ISBN 's when you need one and when you dont.Read all about it on this website

Publishing ... and Other Forms of Insanity

Erica Verrillo has written seven books and published five. She doesn't know why anyone with an ounce of self-preservation would ever want to publish. But, if you insist on selling your soul to the devil, learn how to do it right: marketing, literary agents, book contracts, book promotion, editors, rejections, pitching your book, how to get reviews, and ... most important of all ... everything she did wrong.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

ISBNs: When You Need One and When You Don't

When you need an ISBN

If you are thinking of putting your book into print, whether it's through print-on-demand, or any other self-publishing print venue, you will need an ISBN. You will also need the barcode that is normally found above (and below) the ISBN. (These can be purchased through

Bowker, or obtained free at http://www.tux.org/~milgram/bookland/) Without an ISBN, no library will ever order your book, no book store will stock it, no one will review it – your book may as well not exist.

When you don't need an ISBN

If you are epublishing, you don't need to purchase an ISBN. Amazon doesn't require one. (Amazon assigns its own code, an ASIN number). Barnes & Noble has gone that route as well. If you decide to distribute your ebook through Smashwords, they will assign an ISBN from their own stock. (The long string of numbers in the middle of the ISBN code will identify Smashwords as the publisher.)