What is an ISBN?

Last updated on April 3, 2021

What is an ISBN and Why is it important to have one for your books or published works?

The International Standard Book Number is a numeric commercial book identifier which is intended to be unique. In other words, it is simply a product number that helps during the marketing/distribution of your book and DOES NOT provide any form of legal or copyright protection (this will be discussed in a separate post). It is important to have an ISBN because it provides a standard way for publishers to number their products so that it cannot be duplicated by other publishers.

An ISBN is intended to be assigned to each separate edition and variation of a publication. For example, an e-book, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book should have a different ISBN.

If you plan on publishing your works then you will need an ISBN in order to sell and/or market in bookstores and with online retailers such as Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Books a Million etc.

Bowker is a great resource for indie and self-published authors. An author may purchase a single ISBN or a bundle at very affordable prices. I would suggest conducting additional research on whether you should obtain your own ISBN or utilize the online retailer’s assigned ISBN. For me personally, I decided to purchase my own that way the same ISBN could be used everywhere and not limited to one retailer.