📚 Pay or Take the Free ISBN?
If you’re an indie author preparing to publish your book, you’ve probably stumbled across one big question: Should I use a free ISBN or purchase my own?
International Standard Book Number- Your ISBN is your book’s unique 13 digit code.Think of it as a book’s SSN, that identifies your title, edition, and format. This means every version (paperback, hardcover, eBook, audiobook) of your book needs its own ISBN. It’s how booksellers, libraries, and distributors track and catalog your book.
Here’s where the choice comes in:
If you choose a free ISBN through a platform like Amazon KDP, for example, that company becomes the publisher of record. The ISBN will list them as the publisher, not you. This means that they determine where you are allowed to sell your book with that ISBN. So, be sure to read the POS agreement that you sign for the free ISBN.
If you purchase your own ISBN then you are the official publisher. This gives you full control over your publishing imprint. You get to decide how your book appears in catalogs and what retailer you want to sell your book.
Owning your ISBN is essentially owning your publishing identity. You have the flexibility to register the ISBN under your personal name or your LLC, depending on how you envision your publishing brand.
Where do you get in ISBN? This depends on what country you live in. In the United States, Bowker is the sole licensed provider of ISBNs. This means that when you buy from them, the publishing imprint is your name. Purchasing anywhere else can lead to a scam situation or you won’t actually own the ISBN imprint. The place you purchased will be the publisher.
This brings us to a crucial decision for authors: should you opt for a free ISBN or invest in purchasing your own?
If you want complete creative and business control over your author career — from how your book is listed to how it’s distributed — purchasing your own ISBN is absolutely worth it.
✨ Pro Tip: If you plan to publish multiple books, Bowker offers ISBN bundles that make it more affordable in the long run.
✨ Pro Tip: Get your ISBN assigned before formatting, because it goes on the copywriter page.
✨ Final Note: Any new version of the book gets an ISBN- translating to a new language, special edition or new edition, requires a new ISBN. New platforms do not need a new ISBN.
https://www.isbn-international.org/content/what-isbn/10
https://www.isbn.org/faqs_general_questions
https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/help/topic/G7DMSKCM9DVS65TC
https://kdp.amazon.com/help/topic/G201834170
