that makes a bio work.

You know what goes into a book — that's covered in The Anatomy of a Book. This guide covers the actual mechanics of formatting: the file types each platform requires, a comparison of the major formatting tools (Atticus, Vellum, Lacuna, Reedsy Studio), and how to decide between doing it yourself and hiring a professional formatter.

If you've read The Importance of Cover Art, you know I put editing right alongside it as the place to spend real money. This guide covers what each editing pass actually does, what it costs, where to find editors, and how AI tools like ProWritingAid and Grammarly fit in as a complement to — never a replacement for — a human editor.