So you want to sell an PDF/e-book/iBook. Guess what you need more than great content? You need an ISBN number.
ISBNs are linked to essential information allowing book-sellers, and readers, to know what book they are buying, what the book is about, and who the author is.
- ISBNs are the global standard for identifying titles ISBNs are used world-wide as a unique identifier for books. They are used to simplify distribution and purchase of books throughout the global supply chain.
- Most retailers require ISBNs to track book inventory Without an ISBN, you will not be found in most book stores, either online or down the street from your house. Buying an ISBN is your first step to insure that your book is not lost in the wilderness.
- Buying an ISBN improves the chances your book will be found Buying your ISBNs and registering your titles on My Identifiers, insures information about your book will be stored in our Books In Print database. This opens up a world of possibilities that your book is listed with many retailers, libraries, Bowker Books In Print, Bookwire, as well as online services like Google Books, Apple’s iBooks, Chegg and the New York Times.
Over 100 million people access this data when searching for books; and it all starts with buying an ISBN.
The price for one single ISBN is $125, but that’s a pretty raw deal if you plan to publish more than one e-book/i-book in your lifetime. I recommend at least buying 10 – that’s $250. For $575 you get 100 and for $1000 you get 1000.
Each version of your book needs a unique ISBN so that’s why I suggest more than one. If you plan to sell books made with iBooks Author in the Apple book store, Apple requires an ISBN.
The good news is that if you can afford it, the process of buying and registering this unique identifier is pretty easy. Go to https://www.myidentifiers.com/ and click on the big yellow button that says “Get Your ISBN Today.” The rest is self explanatory.
Be sure to put the ISBN number you assign on the Copyright or title page of the book so everyone knows what it is.
