One of the areas that I get the most questions about is the use of the ISBN, the unique numeric identifier that’s used around the world to identify books. New self-publishers are especially concerned with making sure their books are registered properly, that everything is done so that their book can be sold without any problems or confusion.
Because this area is specific to the book business, there’s a lot of confusion and misinformation about ISBN and how it works. I strongly recommend you use the resources provided by Bowker, the company responsible for ISBNs in the United States, on the and. But even faster, without any further delay, here are 20 answers to the most commonly-asked questions about ISBN. Questions and Answers about ISBN • What is an ISBN? ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It is a 13-digit number that’s used as a unique identifier for books. ISBN is used internationally.
• What do all the numbers mean? See my earlier article on. • Why do we need ISBNs? We need them to identify each book that is published, and each edition of the same book. ISBN also identifies the publisher of the book. It is the standard ID number used to identify books by booksellers, libraries, book wholesalers and distributors.
• Should I get an ISBN? If you plan to sell your book in bookstores, to libraries, or through online retailers like Amazon.com, you will need an ISBN. • Does a book have to be published to have an ISBN? ISBNs are issued to publishers, who then assign them to individual books.
This can be done at any time, even before the book is written. • Is the ISBN the bar code I see on the back of books?
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The bar code is a representation of the ISBN in a form that can be identified by scanners. The bar code might also have other information embedded in it, like the price of the book and the currency in which it is priced. • Okay, do I need to have a bar code too? Only if you plan to sell your book in bookstores.
If you only plan to sell online, or privately like at speaking engagements, you don’t need a bar code. Many publishers put them on their books anyway. • If I get an ISBN, does that mean my book is copyrighted? No, ISBN is administered by a private company for the use of the international book trade. Copyright is administered by the and is an extension of intellectual property law. • If I have an ISBN, does that mean my book will be in Books in Print? Once you have an ISBN you can go to to fill out the forms necessary for your book to be listed in Books in Print.
One of the parts of book publishing that seems to confound newcomers to the field is the purpose and use of the International Standard Book Number (ISBN). Why Should I Buy an ISBN? ISBNs are linked to essential information allowing book-sellers. Ebook Creator Solutions. Ebook conversion. Starting at just $139.00.
• Can self-publishers get an ISBN? A self-publisher is still a publisher, so yes, you just apply for an ISBN like anyone else. • How do I get an ISBN? Go to, the ISBN website run by Bowker, which is the only company authorized to administer the ISBN program in the United States. Click on “ISBN Identifiers” and you’ll be taken to a page where you can buy 1, 10, 100 or 1000 ISBNs. • How many ISBNs should I buy?
The least economical choice is to buy 1 ISBN. If you ever publish another edition of your book, or another book entirely, you will need more than one ISBN.
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. I’m doing a print book and an ebook. Do I need two ISBNs. ISBN for Self-Publishers: Answers to 20 of. ISBN numbers and barcodes from authorized ISBN agent. ISBN US is an experienced, trusted resource for ISBN and barcodes for books and ebooks. An ISBN number is a number (typically 10 digits long) that helps to recognize your book, eBook, or work. It works similarly like a bar-code works in a retail store. It helps to identify your work. By the way, ISBN stands for: International Standard Book Number. If you take a common book and look at the back, it should have a clearly printed ISBN.
I suggest you buy the 10 pack. • What do ISBNs cost? A single ISBN today costs $125, while 10 ISBNs cost $250, 100 cost $575 and 1000 cost $1000. Note that the price per ISBN drops from $125 to $25 to $5.75 to $1. • Isn’t it just a number?
Why does a number cost $125? Many people are pondering this question, so far without an answer. Obviously, it’s not because of the cost of the product. Could there be another reason? • Well, can I re-use my ISBN?
No, sorry, once assigned to a book, an ISBN can never be reused. • Where do I put the ISBN? You’ll print it on the copyright page, and it’s included in the Cataloging-in-Publication data block, if you use one. Otherwise, just print it on the copyright page and, of course, on the back cover as part of the bar code. • I’m doing a print book and an ebook.
Do I need two ISBNs, or can I use the same one? This is a matter of some discussion at the moment, since there are more and more electronic formats. The policy of assigning a separate ISBN to each and every edition is under review. Check back for more info. • How about a hardcover and a softcover of the same book?
You need a separate ISBN for each edition, to identify them for everyone who might want to find them in directories, catalogs and databases. • If I revise my book, do I need to give it a new ISBN? If you only correct typographical errors, and don’t make any substantial changes to the text, you don’t need a new ISBN because it’s considered a reprint. A new edition would contain substantially new material, a major revision, or the addition of completely new elements. Anything that makes it a new book is likely to create a new edition and, therefore, need a new ISBN. • How about if I just change the cover? You can continue to use the same ISBN, since the text has not changed.
Well, there you have it. In 20 questions and about 5 minutes, you’ve overcome the confusion about ISBN. Have a question you didn’t see answered here?
Ask in the comments and we’ll run down the answer. Takeaway: Getting the ISBN for your new publishing company is a necessary step to becoming a publisher and getting your book into print correctly. It’s not difficult once you understand how to do it.
Going to Trademark my publishing company what type of protection should I look forward to? The Trademark it self will be marketed also, I’m a author, artist and publisher with22 copyrights. I want to own the whole thing, lock, stock and barrel. Tell me where do my lose ends lay?
