Comments on: ISBNs: Do self-publishers need them?

By: Monica

Monica — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 21:49:17 +0000

Wow! Looks like you’re right, Dianne. There’s no mention of price on that page. It’s just handed out like …well, like they’re free. Yet another thing to be jealous of the Canadians for!

By: Dianne Greenlay

Dianne Greenlay — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 17:57:00 +0000

Hi Monica, yes, as far as I understand, although I haven’t actually gone through the process yet, but will with my next book, the numbers are free to Canadian “Publishers”, even self-publishers. Here’s the scoop: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ciss-ssci/041002-130-e.html

By: monica4567

monica4567 — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 21:36:00 +0000

Hi again Alyssa,
I wanted to add that I found out you can assign an ISBN to a book that’s already been published. So theoretically, you could publish your book now and buy an ISBN when you’re able to. Just thought you might want to know.

By: monica4567

monica4567 — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 20:30:00 +0000

Great point, Cyrus. Thank you for adding that. While I do recommend all authors assign an ISBN to their work, it’s reality that it may be impossible for some to do so. But I’m glad to know the cost of registering your work with the US copyright office. Thanks again for stopping by!

By: monica4567

monica4567 — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 03:17:00 +0000

Hi Alyssa! Thanks for stopping by!
I definitely understand the money concerns. You are right — Amazon will assign their own number. If you’re only selling there, you definitely don’t need one.
Apple is the one place I found that requires an ISBN. Other sites recommend it but don’t require it. Why do they recommend it? Because of that pesky “publisher of record” thing. As I understand it, the publisher of record is the legal owner of the work. So for legal reasons, which lead into issues Cyrus raised in his comment above, this is important. It’s also important because it’s the number used by retailers to track your book. It makes sure they have the correct version of your book for a sale. I suppose, theoretically, that would mean, IF you only have one format out there, the ISBN wouldn’t be of much help. So if you’re only doing an ebook, that you have in epub format, you might get away with skipping this step.
Now I’m wondering if you can get an ISBN after a book has been published. I’ll have to look into that.

By: Cyrus Keith

Cyrus Keith — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 23:17:00 +0000

One thing to add, from a contract published author’s POV, but nonetheless valid. This is critical: You CAN NOT register a U.S. copyright without an ISBN for the format you are registering. Why that is critical is that although you don’t absolutely have to register your copyright (which is not the same as owning copyright), registering gives you the ability to pursue punitive damages in court. That gives you just that much more ammo against piracy and plagiarism. Registering only costs 35 dollars on line.It’s worth every penny, folks.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 22:14:00 +0000

Very good post and very helpful. But I’m still a little bit confused. I looked up whether I needed an ISBN before, but didn’t understand it that time around either.

Long story short, is an ISBN absolutely necessary for a self published book at say, Amazon? I don’t think so, because it said it assigns their own. But what about selling ebooks at other places? Do I need an ISBN for each place I sell my book at?

One more thing, what does the “Publisher of record mean”? And it is important? I’m asking all these questions because at the moment, it’s utterly impossible to buy any sort of ISBN due to the price. So long story short, is it honestly necessary?

Whew long comment. I’ll stop here. Thank you so much for putting all this info in one place, it’s a very good go to reference for ISBN questions.

By: monica4567

monica4567 — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:21:00 +0000

Hi Dianne!
I’m so glad you found the post helpful. I found so much conflicting info out there I wanted to know myself what the real deal was.
According to Bowker, the US ISBN agency, it doesn’t matter where you get the ISBN. The number itself is international. It only matters where the publisher is located. And in their words, “There is no such thing as a US ISBN. ISBNs are international, but assigned locally.” If you want to read more on that, visit http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/about/faqs3.html.
I certainly am curious (and maybe a bit jealous) about your free Canadian ISBNs. They’re just assigned to your book at no fee, huh? Figures. Here we have to pay for everything.

By: Dianne Greenlay

Dianne Greenlay — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 15:02:00 +0000

Monica, thanks so much for this clarifying post on a very confusing subject! I am a Canadian author who published through CreateSpace first time around but for the next book I will go the complete indie route, including using my own ISBN. Just wondering: in Canada, ISBN’s are available for free – does it matter what country they are obtained from when publishing on Amazon and with, say, Smashwords or Book Baby?