About
We’ve all seen that little box usually on the back cover of a book. The one with the barcode on it and all those jumbled numbers and dashes... you guessed it, it’s the ISBN number! But what really is an ISBN number and do I really need one for my book?
Well the answer to the latter question depends on what book you create. You can create a book, and not attain an ISBN number. An example of this would be, a photo-book or a personalized book of memories or a gift book you create for someone you love...ever heard or ChatBooks? I love a good photo book from Chatbooks! High quality, beautifully bound and all the photos you want to remember!
So just get to the point! What’s all the fuss about then?
Welp, “The International Standard Book Number is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique.” Therefore, If you are looking for people to be able to find your book in the sea of others, and you want to sell it in stores or online (of course you do!), you will need an ISBN number.
Boring (but critical!) History Break
Since 1970, these numbers have been in use to identify books...Originally with 10 digits but upped to 13 in 2007. The head distribution for these codes is the isbn company. However companies and publishing houses purchase and then distribute to their titles, or resell them to people like us...self publishers!!
Now, how is this number created?
Honestly, there’s a method to the madness, that various from nation to nation, however it’s a whole lot of math and a bunch of formulas that I honestly don’t understand. Lucky for you, knowing the ISBN secret formula won’t determine whether or not you have an incredible book! ...or ebook...
Yup! That’s right...not only will you need one for each book title... you will need one for each variation. So for example... Let’s take my first book, Here Comes The Rain! I offered this title in Hardback and Softback...and you guessed it... I needed an individual ISBN number for each. Even if I also offered the title as an Ebook, I would still need a completely separate ISBN number to represent that.
How do I get one?
There are 3 main ways to obtain an ISBN Number as a self publisher.
Apply to your particular country’s specific agency. Go to, https://www.isbn-international.org/ agencies and scroll down to your country. (Useful only really if you want to purchase a bunch all together) the prices depend on the agency you apply to.
Purchase from a third party, such as
Easily purchase one from BookBaby, when publishing your story.