I created all the work tell me how to police it. I’ve released nothing yet, but to set the trademark in motion I’ll need to sale my work with the trademark in use, at the same time I’ll make t-shirts with only the trademark on them will that cover all my lose ends, I write in a story board fashion. Will the uspto really protect my work. After trademark go’s into effect. I am shortly to publish a book via Amazon’s print-to-order platform, CreateSpace.
The book is co-authored with a US author, however I am in the UK. Do we need both a UK and a US ISBN?
If I want to sell copies to bookshops in the UK do I need a UK-specific ISBN or are they international? Also, I was wondering about using CreateSpace’s own free ISBN (due to lack of funds right now). Are we putting a limit on ourselves by choosing this cheaper option? And can we change the ISBN number to our own one later on? We are producing, writing, a privately-financed multi-volume set of books, the first two volumes of which will be published by a known publisher this year, with others to follow. In fact, we’re just hiring the publisher to distribute the book sets.
Depending on how the arrangement works out for the first set of two books, we may or may not continue with the same publisher for subsequent volumes. We’ve been offered free ISBNs by the publisher (presumably, one needed for each volume, right?).
The critical question is, is there any ownership conveyed by an ISBN? Need we buy our own to maintain ownership or accept the free ones. And how should we copyright the entire multi-volume work? Andrea and Peggy, these are great questions.
According to Bowker, a change from your maiden to married name will not require a new ISBN. Same with a change to a subtitle. Their guideline is that if a change is made for marketing reasons and there’s little/no chance of it creating confusion in the market, then you don’t need a new ISBN (like a new cover for instance). But if the change would cause confusion among buyers (“Is this the same book I already bought?”) then they advise using a new ISBN. I have a pack of 10 ISBN’s & have assigned half of them, & half remain unassigned (while I am writing the books I will assign them to). Question: how long can the un-assigned ISBN’s remain un-assigned (cuz I can only write so fast)???
They’re paid for so I would hope there is no limit – OR do I need to rush or does Bowker understand that creating works takes time – especially when there are 10 ISBN’s to assign. I went thru the Bowker site – both their Help files & their FAQ’s – and none have an answer. THANX in advance for your help. I have spent $$$$ to get 275 copies of my book printed.
They all have the ISBN on the front copyright page. I have some on consignment already, the owner there said nothing about barcodes. I went to another bookstore to make another consignment deal and the owner said I needed barcodes to sell them in his store. Before this, I had no clue from anyone, printers, bookstore owners, or anyone else that this was mandatory.
I am getting a multitude of answers and none of them are clear. I don’t want to get a bunch of stickers printed out, put them on my books and find out they’re not good enough. Does this involve micromanaging with every bookstore I approach or is there a clear logical answer?
Are you confused over whether you need an ISBN for your ebook and how to get one? I know I was before I went through the process of uploading my first ebook. So, here they are: The FAQs about ISBNs 1) Can I use the same ISBN that was assigned to the print edition? That I know for sure.
My understanding is, even if you were reissuing the book as a print book, if anything changes, like the cover or even how the text was typeset, you’d need a new ISBN that is specific to that edition. 2) Do I need a different ISBN for every format of the ebook since it’s going to be formatted for Kindle, Nook, iPad, Sony, etc? No, thank goodness. As long as you’re uploading the same file with the same cover, you just need one ISBN. And you don’t even need to use the ISBN for every format. You need one to get your ebook listed on BN.com for Nook, and on the iBookstore for iPad, but you don’t need one to be listed on Amazon for Kindle. 3) How do I get an ISBN?
I did, so it was easy. After you uploaded your file, there is a waiting period before your book is accepted into the Premium Catalog. Once it’s accepted, they will walk you through getting an ISBN. If you choose the free one, your book must say “Smashwords Edition” in the copyright area at the very beginning of the book. I chose to buy an ISBN for $9.99, so I put “Published by Julie Ortolon at Smashwords” in the copyright area. I didn’t even have to cough up the 10 bucks.
They will take it out of my first sales. ( Want to see how to word your copyright text? And download a FREE sample.) 4) Why buy an ISBN if I can get a free one? I read somewhere that Amazon doesn’t like you to put Smashwords Edition in the front. I’m not sure if that’s true, but for $9.99 why risk it.
5) How do I get an ISBN if I don’t go through Smashwords? Now that’s a good question and one I don’t have the answer to yet. If you know, please post the info in the comments! If you have questions or corrections about any of this information, please post that in the comments as well.
The purpose of this blog is to share information and learn together, so let’s share. Categories:,| Tags:,,|. Just a few notes about ISBNs — You need a different number for any edition, digital, hardbound, softbound regardless of any changes in a cover, text change etc. — using an aggregator such as Blurb, Lulu, Smash etc to publish your book, keep in mind that they are the publisher, not you. No matter what you write on the copyright page.
The publisher can choose at anytime to remove a book or change price with or without your approval. — Once an ISBN is assigned, it can not be changed, it remains forever for that edition.
A new edition must be published to change. — ISBN’s can be purchased by anyone, though you must purchase a block of 25 for 250.00, but you are the publisher and they do not expire. — If you can use Apple’s ibooks author, skip the middle man, there is no charge, but to sale you must have an itunes acct and appy with Apple to set up an author account. Very, very helpful is to have an Mac and an ipad to develope, test and send to Apple.