Be free! Own your own ISBNs
If you are an independently published author who wants to self-publish professionally, you absolutely must buy your own ISBNs. This post will show you the many reasons why you should invest in this for your independent author-publisher business.
This is a long post, but you can jump to any subsection you want using the table of contents below.
What is an ISBN?
An ISBN is an International Standard Book Identifier purchased in the country you do business in. In the USA we get them from Bowker, which is owned by ProQuest, a private company, and yeah, they're expensive. In other countries, ISBNs may be issued by government funded entities like libraries, so they're free (thanks to taxpayer dollars). Find your ISBN agency at the International ISBN Agency website.
Click to play my short video on ISBNs.
You need to purchase ISBNs from the ISBN agency that operates in the country you're doing business in.
The I in ISBN stands for "International" - which means everyone in the book industry around the world can find it, and readers around the world, can find it, too.
ISBN =INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BOOK NUMBER
Books are tracked by the global book industry using the ISBN
The purpose of the ISBN is to identify one specific version (format) of a book. Think of it as a product number for your book. Most author-publishers publish their books in both paperback and ebook formats. Many publish in hardcover, and many are publishing an audiobook, too. So you need a unique ISBN for each format, which may include the following:
- Paperback
- Ebook
- Audiobook
- Hardcover
- Multimedia edition (or any special edition)
- Repeat the above for a 2nd (or 3rd or etc.) edition
- Repeat above for each translation (Spanish-language ebook, paperback, etc.)
Note that this has nothing to do with the stores you publish in. Think about the shoes you're wearing. The product number of that shoe is the same whether you buy it in Nordstroms, Zappos, or your local shoe store.
The ISBN, or product number, allows you and the book industry to accurately track all sales. Assign one ISBN to your paperback, no matter where you sell it, and another your ebook, no matter where you sell it, one version of your hardcover, no matter where you sell it, and so on.
Many authors make the mistake of using Amazon's free ISBNs for their paperback and ebook to publish in the Amazon store, and then using another ISBN in another store, and another in another store, and then figuring out they need to buy them at Bowker. So the unknowing author-publisher ends up with two or three or even more ISBNs for the same format of the same book.
Assign ISBNs to book formats, not to stores
You'll need one ISBN for your hardback, another for your paperback, and stilla another for your ebook. If you create an audiobook, that's a fourth ISBN. It doesn't matter where you sell or how you distribute your books—- it's the format that counts.
- 1Paperback: Your paperback edition needs it's own ISBN no matter where you want to sell it. Uploading directly for sale via Amazon KDP? Using Draft2Digital to distribute your paperback? Use the same ISBN. But oops, iIf you used a free ISBN from Amazon... well, that was a mistake, because you can't use that ISBN to sell in other stores, and now you have two identifiers for the same book. What to do? You can retire and re-release it (losing all reviews), or chalk it up to a learning experience and use your own ISBN for sales elsewhere.
- 2Hardcover: No matter where you print and distribute your hardcover book—if you create one—you'll use the same ISBN for that, too. (IngramSpark is currently the only POD service that can create and sell your hardcover book. Why create one? Special events, maybe? And libraries love them because they're durable.
- 3Large Format: Aging Boomers! The visually impaired. A large format book is easy to produce. Just enlarge your paperback or hardback edition. With POD, your only investment is in the design adjustments. Yes, a separate ISBN is required.
- 4Ebook: When you choose "e-book" as your format you get a lot of choices. (See the image below these numbered paragraphs.) Most authors should choose EPUB. When you distribute your ebook to stores using a distributor (popular choices include IngramSpark, Draft2Digital, and IngramSpark) you upload the EPUB version for distribution and sale. Today, Amazon KDP no longer requests you upload a MOBI formatted ebook. They want EPUBs now, too.
- 5Audiobook: Yep, a different ISBN gets assigned to the audio edition of your book, too. I recommend going wide with your audiobook by distributing via FindAway Voices instead of Amazon ACX. See more about that in my Writer's Tech Hub [free membership required].
