Do I Need an ISBN to Self-Publish My Book?
There are a lot of tasks and decisions that go into self-publishing, and there’s one that comes to mind that always sparks a lot of questions for first-time authors: ISBNs.
I’ve been coaching nonfiction authors since 2017, and almost inevitably, people have this question:
“(When) do I need an ISBN to self-publish an ebook?”—not to mention the many follow-up questions that spin off of that one.
If you find yourself in that boat (and maybe you need someone to throw you a paddle), this article is for you!
Below you’ll find FAQs and info on ISBNs for self-publishing authors.⬇️
What is an ISBN and do you need one (or several?)
An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a 13-digit inventory and identification code issued to each individual edition of a book. In 2007, ISBN numbers moved from 10 to 13 digits to accommodate their growing numbers.
An ISBN allows authors, publishers, distributors, booksellers, and libraries to track, order, and sell book titles.
Wondering how to pronounce ISBN? It’s pronounced izben.
Each edition of a book—paperback, ebook, hardcover—must have its own ISBN.
Not all retailers require ISBNs for ebooks.
You’ll need to paste in your ISBN when it comes time to self-publish.
What is the meaning of ISBN numbers?
It’s possible to decode an ISBN, but you don’t have to.
The ISBN-13 consists of the prefix, group or country identifier, publisher identifier, title or edition identifier, and the check digit (the last number—which may be X, meaning 10).
Do I need an ISBN?
The answer is: “It depends” and “In most cases, yes.”
Why should I buy an ISBN?
There are many reasons to purchase an ISBN for your title, including:
An ISBN improves the likelihood your book will be found and purchased
An ISBN links to essential information about your book
An ISBN enables more efficient marketing and distribution of your title
Most retailers require ISBNs
Correct use of the ISBN allows different product forms and editions of a book, printed or digital, to be differentiated clearly, ensuring that customers receive the version they require
An ISBN helps you collect and analyze book sales data
An ISBN ensures your book’s information will be stored in the Books In Print database
Books In Print is consulted by publishers, retailers, and libraries around world when searching for title information
The ISBN conveys no legal or copyright protection, however, the use of ISBNs for publications is prescribed by law in some countries
In some countries a book will be charged higher tax if it does not have an ISBN
ISBNs are the global standard for book identification
The above bullet list was taken directly from Bowker Publishing Services’s website; more on Bowker later.
In short,
You need an ISBN if
you don’t want to use one of the free ones some book distributors offer self-published authors, and/or you want to be listed as the publisher of record, not them
you’re publishing an ebook to Apple Books
you want your books to be able to be in libraries and library vendor databases
you want to be able to get sales data for your book
you want your audiobook to be available to digital library channels
You don’t need an ISBN if
you are only publishing an ebook, and you're only publishing it and selling it on Amazon
you plan to use a free ISBN provided by Amazon, Draft2Digital, or Barnes & Noble Press
you don’t plan to sell books on the open market, i.e., you’re only going to sell your books on your website, at live events, or give it to family and friends.
That’s right, some distributors will offer you a free ISBN—Amazon, Draft2Digital, etc. Some self-publishing services companies offer ISBNs as part of their packages. (In most cases, you can still supply an ISBN that you purchased independently.)
But that ISBN is only valid and can only be used on that platform.
And if you use the free or provided ISBN, your distributor (or whoever provided that ISBN) is listed as your publisher.
If you are only publishing an ebook, and you’re only publishing it and selling it on Amazon, you don’t need an ISBN. But you might want an ISBN because:
Apple Books requires one.
Library catalogs require ISBNs.
Where to buy ISBNs? (US, UK, Canada, etc.)
For US authors, ISBNs are purchased from Bowker.
US authors can buy ISBNS here. “Bowker is the official ISBN Agency for publishers physically located in the United States and its territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, US Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, as well as military bases and embassies.”
You’ll first have to set up an account with Bowker Publishing Services—through myidentifiers.com, and then you can purchase ISBNs.
In 2024, ISBN cost was as follows: 1 ISBN for $125, 10 for $295.
Where can non-US authors buy ISBNS?
Residents of Australia can get ISBNS through THORPE-Bowker—through myidentifiers.com/au. There is a first-time setup fee of $55 (as of 2024), but ISBNs cost much less for Australians than for residents of the US.
Residents of Canada can get free ISBNs from ISBN Canada—through Library and Archives Canada. And yes, if you’re a Canadian resident with a Canadian ISBN, you can sell books in the US. You must create an account to begin the relatively pain-free process.
Residents of New Zealand can get free ISBNs from the National Library. All you have to do is fill out an online form, and the entire process takes about three working days.
Residents of the UK and Ireland can get ISBNs from NielsenBookData—through the Neilsen ISBN Store. “To buy ISBNs from this site, you must be based in the UK, Ireland or a British Overseas Territory.”
People from other countries should visit the International ISBN Agency website to find the official ISBN Agency in their jurisdiction.
“Do I need to buy barcodes for books?”
If you buy your ISBN(s) from Bowker, they’ll offer you the option to buy barcodes from them.
So do you need a barcode for your book?
No.
If you are publishing with Amazon KDP you don’t need a barcode.
If you are using Barnes & Noble Press or IngramSpark, don’t buy a barcode. Barnes & Noble Press and IngramSpark print their own barcodes onto your back cover.
And if you ever discover that you need a barcode for some reason, there is an ISBN barcode generator, a free barcode generator tool available through Kindlepreneur, among other places.
For more ISBN information and FAQs for authors, click here.
Do I need an ISBN for an audiobook?
It is not required for Amazon ACX but is for many retailers and for digital library services.
