Can I buy a single ISBN for my book rather than 10?
The short answer is yes. Am I excited about this new development? Yes, in that it may be just the punch needed to send the POD/Vanity Publishing industry down to the mat for a standing eight count. As something I think is important to my serious customers, absolutely not.
This whole ISBN issue is a subject I have written on in the past. Ten years ago or so, RR Bowker, the US ISBN agency, sold single ISBNs for $50. Within a fairly short period of time, they determined it was more trouble than it was worth so they switched to requiring a minimum of ten for $225 plus a handling fee. Whether they realized it or not, this decision gave a huge boost to the vanity publishing industry which was already picking up steam with the advent of Print on Demand technology. The deceptive trade practices of the majority of these POD publishers led authors to believe that they didn’t need to buy ten numbers but could be given or assigned a number, at no charge, by the vanity press. Faced with a choice of “free” vs. $225 plus handling, many authors jumped on the POD vanity press bandwagon. The reality, of course, is that “assigned” numbers belong to the publisher, not the author. In more or less the same time period, Ingram made the decision that small publishers would no longer be allowed to deal directly with them but had to either come through a distributor or through the printer that they owned. These same vanity publishing companies jumped right on this development as well and before long thousands of unsuspecting authors were falling into the black hole of the world of the “Vanity Press”.
Fast forward to 2006… Tens of thousands of titles are being published by dozens of vanity presses. For the most part, authors still think they own the ISBN assigned to their book as one of the “you own all the rights”, right. The price of ten ISBN’s from Bowker has risen to $240 plus $29.95 handling. Authors are further confused with companies claiming to be able to sell single ISBN’s but in reality are no different than the vanity presses… These companies buy blocks of 1000 or 10,000 ISBN’s for $3 to $12 each and resell them to the naive public for $55 and a huge profit. Bowker has supposedly initiated legal proceeding against these companies but the “bogus” ISBN’s remain on sale. Then came the single ISBN announcement.
It wasn’t a big announcement but a few months ago, Bowker decided to get back into the single ISBN business. To say is wasn’t a big announcement is an overstatement. You can’t find reference to single ISBN’s anywhere on Bowker’s site. I saw it first posted on one of the Yahoo group sites and thought it was just one of the scam sites selling bogus numbers. When I called to inquire about it, I was told that yes, single ISBN’s were available for $125 (talk about inflation) but there was no way to buy them online. Instead I had to print out a PDF application, fill it in and mail it to Bowker. The single ISBNs originate from the 0-615 prefix which has been around, but kept well under the radar since 1999.
I didn’t rush to tell my customers about this new development because, deep down in my mind if $124.95(difference between one number and ten) was going to be the difference between someone getting into the publishing business and not… they shouldn’t get into the business. It wasn’t until I saw a press release this past week from Lulu.com announcing that they were selling single ISBN’s plus registration in a couple databases for $149 that the “light bulb” went off in my head.
Lulu is a publishing services company similar to mine, except Lulu is primarily for the author who sells 10 books or less where I specialize in authors who sell 100 copies or more. The ISBN that they are selling is simply a Bowker ISBN other than Lulu is acting as the Bowker agent. Lulu’s primary audience is identical to that of the big POD vanity presses… some 50,000 strong and, according to their press release, adding 2000 more titles per week. You can find out more about them, if you are interested, by visiting their website. The difference between Lulu and the mainstream vanity presses is that, with this new single ISBN program, the author is not tied to Lulu or any of its services. An author can sign up for Lulu’s basic service to cover the onesy twosey sales and also come to a publishing service like, www.selfpublishing.com to print a digital or offset run, at a lower cost, “to make money”. They are truly empowering the author to be able to take complete control over his publishing project. It will be interesting to see how this develops and how the big vanity POD publishers react. The last thing the vanity publishers want is for authors to have a number which is portable. I guarantee it’s the top subject at more than one board of directors meetings this coming week. Only time will tell how serious Lulu really is about “empowering” these authors. Lulu still offers a vanity press option. I’ll keep my eye on their site and report on what I see. For now, it’s pretty encouraging
Meanwhile, I still believe that you need at least ten ISBN’s to get any sort of publishing venture started. Trust me, they go quickly. If you insist, and want to order one number you can download the application by clicking here and mail it in with $125 to RR Bowker and they will send you a number.
Last 5 posts by Ron Pramschufer
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October 5th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
nice piece, always learning something through you.
best
jim
October 5th, 2006 at 12:47 pm
You really hit the nail on the head with this article. Well done.
