The Ins & Outs of ISBN

If you're just beginning to work on your manuscript or look into publishing, you may think getting an ISBN is something you don't have to worry about yet- and while that might be true, it's important to understand ISBNs from the beginning so you don't miss an important deadline on your timeline...say an LCCN. So, here are the things you need to know about ISBN as well as some helpful hints of how to navigate the often complicated world around them.

What is an ISBN?

An ISBN is a number unique to your book. It's used mainly in retail. ISBNs are also necessary if plan on applying for almost anything in the future like an LCCN (Library of Congress Control Number). If you plan to sell your book online or in stores you NEED to have an ISBN.

What does ISBN stand for?

International Standard Book Number.

Do I need an ISBN?

If you are going to sell your book in stores or online you need to have an ISBN (There are a few exceptions to this such as e-books or manuals). If fact, there are some places that will not accept your book for sale if you don't have an ISBN.

Where to buy?

In the USA, there is a huge monopoly on ISBNs and only one company sells them- Bowker. If you are going to but an ISBN in the USA, you should ONLY buy through Bowker. DO NOT buy an ISBN from a re-seller.

My printer gave me an ISBN for free?

That's great! You can feel free to use that ISBN or purchase your own. The only downside to keeping the free one is it’s probably registered under your printer’s name. Therefore if people look up your ISBN, the printer shows up as your publisher. Whether or not this matters to you depends on what you’re trying to do with you book. If you're trying to build a brand or publishing company- this situation is not ideal.

How much is an ISBN?

The magic question and the thing that often scares people away. Again, Bowker has a monopoly on ISBN sales in the US and so they get to more or less choose prices. Currently, one ISBN is $125. However, the more you buy, the cheaper each becomes (10 ISBNs go for $295). This can be helpful for people who plan on starting a publishing company or publishing more than one book.

This reseller is selling ISBNs for cheaper?

DO NOT buy an ISBN from a re-seller. As annoying as it is, you just have to pay Bowker for this one. Re-sellers are almost always scams trying to take advantage of newcomers.

What does an ISBN look like?

ISBNs come in two forms, 10 and 13 digits. Here's the one for Princess Pretend and The Not Knight in hardcover:

10 Digit: 0-9984034-2-3

13 Digit: 978-0-9984034-2-7

Where can I find a book’s ISBN?

The best place to look for an ISBN is on a book’s copyright page, which is usually somewhere between the cover and beginning of the book or around the last page of the book. The copyright page has all sorts of useful, technical information such as an ISBN number. You can also look at a book’s barcode which usually includes the ISBN and a price. If you read the numbers along the top you can find the ISBN.

Can I reuse the same ISBN?

If you're printing a different book, it needs a different ISBN- no question. However, the water can get a bit murky about ISBNs for reprints of the same book. If you're doing another printing and you make a few minor changes, you can generally get away with reusing the same ISBN. But if you make a bunch of changes or any particularly large changes you should use a different ISBN. E-books do not need ISBNs and if you choose to give them one, it does not need to be different than any kind of print copy of the book. Hardcover and paperback versions of the same book need separate ISBNs.

What happens once I buy my ISBNs?

Once you buy your ISBNs, they're registered under your name/company etc. When you have a book, you choose an ISBN for that version and fill in lots of information about it such as price, size, author and audience. When you finish this, there'll be a brief pending period while the information uploads but then you're good.

What are all these other things Bowker is selling?

As if the ISBN prices weren't enough, Bowker targets new authors looking to self-publish with other services like best-seller similarity comparison and barcodes. I've never tried any of these myself, however, be wary with them because they could be scams. For example, one thing they try to throw in with your ISBN is a barcode, I think they advertise this at ‘a sale price’ of $25. Here's the thing though, barcodes are free. So just be careful if you're thinking of using Bowker’s other services.

Well those are some of the big questions around ISBN. If you have any more or want to add something that wasn't covered, leave it in the comments down below!

Additional Resources/Sources Used in This Post:

https://www.myidentifiers.com/

https://bookow.com/resources.php