What's an ISBN

and do you need one?



ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. It’s a 13-digit number that identifies one version of one book. ISBNs can be used for other products sold in bookstores, such as audio books, calendars, bookmarks, software, greeting cards, and some DVDs. ISBNs are not used for CDs, bottles of water, or stuffed animals, even if they are sold in a bookstore.



An ISBN aids marketing and cataloging of products by printers, publishers, booksellers, libraries, and distributors.

If you plan to sell your book from the back of a lecture hall or the trunk of your car or a table on the sidewalk — or just want to give it away — you don’t need an ISBN.

But if you have any intention or dream of selling through conventional stores or online booksellers, you need an ISBN.

ISBNs are generally accompanied by a bar code — much like the UPC (Universal Product Code) — found on everything from ketchup bottles to bicycles.

The bar code you see on the back of a book is derived from an ISBN, but the two are not the same thing.

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An ISBN is only a number. The bars provide data for optical scanning, most often by a cashier in a bookstore, so customers will pay the right price. The record of the sale can enable store management to track inventory levels and know when to re-order, or perhaps to decide to stop selling a particular book.

Until a few years ago, ISBNs had 10 digits, but the increasing number of books being published prompted the industry to change to a longer sequence.

Each ISBN now consists of 13 digits, and, when printed, it is preceded by the letters “ISBN.” The 13-digit number is divided into five parts of varying lengths. When printed above the bar code, the parts are sometimes separated by hyphens to make the code easier to read.

 

The numbers in the second row are not part of the ISBN but are commonly printed with it. They indicate the cover price (suggested retail price). The first digit (5 in the sample) indicates that the price is in U.S. dollars. The next digits show the price is $19.95. Some books are not printed with prices on them.

R. R. Bowker, the ISBN agency for the United States, assigns ISBNs upon the request of publishers, audio and video producers, software producers, and muse-ums and associations that publish.

Bowker says you should allow 15 days for processing from the time an application is received. When I tried it, it took just a few days, but your experience may be different. Bowker also offers extra-cost two-day “Priority” and 24-hour “Express” processing.

ISBNs are assigned to publishers in blocks of 10, 100, and 1,000 numbers— but you can get just one at a time if that’s all you need. Each block is configured so that the first several dig-its are the same. These digits, called the prefix, identify a publishing company. When you submit an application for your first ISBNs, you are applying for a “publisher prefix.” When you have used up all of the ISBNs in your prefix, you can then apply for more ISBNs.

The fee for one ISBN is $150. The fee for a block of 10 was recently reduced from $400 to $275. If you think you’ll do two books, you may as well get 10 ISBNs, because publishing is addictive.

ISBN fees are not refundable and you can’t transfer ISBNs to others, so be reasonably sure you really will publish before you pay for ISBNs.

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Publishing service companies such as Lulu and CreateSpace offer free ISBNs. The freebie may not be a real benefit, because it will identify Lulu or CreateSpace -- not your own company -- as the publisher. If you become unhappy and want to use another printer or publisher, you will have to get a new ISBN. You can use the same title again, but you risk confusion and lost business if people search for your name or the book’s title and order from the wrong source.
 

Each binding or format (such as hardcover, paperback, video, e-book, and audio book) must have a separate ISBN.

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Not all e-books need ISBNs. Apple requires an ISBN, but Amazon and Barnes & Noble do not. It can't hurt to use one ISBN for multiple e-book formats.

A new ISBN is required for a revised edition if it’s a major revision, such as the addition of a chapter.

Once assigned, an ISBN can never be reused.
 

The ISBN is printed on the bottom of the back cover of a book above the bar code, and on the copyright page.

Some companies charge to produce an ISBN bar code graphic to use on the cover. Some printers, such as Lightning Source, provide bar codes at no charge for customers.

An ISBN should be assigned to each title or version of a title that you plan. It’s common to assign the ISBN well in advance, as soon as you decide that the book will be published.

As the publisher, you decide which of your ISBNs go with which books. If you are going to publish multiple books, keep a list of your ISBNs to make sure you don’t assign the same ISBN to several books.

Once you’ve assigned an ISBN you should register it with Books in Print at www.bowkerlink.com so booksellers and librarians will be able to find it for ordering.



If you will be publishing more than one book, keep a list of the titles and their ISBNs so you don't assign the same number to two books.