By giving the first time author/publisher one more tool to test the waters HIMSELF without major expense or being tied to a vanity publisher, as Lulu is doing, is great for the industry overall. Offering a single ISBN and limited distribution only helps those authors who think they will strike it big face reality if that does or doesn’t happen.
And perhaps we’ll see a decline in the true vanity subsidy publishers with their step towards reducing vanity publishers altogether.
The only problem is there is a sucker born every minute, and that’s why vanity publishers will still live on. Just look at the scam seminar business or the late night TV infomercials and you soon realize vanity publishers will be around for a long time.
October 5th, 2006 at 1:21 pm
As always, thanks for providing the information. However, what should a small author do who can not afford the $149 for the single? I am retired and living on a very fixed budget. My project is more of a hobby than a real business and the only reason I need an ISBN is to sell on Amazon. Any suggestions?
October 5th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
Sorry, but it doesn’t get much cheaper than $149. Maybe you have a friend who has published and bought a block of 10. You coud use one of theirs as long as you are “good” friends because the orders will come to them.
October 5th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
I\’m confused. What\’s the difference between \”borrowing\” an ISBN Number from a friend and paying a company to assign me one? Especially if I, have no intention of entering the traditional bookselling supply chain (i.e.-I\’m going to ship my product myself, I\’m going to sell myself, etc.). I just don\’t see a justification for spending twice the money for what is essentially, the same product. Maybe I\’m missing something?
Hi,
If you don\’t plan on selling to stores, you do not need an ISBN. I believe the question said that the books would be sold on Amazon. You need an ISBN to sell on Amazon.
Ron
October 5th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
I have to say that this article was right on time.
I’m a first time author and had been putting off getting the ISBN numbers (10) because I didn’t know whether it was worth it, not in getting the block of 10, but to pay for the expedited (48hour) version vs the 15 business day version which is like a $100 dollar difference.
I do plan on doing other books, but I just wanted something for this current book I’m about to release right now. I do see what you mean regarding the $125 for one vs. $250 for 10, it doesn’t really make much sense, especially if I plan on doing other books, something else to think about, but nonetheless, I sincerely appreciate this article; it was just what I needed!
October 5th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
Hi,
I have published my first book through Lulu.com in the Summer of 2005. I was assigned a ISBN number but I\\\’m not sure I was told that I could reprint with it but Lulu.com would get publishing credit.
Can you clarify this for me?
Felicia
If Lulu assigned you a number, it belongs to them. With their new program you can pay them for the ISBN (which will be different than the one you have) and you will own it. By owning the ISBN, you are free to leave your titles in the Lulu system for sales thorugh their network and also print a regular digital or offset print run with another printer, at a significantly lower cost, and market those copies through other channels.
Ron
October 5th, 2006 at 4:48 pm
Ron, you really provide vast information in your newsletters…
thank you very much..
As the retired author, David Arp, stated it is very difficult for those of us who are on fixed incomes to take advantage of purchasing our own ISBN. I appreciate your response but it seems we are caught between a rock and a hard place.
Thanks again and continue to keep us informed.
Hi,
As a retired author, you are old enough to remember all the advertisements for $14.95 mufflers, or $29.95 auto paint jobs. How many people do you think EVER ended up actually spending $14.95 for that muffler? None. It\’s the same thing with the ISBN\’s. The company that is telling you \”it\’s free\” is only free if you don\’\'t buy or sell anything. Make sure you read the small print.
Ron
October 5th, 2006 at 4:55 pm
I did mean selling to Amazon, and even local stores. I’d just be shipping myself. I know that Amazon AA won’t accept my product without an ISBN, for example.
Purchasing an ISBN through Bowker or through someone else is apples to apples to me, unless I’m mistaken.
I was looking through the rest of the articles on here earlier, too, and there’s some good stuff here!
October 6th, 2006 at 12:06 am
Thank you for this very useful information. I\’m new at this and I\’ve been thinking of buying a block of ISBN numbers, my question: is that all I need before approaching a printer and distributor. Is Amazon my first stop with my novel and ISBN number? Also, are you saying a person that has a book through, lets say AuthorHouse has no real rights as far as the book is concerned?
Hi,
As far as Author House, you are not self publishing, you are paying someone to \”be\” published. Big difference. There are many articles, on the subject, in the back issues of my column. It\’s not quite as simple as, get an ISBN and roar right off and get a distributor and printer. You can\’t get a distributor without the ISBN but there are many other things considered, like content and your marketing plan. I suggest that you download a free copy of my book, Publishing Basics- A Guide for the Small Press and Independent Self-Publisher at http://www.selfpublishing.com/publishingbasics/index.php5. It will give you a better idea of where you are and where you are heading.
