Does My Self-published Work Need an ISBN?

An ISBN is a 13-digit code used as an identifier for books. If you turn over a paperback or hardback book, you’ll find it at the bottom of the back cover.

ISBN numbers never expire and give information such as:

• the book code
• the country or language of publication
• the publisher
• that the number has been verified
• they are non-transferable. If you publish an eBook, paperback, and hardback of the same book, each will need their own ISBN.

How do I get one?

• Go to myidentifiers.com. That’s the official Bowker site for ISBN numbers in the United States.
• Pick the number of ISBN you need. I recommend getting the block of 10. To me, it’s the best deal.

Cost? Can I publish for free or without an ISBN?

Yes and no. ISBN’s aren’t cheap. However, it is much more cost effective to purchase a block of ten. One ISBN is $125.00, whereas ten are $295.00.

You can purchase them as early as you want in your writing process, as they never expire.

If you’re going to self-publish an eBook on Amazon (Kindle Direct Marketing), they’ll assign an ASIN that is a number exclusively for your eBook on Amazon. That won’t cost you a thing. That being said, if you are also planning on offering a paperback and or hardback version of your book, you’ll need an ISBN for each. I’d highly recommend getting the ten. Not everyone reads books electronically.

Now that you know how to go about getting an ISBN and why they’re important, you can decide what would work best for you. If you’re low on funds and just want to go with an eBook for now, you certainly can do that and won’t need an ISBN, as long as you go with Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. There’s nothing wrong with that. eBooks are a highly successful market.

Be on the lookout for an upcoming post on how to create a book cover.

Happy Writing!

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