- 6Special editions: If you create a special, custom edition of your book with images, links, multimedia, etc., that's an additional ISBN.
- 7Translations: Repeat the above for every foreign language translation. You'll need a new ISBN to identify your Spanish language paperback, your German language paperback, your French language paperback. Your Spanish language EPUB, your German language EPUB, your French language EPUB... are you getting it? These require additional ISBNs for each format. If you plan to translate, consider purchasing 100 ISBNs and not just 10.
There are a lot of choices—all ebook legacy formats are all listed here—but most authors choose EPUB. Also note: If your ebook is 1.5MB you'll use 1500 for your ebook file size.
Don't kill your chances for a bestseller
I've worked with authors who think they have a bestseller and want to be recognized for it. But the book industry cannot "see" that the one book has been a bestseller, because if one book has two ISBNs then the industry considers it two separate books.
Book titles vs book identifiers
Book titles cannot be copyrighted, so the ISBN is the only way the industry can track your book. When you assign only one ISBN for the paperback, the industry can see how many paperbacks are sold. Ditto for the ebook, the hardcover, the large format edition, the Spanish-language paperback, and so on.
Multiple ISBNs for the same book also confuses the buyer, who may see two or more sources for your book at a single store. Which one do they choose? Confused buyers often click off without purchasing.
The key word is "professionalism"
If you care about how the industry views you as an author and a publisher you will adhere to professional standards. Your book should look like and be distributed like any book published by the traditional publishing houses. So purchase your ISBNs under your own publisher name, get professional cover and interior design, a CIP block and when you get a barcode for your print editions, make sure to embed the price in it. For details, see the IBPA's Industry Standards Checklist for a Professionally Published Book.
And remember, bookstores don't like Amazon
You should be friends with your local independent bookstore. Want to do a reading there? An Amazon brand (ISBN) on your book is not good for making friends with them.
Sales to the library market is a thing
US Authors: Also consider adding a PCIP (Publishers Cataloging in Publication) to make your book attractive to libraries, and this is not an insignificant market. You need to own your ISBNs to get a PCIP block.
Find out more in the Consumer's Guide reference guide , along with a discussion group (ask me anything!) when you join my Writer's Tech Hub. This is a free membership site, and sign-in is required. You'll also find frequent discounts to essential publishing tools, access to classes, and writing groups.
Why you need a PCIP block
Your PCIP block is listed on your copyright page and, like the old Dewey Decimal system, it gives librarians the information they need to shelve your book.
Visit the Writer's Tech Hub to for current recommendations on where to purchase a PCIP block. (Search for PCIP block to find reviews and discounts.)
How to get a PCIP Block? First, you need to register with the Library of Congress PCN program to obtain an LCCN.
Once you purchase your block of 10 ISBNs, you'll see each number has the same publisher ID, as shown here.
Publisher IDs are only embedded in your ISBNs when you purchase a set of 10 or more, which identifies you as a publisher.
You'll be asked for your publisher number when you apply for your LCCN.
Your Publishing Compass
Confused about publishing options? Your path to an independently published book is a step-by-step process and there are lots of steps! Don't make the mistakes most authors make. Stay informed and empowered with Your Publishing Compass. Join this yearlong program with support, courses, and yearlong group coaching program with a peer group to guide you through finishing your manuscript, publishing your book, and mastering marketing and publicity—all seamlessly connected for success.
Publishing professionals...
Authors! If you're going to hire a publishing pro, asking about ISBNs, LCCNs, an the PCN program for PCIP blocks is a GREAT test question to see if they know what they're talking about!
Are you a publishing pro and aren't clear about ISBNs, LCCNs, PCIP blocks, and other book registration systems and how to get them and use them? Connect with me to find out how I can help you up-level your services for authors.
I have a fast-track program just for you.
Future-proof your book
What if, in the future, you want to partner with a small press or make some kind of hybrid publishing deal, or get an offer from a Big 5 publishing house. It happens!
These professionals will evaluate how easy or how difficult it is to get your book on over to their catalog before they make a decision. Authors who use free ISBNs with Amazon have a difficult-to-impossible time doing this. So... own your book data!
