Can I use same ISBN for Smashwords and Amazon

No.

If you buy your own ISBN, you could (I believe), but the Smashwords ISBN is only good for Smashwords and the places it distributes to.

GinJones said:

No.

If you buy your own ISBN, you could (I believe), but the Smashwords ISBN is only good for Smashwords and the places it distributes to.

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Each edition needs a unique ISBN (for print--most ebook retailers don't even require ISBNs anymore).

You can get an ISBN for your print edition from them for $10 and list yourself or your company/whatever as the imprint, or use the free one they give you (but which lists Createspace as the imprint).

jaus tail said:

Thanks for clearing that doubt.

(but which lists Createspace as the imprint)

What does this mean?

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If you use the free one, Createspace Independent Publishing Platform is listed as the imprint (essentially the publisher).

If you use the $10 one, you get to customize that and put your name/company name/whatever you want, and Createspace is only listed as the distributor.

The free one is perfectly safe to use, but $10 is cheap and you get your name/whatever in the record, so it's a bargain (compared to $125 to buy one ISBN from Bowker). You don't need an ISBN for the ebook, and you would need a separate one if you wanted to have one for the ebook, so this would just be for the print edition.

Can you buy the $10 ISBN down the line when you offer a Createspace print version, or do you need to set that up when you do the ebook version?

Filigree said:

Can you buy the $10 ISBN down the line when you offer a Createspace print version, or do you need to set that up when you do the ebook version?

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No, you don't need to set it up when doing the ebook. Amazon assigns the ebook an ASIN identification number that has nothing to do with the print edition. The option to get the ISBN is there whenever you go to publish in print.

Awesome. I'm getting ready to do a soft release ebook novella sometime in the next month: no ARCs, no press releases, no paid marketing, just notices on my social media outlets. If there is interest in a print version, I'll look into the $10 option from Createspace.