How to Get an ISBN

If you publish books, software, videocassettes, or books on tape, it's a good idea to get an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN. The number adds credibility to self-published works, and you need it to sell your works in bookstores.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Credit Cards And Loans
• Computers And Internet Access

1. Collect the following information: your publishing company name (if any), complete contact information, and what you have published or plan to publish.

2. Go to ISBN.org.

3. Locate the ISBN application form on the website.

4. Fill in the application online if you want to pay by credit card.

5. Wait approximately 10 business days for your first 10 ISBN numbers to arrive by mail.

6. Print the ISBN on the copyright page and the back cover of the book.

7. Register your ISBN at bowkerlink.com

Tips & Warnings

• Charitable organizations that give away their publications for free can have the ISBN filing fee waived.

• ISBNs are issued in blocks of 10. If you have big publishing plans, you will be issued more than 10 ISBNs. Plan to spend about $200 for each block of 10.

• An ISBN number has four parts: the country identifier, the publisher identifier, the title identifier and the check digit.

• A book should also have a Library of Congress Catalog Number (LCCN).

• Every edition and version of a book (hardcover, paperback, large print) gets its own unique ISBN.

• An ISBN needs a special type of bar code - different from the Universal Product Code (UPC).