Research Guides: WR246, WR248, WR 250: Book Publishing: Publishing resources

Useful websites

Recommendations from Matt Warren, English faculty specializing in book and literary magazine publishing.

Bowker Identifier Services
Publishers can purchase ISBNs from the "only official U.S. ISBN Agency."
Project Gutenberg
Great place to find full text public domain manuscripts and eBooks (free for anyone to use!)
IngramSpark
IngramSpark is a printing-on-demand (POD) printer/distributor for self-publishers and small presses, complete with production tools.
Color Wheel - Color Calculator
This color calculator is useful for book cover designs.
Poets & Writers - Literary Magazines
Poets & Writers offers a great list of literary magazines that accept submissions. Filter by genre, submission length, and more.
The Review Review
A review of literary magazines. Great site to learn more about individual titles.
Modern Book Publishing: Websites for the Trade
Subject guide created from a bibliographic essay first appearing in the August 2014 issue of Choice (volume 51 | number 12). Includes info about associations & societies, news sources, and the publishing process.

Books/eBooks

Print books
Use this premade search to discover print materials related to publishing and design, layout, the industry, bookmaking, marketing, and more. Resources are published within the past 10 years. If CCC Library does not own a title listed in the results, order it through Summit and it will arrive in 2-3 days.
eBooks
Use this premade search to discover eBooks related to publishing and design, layout, the industry, bookmaking, marketing, and more. Resources are published within the last 5 years. Read them instantly on any device.

Article databases

Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Magazine, trade journal, newspaper, and peer-reviewed journal articles on a wide range of subjects and is good for research on almost every topic. Most articles are available in full-text. It’s a great place to look for scholarly resources when you’re not sure where to start.
Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
Provides coverage of key library and information science journals and trade publications.
Communications and Mass Media (Gale) This link opens in a new window
Academic journals and magazines focused on all aspects of the communications field. Topics include advertising and public relations, linguistics, literature and writing, and more.
JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Contains scholarly journals in the arts and sciences, from their earliest issues up to 3-5 years ago. Does not include current issues of the journals. Access full text by selecting “Content I can access” from the Select an Access Type menu on the Advanced Search page. To get the full text of JSTOR articles, submit an interlibrary loan request to CCC Library.

Royalty-free image websites

Royalty-free, public domain, Creative Commons - they're not the same, but what are the differences? And can you legally use these images when you publish something?

Royalty-free: Each website has a different content usage license; be sure to use the images according to the license.
Public domain: These images have no copyright restrictions. Use, adapt, and share with no restrictions.
Creative Commons: Images are free to use within the stated restrictions (e.g., non-commercial, attribution required).

everystockphoto
A "search engine for free photos." Select "Advanced Search" to access search options, including limiting by license type. Making a free account allows you to store images that you like.
Open Peeps
A hand-drawn illustration library where you can create your own peeps! Creator Pablo Stanley published his amazing work under a Public Domain license.
Pexels
All photos on Pexels can be used for free for commercial and noncommercial use. Attribution is not required. You can modify the photos.
Pixabay
Over 1.6 million royalty free stock photos and videos. All contents are released under the Pixabay License, which makes them safe to use without asking for permission or giving credit to the artist.
Unsplash
All high-resolution photos are free to download and use under the Unsplash License (available on their website).

Find Creative Commons images

An image posted on the Internet is free to use, no citation or attribution needed, right? Not so fast! Images are copyrighted works, and to be an ethical information consumer you need to cite your information (image) source. Depending on the purpose of your use of the image, you may also need to secure permission before using the image. (If you're creating an OER, for example.) To avoid the messy world of online images and copyright, consider using an image with a Creative Commons license.

Select the image above (Source: Comosa Connect) to access an interactive graphic that provides you with a wealth of links to Creative Commons-friendly sources. Additional sources that curate Creative Commons images include:

AllGo: Free Plus-Size Stock Photos
Based in Portland, OR, AllGo is committed to doing everything they can to increase the representation of plus-size people. Attribution is requested whenever possible.
CCSearch
A website that "offers convenient access to search services provided by other independent organizations. CC has no control over the results that are returned. Do not assume that the results displayed in this search portal are under a CC license. You should always verify that the work is actually under a CC license by following the link." Choose put your search terms and indicate how you will be using the image, then select where you would like to search.
Flickr
An online photo repository with CC and non-CC licensed photos. Select "Any License," then select whichever CC license you would like. Note that you can also search Flickr through CCSearch.
Gender Spectrum Collection
The Gender Spectrum Collection is a stock photo library of CC-licensed images of trans and non-binary models. "This collection aims to help media outlets better represent members of these communities as people not necessarily defined by their gender identities—people with careers, relationships, talents, passions, and home lives."
Google Image Search
Search for a topic. Then select "Search tools." Next, select "Usage rights." Select whichever CC license makes sense for your needs.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs
The LOC does not own the copyright licenses to these images, so it is up to you to determine if you can use a particular image. Many will not have a free license.
The Noun Project
Free icons; attribution is required for use. The Noun Project is a community of designers from 120+ countries building the most diverse and extensive collection of iconography ever created.
Open Clip Art Library
All images on this site are in the public domain. Learn more on their "Licenses" page.
Smithsonian Open Access
Nearly 3 million 2D and 3D digital items, including images and data from Smithsonian's 19 museums, 9 research centers, libraries, archives and the National Zoo.