When you control your book data—that is, when you own your ISBNs—you can access and control your ISBN records. Much like domain name forwarding, you an retire your book record and forward it over to the new publishing company.
Self-publishing companies who provide free ISBNs (Amazon KDP, in this case) will not help you to move that free ISBN over to your publishing company. So you may have a much longer period of transition where the "old" version of your book is out of print and the industry does not know that it's available under a new ISBN.
You'll never be trapped with a vanity press
A "free" ISBN is never free. It comes with a price. I've helped many authors extricate themselves from vanity presses who own their book data, to take back their freedom to choose where they will publish their book.
Among those named in Writer Beware, a watchdog list, are all of the Author Solutions companies (Xlibris, iUniverse, Author House, Balboa, to name a few), Outskirts Press, and Tate Publishing, and so many more.
Ethical self-publishing companies will always allow you to apply your own ISBNs. Unethical self-publishing companies often force you to accept them as the publisher.
Check out my interview with Victoria Strauss, founder of Writer Beware, hosted at the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association website. In this 30-minute interview we expose the many ways writers can fall into the hands of unscrupulous services.
How to change your ISBN
Well, you can't really change an ISBN but you can use a workaround. You have several options:
- 1Continue using the store(Amazon) or distribution company's free ISBN for the book already being sold there and then...
- 2Apply your own ISBN to the book that's being sold elsewhere. This results in one book (paperback) with two ISBNs, which is not ideal, and you can stop here, But you can take another step if you want to retire the ISBN and create a new edition of your book.
- 3Go to your ISBN record (in the US, that's Bowker), and indicate that the new ISBN replaces the Amazon ISBN. You may experience some interruption and redirection that makes your book unavailable for a while. If you book is not experiencing many sales this is okay, but if you've got a bestseller on your hands, it's probably best to stick with solution 2, above.
ISBNs and your own publisher imprint
I like to encourage independent authors to make purchases like ISBNs under a business name, which is fairly easy to create, and formalizes your business and publisher name (your publisher imprint). You don't really need to start a business, but I advise authors on the path to professional publishing to do so.
One advantage of creating a business and getting a business tax ID is that you can more easily record tax write-offs for the business.
Another is protecting your personal tax ID.
In the US, you can obtain a tax ID for free (EIN) in your own name or in a company name.
You can make up names for your imprints as long as you're not infringing on anybody's trademark or copyright, but it's better to formalize them by creating an LLC and registering each imprint name as a DBA.
Learn how to set up a publishing imprint, a business, and assign ISBNs, along with all the other steps it takes to publish professionally as an independent author. It's got lots of space to write in, make lists, and check off tasks. Track you activities and learn about publishing, all in the same resource. Buy it here.
Where to purchase your ISBNs
In the US, the one and only official registrar for ISBNs is Bowker. So you need to purchase ISBNs at the Bowker My Identifiers site and sign up for an account. Buy 10 ISBNs for $295 or 100 for $575. As you've already learned, you'll need more than one.
Why 10? Because they come in packs of 1, 10, 100, etc. Again, you need one for your trade paperback, another for your ebook etc., but that is also the way you get your PUBLISHER NUMBER.
If you purchase only one ISBN you do not get a publisher number. Without a publisher number, you cannot get registered with the library, which is a big market.
In the United States, ISBNs are expensive. In Canada, they're free. Use your search engine to find your country's ISBN registrar. Don't purchase ISBNs from anyone else, because they will be the publisher of record, not you.
Note that Bowker (US, Australia, and the UK) is a private company so they are always upselling you! You do not need to purchase a barcode (there are many easy ways to get them free) and their self-publishing solutions and other products are probably not necessary or right for you.
In countries like Canada the library system (government) provides free ISBNs so your experience will differ.
10 or more gets you a publisher number so you can distribute to libraries.
Stay Savvy! Join the Writer's Tech Hub
I created the Writing & Publishing Circle community to offer writers the education and community it takes to finish and publish your work.
Please share this post!
Did you find this post useful? Share on social media or forward it to a writing friend!
