ISBN Information to Add Value of Your Self-Published Book!

An ISBN number isn't cheap and should be figured into your writing budget. My ISBN information provides you with the knowledge you need to properly obtain and register your ISBN numbers if you plan on self-publishing your fiction books. Though they are optional, it is highly recommended that you obtain them to increase the value of your published books and to help people find them.

Why is an ISBN so important? Like I said before, this number is used so your book can be found in standard book databases throughout the world once you submit your book for sale. Without it, they won't be able to find your book in their databases. Without it, you are also sometimes limited to where you can sell your books (ie. major book stores).

There are two methods of obtaining your ISBN information, one if you plan on self-publishing and one if you plan on getting a fiction publisher to publish your book for you:

Method 1: (This is the cheaper and preferred method)

First, visit the only ISBN information and application source on the Internet! Click on "Application for an ISBN Publisher Prefix" if you wish to make your purchase online, or click on the "Print form for mailing only" link to download a hard copy form to fill out and send in. The electronic ordering process is much easier if you prefer to pay with a credit card. This process also only takes 10 days, so you can get your ISBN information a lot faster.

Once you are in the application, choose the $225.00 option which will order you 10 ISBNs. Unfortunately, you can't just order 1 ISBN. An advantage for receiving 10 ISBN numbers is that you don't have to go through this process again until you run out, which is 10 books or major revisions of your books. This means you can publish your books hard copy and electronic copy.

You will be charged a $24.95 publisher's fee (yes, you will be considered a publisher because you are publishing your own books)!

Skip the bar code section. You can purchase bar codes from other companies much cheaper than $23.00 per bar code.

Applying for SAN is optional, but I recommend you don't get it unless you plan on publishing books for other people as well, which is also an advantage of owning 10 ISBN numbers (because you can sell those ISBNs to the people you publish).

Submit your application and in 10 days you should receive your ISBN information via email.

Method 2: (This is a lot more expensive!)

You can choose a fiction publisher to publish your book for you. Of course, this comes with all of the publisher's other expenses, but with the high costs comes some better advantages like submitting your book information to all of the major book stores. Like I said before, this route is more expensive and if you are on a tight budget, the first option is the best one by far if you plan on distributing your books through the standard books database.