Getting an ISBN for Your E-Book
Consider obtaining an International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, for your e-book. Every edition of a print book has one of these unique identifying numbers. (For example, a hardback title has one ISBN, and its paperback version has another.) As a self-publishing author, you can either buy your own ISBN, by registering as a publisher with your country’s ISBN agency, or use a free ISBN provided by Smashwords. If you prefer to buy your own ISBN, remember to allow time for it to be issued. (Ask your country’s issuing agency for a delivery estimate.)
You can add an ISBN after publishing your e-book on Smashwords (as described later in this chapter), so you don’t need to decide now. After you’ve assigned an ISBN to an e-book, you can never transfer it to another book. Neither can you change it after Smashwords has sent it to retailers.
Purchasing your own ISBN
An ISBN for your e-book isn’t a necessity, though some sites (including Apple, Kobo, and Sony) don’t accept e-books without ISBNs.
If you’re planning to publish multiple e-books, you may want to register as a publisher and purchase your own set of ISBNs. (Purchasing ten ISBNs is usually more economical than purchasing only one, and some countries require you to purchase at least ten.) ISBN pricing varies among countries, but it is always cheaper per ISBN to make a bulk purchase of 10, or even 100, ISBNs.
In the United States, you can purchase ISBNs from R.R. Bowker at
In the United Kingdom, you can purchase ISBNs from Nielsen:
In Australia, you can purchase ISBNs from Thorpe-Bowker:
https://compay.com.au/ThorpeBowker/ISBN/Default.aspx
Your allocation of ISBNs normally arrives in a couple of weeks, though you can pay extra for expedited service.
Opting to use a Smashwords ISBN
If you don’t want to pay for an ISBN, you can get one from Smashwords for free. To get this seemingly fantastic deal, however, Smashwords — not you — is shown as the publisher of your e-book. As Smashwords notes, though, this arrangement doesn’t make the site your legal publisher in any way. Alternatively, you can pay $9.95 for a premium ISBN from Smashwords, which will list you as the publisher and list Smashwords as the distributor in Bowker’s Books in Print database. This distinction generally isn’t reflected in online stores, though, which will show Smashwords as the publisher. You can’t get a premium ISBN if you live outside the United States, but you can get the free one.