Some audiobook distributors offer free ISBNs, but for the reasons I’ve described, it’s best to buy and supply your own.
“Should I set up my own publishing company?”
When you buy your ISBN, you’ll be asked to supply the name of the publisher.
It can be your name, or it can be left blank.
But you can also create a “publishing company”—which, for most authors, is in name only, but it can also be part of your larger business or brand.
Doing so means the name of your publisher on the book’s Amazon page will be listed as whatever you said it was when you bought the ISBN, rather than the default “Independently published” or the like.
See “How to Set Up Your Self-Publishing Company on Bowker” to learn more about this process. It’s a great resource.
ISBNs and Amazon
Do I need an ISBN to publish on Amazon?
“An ISBN isn't required to publish an eBook with KDP. Once your content is published on KDP, Amazon will assign it a 10-digit ASIN (Amazon Standard Identification Number), which is unique to the eBook, and is an identification number for the Kindle eBook on Amazon.”
“An ISBN is required to publish your paperback. You can choose to use a free ISBN from KDP or to provide your own. The free ISBN from KDP can only be used on KDP for distribution to Amazon and its distributors.”
“An ISBN is required to publish your hardcover. You can choose to use a free ISBN from KDP or to provide your own. The free ISBN from KDP can only be used on KDP for distribution to Amazon and its distributors.”
If you publish a paperback or hardcover with Amazon using the free ISBN, in the “Product Details” field on the book’s Amazon sales page, where it says “Publisher,” it will say “Independently published.”
➡️Hire a self-publishing coach—see coaching calls, packages, and services
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ISBNs and Barnes & Noble Press
Do I need an ISBN to publish to Barnes & Noble?
“You can buy your own ISBN from Bowker or through your local ISBN agency. . . . If you use your own ISBN, B&N Press will check whether your book’s imprint matches what’s on file with Bowker. You will not be able to publish your book if there is a mismatch or if the ISBN is currently in use through wide distribution.”
“B&N Press can provide you with a free ISBN to publish your print book. We’ll also automatically register your ISBN information with BooksInPrint.com. Barnes & Noble Press does offer you a free ISBN to publish your print book with—if you want it. If you use the Barnes & Noble free ISBN, then the publisher field on your book page will read “Barnes & Noble Press” and the free ISBN can only be used on barnesandnoble.com. It cannot be used with another publisher or self-publishing service.”
I recommend purchasing and using your own ISBNs if you plan to publish with Barnes & Noble.
(Read more about Barnes & Noble Press and ISBNs here.)
ISBNs and Draft2Digital
Do I need an ISBN to publish with Draft2Digital?
“Draft2Digital offers free ISBNs when uploading through our site, but note that our ISBNs can only be used through our service, and cannot be reused or transferred to a vendor we do not support.”
“You have the option of using the free ISBN from Draft2Digital and in that case, D2D will assign a free ISBN to your book. D2D will be listed as the publisher if you go that route.”
Draft2Digital offers a free ISBN for your ebook—but you can only use it with D2D, and if you've already published elsewhere, it could cause confusion/duplicate listings. If you've already published a POD paperback with Amazon, you'll need to purchase another ISBN if you want D2D to distribute your paperback, too.
(Read more about Draft2Digital and ISBNs here.)
ISBNs and IngramSpark
Do I need an ISBN to publish through IngramSpark?
If you’re publishing a print book with Ingram, you must have an ISBN.
If you’re publishing an ebook with Ingram, you must have an ISBN because many of Ingram’s partners require it.
IngramSpark offers optional free ISBNs to US authors. However, if you do that, you can only use that ISBN for publishing on Ingram. And your publisher will be listed as “Indy Pub.”
If you use the free Ingram ISBN and then later publish somewhere else with a different ISBN, you run the risk of duplicate listings and all sorts of glitches. So it’s better to have your own ISBN for use everywhere a given format is published.
(Read more about IngramSpark and ISBNs here.)
ISBNs and Google Play Books
Do I need an ISBN to publish through Google Play Books Partner Center?
No, you don’t.
“An ISBN isn't required to submit a book to Google Books or to sell a book on Google Play. We assign a unique identifier with the prefix GGKEY to any book that doesn't already have one. GGKEYs are only used internally within Google.”
(Read more about Google Play and ISBNs here.)
ISBNs and Kobo Writing Life
Do I need an ISBN to publish to Kobo through Kobo Writing Life?
The answer is no, with an asterisk.
No ISBN is required to publish on Kobo, but not having an ISBN means your book can’t be distributed to all of Kobo’s partner sites worldwide.
As Kobo Writing Life explains:
“You will still be able to publish your book on Kobo without an ISBN and sell in over 190 countries worldwide as we will issue our own identifier number when it goes on our site.
“However, this Kobo-specific identifier is not accepted for distribution through our all partner sites (Indigo, FNAC, etc.) Having a valid ISBN is the industry standard and lends your works a sense of credibility. We would therefore recommend an ISBN if you’re trying to distribute to a specific partner site that requires ISBNs, but it is not necessary.”
(Read more about Kobo and ISBNs here.)
ISBNs and self-published books, in summary
So in sum,
An ISBN is an identification number for a book used in book distribution and cataloging.
An ISBN is only valid for one format of a given book—i.e., only for the ebook edition, only for the paperback edition, etc.
Self-published authors in the US can purchase ebooks through Bowker.
In order for your print book to be cataloged and stocked in libraries and sold in bookstores, you need an ISBN.
Not all retailers require ISBNs for ebooks, but you may still want one.
You don’t need to buy barcodes with your ISBN purchase.