Thanks
Ron
October 6th, 2006 at 9:23 pm
Thanks for the illustration on ISBN but for the new commers like me, still leaves a lot of doubts.
If a have a book ready to go to the press on Publishing on Demand or self publishing ( difference??) my idea is to sell as much books as I possible can with the help of your network and my own personal effort.
As I understand this means that I have to buy one numebr for each copy I sell or the Title is assigned a unique number for all its copies.
Please clarify if you don\\\’t mind, I\\\’ll really would apprecaite it.
Enrique
Hi,
People sometimes get confused on htis subject. The one ISBN covers as many copies of the particular title assigned to it, as you can sell. You only need a second one when you bring your book out in a different format, like hardcover, or publish another title. If your idea is to strictly sell books in places other than bookstores, you don\\\’t need an ISBN, although experience tells me that virtually everyone who skips the ISBN comes back to me later having regretted the decision. For these people, you can always go back and sticker the books.
Hope this helps
Ron
October 9th, 2006 at 5:24 pm
Your last sentence makes me shake my head. Bowker will take something by mail?
The first time I tried to contact Bowker to apply for 10 ISBNs, I filled out the online form, send it off, and waited for Bowker\’s reply. Received nothing. So I called on the telephone, and their reply was something about their server being down on the previous day. Bowker tried to handle the transaction by phone and by e-mail, and had to spend a good bit of time trying to waive the extra $25 they were supposed to charge because my application was not coming through the regular channel. It was all very confusing to a newcomer.
Believe it or not… that\’s what they are doing. We\’ll see how long it lasts.
Ron
October 10th, 2006 at 11:36 am
I’ve used Lulu for a couple years now. What I like about them is that they have no minimum to order. I can order one copy if I want to. Most printers a print run is required. Lulu currently has one distribution available and that is for $99.95 indicating Lulu as publisher and distributor. For your own ISBN $149.95 indicating you as publisher and distributor.
Also love the control I have over each of my publications. If I make a mistake, it’s not Lulu’s fault. It’s mine. No matter how an author publishes, they have to take care of the writing business; editing, marketing, distributing, promoting, advertising, and selling.
When they charged $34.95 for Basic ISBN, I purchased each ISBN for my books, they have stopped offer ISBN or Basic ISBN. Now it’s all Global ISBN listing with Lightning and Ingram.
October 11th, 2006 at 10:38 pm
As usual Ron, you manage to educate. I too went through the one ISBN brouhaha. Well- one thing about the self-publishing biz, it’s never a dull moment!
October 23rd, 2006 at 4:12 pm
Thank you all for your helpful comments. I read something on the Bowker site about “publisher rights” but can not find that term in any dictionary. Does anyone one know the legal definition of publisher rights? IF they do, please denote the source because I have been researching.
November 2nd, 2006 at 10:26 am
As a new author I can attest that Ron’s suggestion to bite the bullet and buy the block of 10 ISBNs is good advice. Because I made a split run of my book (25% hardback, 75% softcover), two ISBNs were needed from the start. Shortly after having the book printed I had some custom silk neckties made using Lone Star Dietz’s signature from his artwork at the Carlisle Indian School. The tie required a third ISBN. Now I have seven to use for other projects at no further cost.
November 7th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Ron, Thanks again for the information on ISBN numbers!
I was published by a small press. I paid for the prinitng and everyting including the ISBN number but whenever I have a booksigning, my ISBN does not register at the stores? Is there a reson for that? The company I published under is a small publishing company. They said they have an account with Baker & Taylor Distributor but Baker & Taylor does not disribute my books. Can you explain what you think is happening. Do you thinks they were not honest with me? My contract runs out withtme within the next six months. After ther contract runs our in March, 2007, Can i have my book self-published after that?
How do I purchase the block of ISBN numbers? I need several because I have several other books to publish. Oh by the way, I sold all 2500 copies in les than a year. Also, I am sending this eamil to all my fellow member of Writers Resource Center.(WRC)
Ron, do you make personal appearances? We at WRC would love to have you as a speaker or presenter at our next Writers Conference slated for April or May in ffairfield, Ca.
Tell me if you are interested.
Thanks,
Janie
November 8th, 2006 at 9:03 am
HI,
There is only one place to buy legit ISBN’s in the US and that is RR Bowker. If you bought a number through anyone else, it is still theirs, not yours. The numbers are not transferable. Sorry. Meantime, if you want to restart the correct way, go to http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/isbn/us/secureapp.asp and order them. You don’t need to bother with the SAN or Barcodes that they will try to sell you… just the ISBN’s. I am not a big “teaveler” especially East coast to west coast. Also, April, May is in the middle of Lacrosse season which I coach, plus have a son who plays. Thanks for asking, though.
