Designing Your Cookbook

Useful Tools

We have provided in this section an assortment of useful information and tools, including:

• Artist's Release Form
• Copyright
• International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
• Bar Codes

Artist's Release
The Copyright Law of 1977 is very specific about the reproduction of others' works of art. We want to protect you from any possible liability, so an Artist's Release Form must accompany each work of art you submit. Please refer to the back of the Artist's Release form for excerpts from the Copyright Law of 1977.

If you wish to reproduce a sketch, painting, graphic design, and/or a studio photograph in your cookbooks, you may be affected by the Copyright Law of 1977.

We know that our customers want to abide by the law, but can become confused by its practical application. For this reason, it is important that you review usage rights with the artist and/or photographer, whose work you wish to reproduce. If you have questions about the Copyright Law, please give us a call.

Copyright
If you are interested in copyrighting your cookbook, you may request free information and forms from the Library of Congress. We have listed below the address, phone number and web address.

Publications Section, LM-4555
Copyright Office
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000
202-707-9100
TTY: 202-707-6737
www.copyright.gov

International Standard Book Number (ISBN)
If you are planning to sell your cookbook at the retail level, you may want to consider obtaining an ISBN. The ISBN is used by retail stores to track inventory and sales information. This number is also a bibliographic element in cataloging. It is printed on catalog cards, in catalogs, and entered in national and international databases. An ISBN is a ten-digit number that specifically identifies your title. ISBNs are furnished by:

U.S. ISBN Agency
630 Central Avenue
New Providence, NJ 07974
1-877-310-7333
Fax: 1-908-219-0188
www.bowker.com

There is a processing fee for a block of ISBNs. Processing takes 15 working days. An additional fee brings 72 hour priority handling.

Bar Codes
If you are planning to sell your cookbook at the retail level, you may also want to consider obtaining a bar code for your cookbook.

Bar codes help stores handle books more efficiently. The bar code which incorporates your ISBN is scanned at the time of purchase, thus recording accurately the sale of your book. The book industry uses the Bookland EAN bar code, not the UPC. Bar codes can be incorporated into a cover for a small fee. For more information, call BISAC 646-336-7141 or look in the yellow pages under "Bar Coding."