What's an ISBN, and why do I need one?

If you want to self-publish through Amazon, through IngramSpark, or on your own, you're going to need an ISBN. But what is it, and why exactly do you need one?

I went a little into what an ISBN is in Self-Publishing Part Two: Proofing and Purchasing. But I wanted to take the time to go into a more detailed explanation of what an ISBN is and where you can get them.

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number (which means saying "ISBN number" is redundant, if you're one of the people who like to know that sort of thing). If you grab any published book around you and flip it over, there should be a 10- or 13-digit number under the barcode on the back. If you can't see it, it's probably also on the inside cover.

An ISBN is the number used to keep track of a book. There are no two books with the same ISBN - it's a unique, highly specialized number assigned to a book's metadata, printed on the book, and embedded in the barcode. Every retail website, bookstore, and library uses ISBNs to keep track of books. They don't use names or authors, since two books can have the same name, they use ISBNs. There are two types of ISBN - ISBN-10 and ISBN-13. Don't let that confuse you - any ISBN you get will be an ISBN-13. ISBN-10s have 10 digits and were discontinued in 2007 for various reasons.

So, where do you get ISBNs? There are really lots of places to get them, depending on what you want to do with your book. If you don't have any money, lots of websites will jump at the chance to give you a free one (they are EXPENSIVE). Amazon will give you one for free. But yeah, that's a little too good to be true. If Amazon, IngramSpark, or anywhere else gives you an ISBN, it only exists within that program. So if you have an Amazon ISBN, Barnes & Noble can't sell your book, because they aren't going to buy from their competitors. If you want to publish and don't have the money for your own ISBN, it's still getting your book out there, which is what matters! But if you can find the money, having your own ISBN pays off. (If you don't have the money now, you can always re-publish a second edition with a different ISBN in a few years!)

If you want to get your own ISBN, you have to buy it from the ISBN provider in your country. For the U.S., that's Bowker. If you aren't in the U.S., you can Google "ISBN provider in [your country]" and you should find it pretty easily. If you come across some site that wants to sell you an ISBN for cheap, be suspicious!! Bowker is the ONLY official ISBN provider in the U.S., and other providers should not be trusted. ISBNs from Bowker cost $125 for one, $295 for 10, $575 for 100, and $1,500 for 1,000.

How many should you buy? I bought 10. ISBNs never expire, so you can assign information to them whenever you need to. The numbers aren't based on the genre of your book, like in the Dewey Decimal System, so you get the numbers when you buy them and assign them data whenever you need to.

The data you assign to an ISBN is very specialized, so you have to be careful about when you use your ISBN. You need one ISBN for each format of your book (hardback, paperback, eBook, audiobook, etc.), so you'll need to have at least that many. If you want to change something monumental and release a new edition, you need a new ISBN for the new edition. So, if you know there are two books in your series and you want a print and eBook for each, it's already far cheaper to buy 10 (four = $500, ten = $295).

So, a quick breakdown of everything I've said:

• An ISBN is a book identification number

• Companies like Amazon will give you a "free" one that only exists within their program

• There are different ISBN providers for different countries

• Don't get a sketchy, unofficial ISBN

• One for each format

• One for each edition

• Do the math to know if buying in bulk will be cheaper

I hope I've been some help in your self-publishing journey! Stick to it, work hard, and feel free to use the Contact form to ask me any questions!