November 11th, 2006 at 8:04 am
Folks, while writing may be a creative endeavor–a heart thing–publishing is a business. Once you’ve written a book and decide that you want to distribute it to the masses, you’ve entered into a business and your book becomes a product. It is time to stop thinking like a hobbyist and start thinking like a businessman/woman. There are certain things that you need to do and that you need to purchase in order to have a chance in the highly competitive world of publishing. And an ISBN in your name is one of them.
I talk to a lot of authors each year at book festivals and conferences and through the SPAWN Web site. (That’s Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network–www.spawn.org.) And I often suggest that a hopeful author self-publish (establish his/her own publishing company) instead of turning his/her project over to a publishing service. Why? Because through self-publishing, you become more intimate with your book and the process of publishing. After all, you are the primary promotions agent for your book no matter what–whether you go with a traditional royalty publisher, fee based POD publising service or whether you self-publish.
I tell my clients, my readers, conference attendees and SPAWN members, there are two things that every hopeful author must do before ever putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard: 1: Study the publishing industry–have some understanding of this field before entering into it. 2: Write a book proposal. A well-organized, well-designed book proposal will help you to create a much more successful product.
So rather than stressing about the cost of the ISBN and putting all of your trust in a publishing service who is charging you to do everything that you could do on your own, but who will leave you to handle all of the promotion, take control and self-publish.
To help you to understand the publishing industry, write a book proposal, actually take the steps necessary to self-publish, learn how to promote your book and more, read my latest book, “The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book,” http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html. And Dan Poynter’s “Self-Publishing Manual.”
Best to you all,
Patricia Fry
http://www.matilijapress.com
January 3rd, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Thanks a lot for all the posts, here is question. If I buy 10 from Bowker, do I need to go down to county recorder\’s office to set up a publishing company? or all I need is come up with a name as publisher on the application to Bowker if I don\’t need to worry about tax issue?
Your name you register with Bowker has nothing to do with the tax man. How you set up your actual company is between you and your accountant.
January 8th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I am kind of confused how to fill out the form from Bowker for ISBN.
\”Company/Publisher Name\” Should I put down my name here?
\”Name of Rights & and Permissions Contact:\” Should I put down my name here too?
\”Name of ISBN Coordinator/Contact:\” what should I put down here?
\”Division/Subsidiary of: ________________________________________________________
(circle which one and provide company name)\”
so do I need to set up a company first?
Sorry to ask questions that may sound obvious, this is the first time I am publishing my books myself.
I suggest that people research the availability of the WWW. address before settling in on a name for their publishing company. You can do this at http://www.netsol.com. Use that name on your ISBN application. The exact legal enity that you establish is between you and your accountant. Bowker doesn\’t care.
January 8th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
sorry, one more question..
\”Distribution Information: Do not list retail stores & bookstores but firms that will be ordering from you for placement in bookstores & retail outlets. \”
so should I leave it blank or just put down my name if I don\’t have anyone ordering from me yet?
If you don\’t have a distributor, you can\’t list one. You can always go back and ammend your listing.
January 9th, 2007 at 10:51 am
Thanks a lot for your great advices, Ron. You mentioned Barcode is not necessary, why is that?
You don\’t need to spend the $25 at Bowker. Your cover designer should be able to supply it when they are designing the cover.
January 9th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
“You don\’t need to spend the $25 at Bowker. Your cover designer should be able to supply it when they are designing the cover.”
Thanks Ron for telling us, I didn’t know it is this simple…
January 9th, 2007 at 10:43 pm
I am not sure what I should fill out here..
Rights & Permissions
First Name Last Name
Contact:
Title:
Phone:
under the pragraph on how to fill out the above it says
\”Rights & Permissions Contact: Please advise if for foreign, domestic, or both. \”
It seems to me all I need to do is fill out my name and phone number, there is no place to provide if for foreign, dometic, or both.
When in doubt, use your own name
RP
February 5th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
Well, going from selling single ISBNs for $50 to a mandatory ten for $225+handling is just what might be expected when one lone entity is established as the only “authorized” dealer. Guess they can do whatever they want. The “Lulu” package looks interesting. One of the only reasons I have not considered looking at what “Lulu” had to offer is that I would not want any of my works carrying the name “Lulu” on the cover. Just cannot quite get past that. Thanks very much for all of this information. It has come in quite handy.
mary
February 27th, 2007 at 11:29 am
Hi Ron
I hope I am not late in asking questions here, but can an author who is living outside USA buy Isbn from bowker ?
