by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author
One of the most common areas of confusion among authors who want to self publish is ISBNs. Depending how you want to publish and where you want to publish, ISBNs are a vital part of book production. Fortunately, they’re relatively easy to understand once you get a basic foundation for them.
We are currently in a series about self-publishing. We took a break in April, but so far we’ve already talked about making sure you know your goals for self-publishing as well as understanding your legal rights as a self-published author. This month, we’re talking about ISBNs.
Information About ISBNs for Writers
First off, what is an ISBN? An ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is a 13-digit identification number for your book. Think of it like your book’s social security number or its fingerprint. It’s unique to your book, and it allows publishers and booksellers to track and correctly recognize your book. This is how two books can have the same title and still be distinct.
If you’ve ever looked at the back cover of a physical book, you’ve probably seen a barcode. That barcode is generated from the book’s ISBN.
Secondly, why do ISBNs matter? Well, aside from distinguishing books from each other, tracking an ISBN is how the industry can tell how well a book is selling, how many copies have been moved, etc. Of course, that depends on if the distributor/retailer posts sales information. But, in general, an ISBN allows anyone looking for your book to find it with minimal effort. This includes search queries in libraries, bookstores, or even on internet browsers.
Thirdly, how can you get an ISBN? If you live in the United States, there is only once place to get an official ISBN: Bowker Publishing Services (https://www.myidentifiers.com/). If you see ads or promotions from anyone else other than Bowker or their other business name MyIdentifiers, don’t click. Only Bowker can distribute ISBNs.
If you are outside the United States, you’ll need to look up your country’s ISBN agency (https://www.isbn-international.org/agencies).
Now, ISBNs seem pretty expensive. One ISBN will cost you $125. That’s why it’s usually a good idea to buy them in bulk, since you can get 10 ISBNs for about $300. Doing the math, that makes them $30 each rather than $125. And you will use them, because every different format of your book requires a separate ISBN.
So, what books require an ISBN? Here’s where things start getting a little complicated.
You must have a different ISBN for every different format of your book. That means your ebook, your paperback, your hardback, and your audiobook versions (books on CD) all need individual ISBNs. If you update your book with a new cover and interior, you must have a new ISBN. If you create a version of your book in a different language, you will need a different ISBN.
If you only publish electronic versions of your book, even MP3 versions of your audio distributed on Audible or Apple Books, you may not need an ISBN. And if you only plan to distribute your books on your own website, you don’t need an ISBN.
It isn’t uncommon to end up using at least five ISBNs for a single title, and that doesn’t even include translated versions of your book. So don’t fret about purchasing 10 at a time. You’ll use them.
But what if you don’t want to buy them? What if it’s just not in your budget to drop $300 on ISBNs? Well, here’s the thing: Many self-publishing platforms offer ISBNs for no charge to you.
Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, Blurb, Bookbaby, Smashwords, and Draft2Digital all offer free ISBNs. However, if you use this free option, that printer will be listed as the book’s publisher on its detail page. Amazon will list a self-published book with a free ISBN as “independently published.” If you have purchased your own ISBNs, the publisher will be listed as whatever entity you have used to identify yourself.
But does every book actually need an ISBN? Well, that depends.
Are you publishing your book physically? As in a paperback or a hardback version of your book. If the answer is yes, then YES you must have an ISBN. It can be either a free ISBN or a paid ISBN, but you must have one.
If the answer is no, and you plan to only publish your book electronically, many times the answer is NO. That’s not always the case though, as some publishers and distributors require an ISBN for ebooks too. So you’ll need to know where you plan to publish and how you want to distribute your ebooks.
Of course, if you want your publishing company’s name listed on the book’s detail page, then you must have a paid ISBN.
A few extra tidbits to remember:
- ISBNs don’t expire. So make sure you keep your login information for MyIdentifiers in a safe place. You don’t want to lose access to them. If you buy a whole bunch of them, they will keep until you are ready to use them. But if you lose your login info, you won’t be able to get in.
- You need an ISBN for a barcode, but the barcode and the ISBN are different. You don’t need to purchase the barcode separately in most instances. If you have an ISBN already purchased, once you enter it in your self-publishing platform, it will generate the barcode for your print book automatically. There are some exceptions, of course, so make sure you read the fine print before you begin the self-publishing process.
- Also, understand the difference between an ASIN and an ISBN. The ASIN is an identifying number used specifically on Amazon. It’s basically Amazon’s version of an ISBN, probably because Amazon has so many books. Both print books and ebooks get an ASIN. It is assigned automatically by Amazon.
ISBNs can get complicated, but once you understand the basics, they become an excellent tool for marketing, promotion, and organization.
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Don't miss the other posts in the series:
Information for Self Publishing
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