The Wonderful World of ISBNs

Total Read Time: 3 minutes

[image via Wikipedia]

Ever wonder about that 13-digit number on the back of books and whether you need to get one for your own ebook/print book?  Well, here’s the deal:

What is an ISBN?

ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number.  Basically, it’s a unique, coded number that identifies your book.  The code contains country, language, publisher, and title information.  Publishers, distributors, book retailers, etc. use this number to communicate orders and sales information both internally and with each other. 

Here’s where it gets a little complicated.  Say there are several different formats of the same title, like Lord of the Rings for example.  Since this title has been around for such a long time, there are all kinds of different formats: hardcover, trade paperback, mass market (pocketbook-sized paperback), single volume, multi-volume, boxed set, anniversary edition, movie tie-in edition, audiobook, ebook, etc.

If publishers used the same ISBN for every version of the same title, it would be a logistics nightmare, so each different version is assigned its own ISBN.

Here’s where it gets even more complicated.  Bowker, the agency in the US that provides ISBNs (for a price), is trying to assert that publishers also need to use a different ISBN for each digital format they produce of the same title (ePUB, Kindle, PDF, etc.). 

Naturally, publishers are not a fan of this, since it will cost them more money and only seems to benefit Bowker.  Since the inventory is virtual, and can already be differentiated by file extension, different ISBNs for the same ebook title seem unnecessary.  Never mind trying to track sales of one title across multiple ebook ISBNs…

The bottom line is that while the ebook format your book must have a unique ISBN from any other existing physical format, it currently seems to be at the discretion of the publisher whether each different ebook file type gets its own ISBN.

Do you need an ISBN?

If you are being published by a traditional publishing house, they will take care of the ISBN for you.  If you are self-publishing, you can decide whether to get your own ISBN.

Many of the free publishing services for both ebook and print (Createspace, Lulu, Kindle Direct Publishing, Smashwords, etc.) will give you the option to either use an ISBN they provide (usually for free), or to supply your own (which costs $, unless you live in Canada).

So why would you want to purchase an ISBN when you can get one for free?  Well for starters, some distributors, like Lightning Source, require you to provide your own ISBN.  And why is that?  Well, it’s because these companies are only interested in distributing your book, and not in being listed as the publisher.

Since the publisher information is embedded in the ISBN, it clearly identifies the party that purchased it.  So if you get a free ISBN from a publishing service provider, they will be listed and identified as the publisher of your book.  (Even though you don’t have to pay, they bought the ISBN from Bowker.) 

This might seem like a little thing, and maybe I’m being paranoid, but if I’m self-published, I think I should be listed as the publisher.  Personally, I would much rather cover my ass now to prevent any kind of legal ‘misunderstandings’ in the future.  There is no guarantee that the policies of these publishing service companies won’t change or that their interests won’t diverge from my own somewhere down the road.  To me, that peace of mind is worth paying for.  (And as I said, if you live in Canada, your ISBNs are FREE, so why not take advantage of it?)

So if you do decide to get your own ISBN, here’s where you can do it:

Bowker (US)

Canadian ISBN Service System

Once you register, you will be provided with your own, unique publisher prefix that will be embedded in each ISBN you purchase.  You can do this either as an individual or under a company name (if you have one).

And just as an aside, if you’re planning a trip to your local bookstore for something specific, try to find out what the ISBN is first and write it down.  It’s usually listed in the Product Details area of sites like amazon.  (Sometimes it will be one of the old-school, 10-digit ISBNs, which is fine.)

Trust me, the bookseller will thank you for it. :)