I was going to post this at the end of Katie Elle's thread about Self-Publishing and ISBNs, and decided that perhaps it needed its own thread so it wouldn't get lost (thanks, Katie, for all your excellent information over the past couple of months).
So, here goes ...
This is what I've learned about ISBNs, some of which could be dead wrong, so please chime in here:
You need a different ISBN for each format (there are exceptions; see below):
ePub
Kindle (.mobi and other Kindle formats)
large print
audio
print (including CreateSpace, Lightning Source, and others)
But this all gets confusing when the exceptions kick in. As in … you don't need to assign your own ISBN to a Kindle book; you don't need one (and Amazon doesn't assign on) because they give you their own identifier if you don't provide your own ISBN for this particular Kindle book.
Ditto when you upload to B&N Nook and Kobo's Writing Life. You CAN provide an ISBN (and this being ePub format, it would be the same ISBN for both platforms, but not the same ISBN as the one you provided for Kindle which is a different e-book format), but you don't have to.
Then comes iTunes. They used to require an ISBN (for the ePub format, which is the same format you can also use for B&N and Kobo) in order to upload a book to iTunes, but they no longer require it. Their instructions about this are kind of vague, as if they're hoping people will upload with an ISBN anyway, but they no longer demand it. I've uploaded three books without an ISBN to iTunes, and they are selling just fine.
To further muddy the ISBN waters, we have Smashwords (and other aggregators) and their ISBN options, which I am not familiar with. From what I've read (again, please correct me on this) it seems as if you can opt for a free (or dead cheap) ISBN that Smashwords provides and which will then list them as the publisher, or you can provide your own and which will list you (or your imprint name that you registered with Bowker, or wherever) as the publisher of record).
Next up … print, and the only place I'm familiar with (apart from being trade published where I didn't have to fuss with this stuff!) is CreateSpace. Here, you can opt for one of CS's ISBNs ($10, maybe … I don't have details to hand), but it will list them as the publisher. Or you can provide your own, and you (or your imprint … see Bowker details, etc., above) will be listed as the publisher.
All this boils down to … several confusing options!
So let's take a hypothetical book … MY ALARM CLOCK IS A ZOMBIE
Upload ebook to Amazon/Kindle, B&N Nook, Kobo, iTunes … no need for ISBN
But, if you decide to provide your own ISBN for these uploads you will need two:
One for Kindle and another for the ePub format which you upload to B&N, Kobo, and iTunes (these are the only places where you can directly upload ebooks at the moment without going through an aggregator.
OK, so that's 2 unique ISBNs so far, for the ebook version, if you decide to provide your own, which you are not required to do.
PRINT: Definitely requires an ISBN, no matter the platform (BUT some platforms will sell you an ISBN, but will list them as the publisher … take your pick)
AUDIO: Requires an ISBN
LARGE PRINT: Requires an ISBN
So, if you provide your own ISBNs for MY ALARM CLOCK IS A ZOMBIE (rather than acquiring them from Kindle/CreateSpace/Lightning Source, etc.,) you will need FIVE (5) for each book (ETA [thanks Al Stevens] you will need two ISBNs for print if doing both soft and hard cover):
Kindle (.mobi, KF8)
ePub (B&N, Kobo, iTunes)
print (possibly 2 ISBNs)
audio
large print
It's not the easiest concept to explain … so, please, please, if I've got this all bass-ackwards, please chime in.
So, here goes ...
This is what I've learned about ISBNs, some of which could be dead wrong, so please chime in here:
You need a different ISBN for each format (there are exceptions; see below):
ePub
Kindle (.mobi and other Kindle formats)
large print
audio
print (including CreateSpace, Lightning Source, and others)
But this all gets confusing when the exceptions kick in. As in … you don't need to assign your own ISBN to a Kindle book; you don't need one (and Amazon doesn't assign on) because they give you their own identifier if you don't provide your own ISBN for this particular Kindle book.
Ditto when you upload to B&N Nook and Kobo's Writing Life. You CAN provide an ISBN (and this being ePub format, it would be the same ISBN for both platforms, but not the same ISBN as the one you provided for Kindle which is a different e-book format), but you don't have to.
Then comes iTunes. They used to require an ISBN (for the ePub format, which is the same format you can also use for B&N and Kobo) in order to upload a book to iTunes, but they no longer require it. Their instructions about this are kind of vague, as if they're hoping people will upload with an ISBN anyway, but they no longer demand it. I've uploaded three books without an ISBN to iTunes, and they are selling just fine.
To further muddy the ISBN waters, we have Smashwords (and other aggregators) and their ISBN options, which I am not familiar with. From what I've read (again, please correct me on this) it seems as if you can opt for a free (or dead cheap) ISBN that Smashwords provides and which will then list them as the publisher, or you can provide your own and which will list you (or your imprint name that you registered with Bowker, or wherever) as the publisher of record).
Next up … print, and the only place I'm familiar with (apart from being trade published where I didn't have to fuss with this stuff!) is CreateSpace. Here, you can opt for one of CS's ISBNs ($10, maybe … I don't have details to hand), but it will list them as the publisher. Or you can provide your own, and you (or your imprint … see Bowker details, etc., above) will be listed as the publisher.
All this boils down to … several confusing options!
So let's take a hypothetical book … MY ALARM CLOCK IS A ZOMBIE
Upload ebook to Amazon/Kindle, B&N Nook, Kobo, iTunes … no need for ISBN
But, if you decide to provide your own ISBN for these uploads you will need two:
One for Kindle and another for the ePub format which you upload to B&N, Kobo, and iTunes (these are the only places where you can directly upload ebooks at the moment without going through an aggregator.
OK, so that's 2 unique ISBNs so far, for the ebook version, if you decide to provide your own, which you are not required to do.
PRINT: Definitely requires an ISBN, no matter the platform (BUT some platforms will sell you an ISBN, but will list them as the publisher … take your pick)
AUDIO: Requires an ISBN
LARGE PRINT: Requires an ISBN
So, if you provide your own ISBNs for MY ALARM CLOCK IS A ZOMBIE (rather than acquiring them from Kindle/CreateSpace/Lightning Source, etc.,) you will need FIVE (5) for each book (ETA [thanks Al Stevens] you will need two ISBNs for print if doing both soft and hard cover):
Kindle (.mobi, KF8)
ePub (B&N, Kobo, iTunes)
print (possibly 2 ISBNs)
audio
large print
It's not the easiest concept to explain … so, please, please, if I've got this all bass-ackwards, please chime in.
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