ISBN – A Quick Guide

One of the first questions I get asked when helping a new writer with their publication is how ISBNs work.

As publishing is quite an expansive topic, I’ve written a comprehensive guide called How to Publish a Book – What, How and Everything in Between. – and you can read it here.

However, for those needing quick answers to the more basic questions, here is a brief outline of how ISBNs work.

If you buy your own ISBNs it means:

(Visit Nielsens for UK, Bowker for the US or Government of Canada for Canada. Prices vary)

• You are the publisher.
• You’re responsible for registering your book and all the stuff that needs to happen after you’ve printed your book, including listing on websites for distribution.
• If you’re based in the UK, you need to contact Gardners and get them to list your book on their website so that independent book shops can order your book.
• You maintain 100% royalties.
• You have to submit various copies to the libraries*

If you go through Compass-Publishing UK (me) it means:

• I am the publisher.
• You pay for each ISBN required.
• I do all of the registration and listing on various websites for distribution.
• I list your book with Gardners wholesalers who are the book distributors for the UK.
• You maintain 100% royalties.
• You have to submit various copies to the libraries but I will give you a checklist which explains your next steps.

If you get an ISBN directly from Amazon KDP

• Their terms apply – you can read all of what those are here.
• The main restriction with choosing a free ISBN from KDP is that you cannot then publish your book outside of the Amazon platform.

Choosing the right option is critical as it has legal requirements once your ISBN is registered. Getting a registered book de-listed is really complicated and takes many months to filter through all of the various websites it’s listed with, so it’s really important to know what happens after you register your book and what that means.

As Compass-Publishing UK deals with ISBNs from Neilsens, the info below is relevant to the UK. If you obtain your ISBN from anywhere else, you will need to follow that country’s guidelines.

Once your book is registered with Neilsens, then certain things automatically happen;

• You’re required to submit 5 copies to the various libraries throughout the UK
  Some people don’t want to do that, as it’s expensive, but it’s a legal requirement. Getting your book de-registered is time consuming and isn’t straightforward, so it’s important to understand the consequences of obtaining and registering an ISBN for your book.
• An automatic listing is put on Amazons website
  This isn’t something you can opt out of. If you don’t upload your book to Amazon, or have a reseller account this listing will state that your book is Currently Unavailable.
  Some authors don’t want their books appearing on Amazon, in which case you can’t register an ISBN. The only way out of this is to sell your book directly from your own website or shop. Books with no registered ISBNs cannot sell books in bookshops.

Ultimately, wherever you obtain your ISBN from, be due diligent in what that means after your book has been published.

If you would like more indepth information about everything discussed, go grab my book, How To Publish Your Book, How, What and Everything in Between here.

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