I am from India, and I am having hell of a time finding the place from where I can buy Isbn blocks here,
Also if I want to sell it online only through my site will I still need a publisher and isbn number ? I understand that without an isbn number or a recognized publisher, people really don’t accept the book as real literal work. i have even heard if we self publish, the chances of it being recognized as a legitimate book is very rare until and unless it is a unique piece of work ? Is that so ?
and lastly If I sell one paperback and also as ebook will I need two isbn numbers ?
I have just downloaded your e book, will go through it, thanks a lot for all the info.
Sunny
February 28th, 2007 at 6:21 am
I am new to all of this too, and I want to thank you for the clarification on the purchase of the ISBN #’s. If I have my own cover for the book, would I have to purchase the barcode at the same time I purchase the ISBN #’s? Also, does your company also make C/S’s to insert on the inside cover of the book, and if so what size or how long does the C/D have to be? Plus, would I need a separate ISBN # for the C/D, and a bookmark that I want to go with the book? I will now proceed to the selfpublishing .com site. Many, many thanks for making the path a bit easier in self-publishing.
May 18th, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Lulu has had a number of pricing problems lately, caused by some mysterious and powerful arm-twister, it seems. In spite of this, I am still considering self-publishing with them. The only way that my books will be affordable is without ISBN. Will libraries purchase books without ISBNs?
I write and illustrate children\’s picture books. My market is libraries and schools. If they will reject a book without an ISBN, then I will have to buy them and set up as a publisher, which I would rather not do.
Anna
What you are saying doesn\’t make sense, You MUST have an ISBN if you have any hope of your book working out with ANYTHING other than friends and family. Lulu, at best, is a place to start printing a few copies. You won\’t make any money with their pricing or anyone else\’s POD pricing when it comes to color. OK for galleys, bad for productikon. Keep in mind, the only place to purchase ISBN\’s is RR Bowker.
Ron Pramschufer
August 31st, 2007 at 11:45 pm
Hi Ron, gee I think you are cute besides giving such great information to us tyros at self-publishing. I also would like to ask like the guy from India about puchasing ISBNs outside of the US. I live in China and I just finished a photography book that I am selling on my own locally but I would like to eventually sell in local Chinese bookstores and eventually maybe online/bookstores. I have not applied for an ISBN yet but can do the insert/paste/ thing later or added when I get more printed from my local printer. I did not go with a traditional publisher. The last one I contacted wanted around $6000 for 1000 copies. Thanks for the information and keep that great smile!!! Josie
February 9th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Apparently things have changed somewhat, since one can now have Lulu.com (if using lulu for your book/s) supply you with a valid ISBN # for $50.
The author does not own that ISBN that is being sold by Lulu for $50… Lulu does. The ISBN that you own is $95 plus the cost of your barcode.
Ron P
February 9th, 2008 at 12:36 am
Apparently things have changed somewhat, since one can now have Lulu.com (if using lulu for your book/s) supply you with a valid ISBN # for $50.
The author does not own the ISBN that is being sold by Lulu for $50… Lulu does. The ISBN that you own is $95 plus the cost of your barcode.
Ron P
May 26th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
so does that mean that this site is a scam?? http://www.isbn-us.com/
June 9th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I’ve just discovered that in Britain, if you want an ISBN number there’s no option but to pay GBP 105.75 (equivalent to over 200 dollars). That’s for a block of ten – you can’t buy them singly.
It’s a scam, a racket, a disgrace. A private company with a monopoly vastly overcharging for a “service”. People should complain loudly. This is the unacceptable face of the “free market”.
December 2nd, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Why do you have to pay for ISBN numbers anyway? Isn’t this just a big ripoff?
In Canada, anyone can register with Collections Canada
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/isn/041011-1000-e.html
and get their own range of ISBN numbers and manage it themselves. There is no need for parasites like Bowker.
This is great, as long as you live in Canada. A US company can not use a Canadian ISBN,
Ron
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:51 pm
A few questions from a confused buyer who is wondering what to do.
1) Is there a special ISBN for ebooks?
2) Once you assign a ISBN to a book, can you modify and update the book even
if it meant a new chapter or new pictures?
3) Can authors get together and buy a batch of ISBN and then reassign them
to each other? Say I pay for on half of the 10 batch fee and keep five and the
other author buys the other five.
Thanks this a good board. Came up in the first batch of URLs on a Google Search.
-RKO