Weekly News: 13th January 2025
Every week, we post a curated list of links that authors should find useful or interesting. Here are this week’s links:
Book a FREE consultation to find out how we can help you publish your book.
Book now
ISBNs and barcodes
ISBNs and barcodes are related, but not the same. Clients sometimes ask us if they should buy ISBNs and/or barcodes. For barcodes, the answer is simple: no.
It’s a little more complex for ISBNs. This article will explain both, so that you can make an informed decision.
ISBNs
Every print book has an ISBN (International Standard Book Number). This is a 13-digit number that uniquely identifies that particular edition of the book. It’s important to note that the ISBN identifies the edition of the book. The paperback will have a different ISBN to the hardback or the ebook.
Originally, ISBNs were ten digits. A new 13-digit format was introduced when it became clear that the supply of 10-digit numbers was getting short. It is possible to convert any 10-digit ISBN into the 13-digit equivalent.
Should you buy ISBNs?
Ebooks can have an ISBN, but some vendors (notably Amazon) don’t show the ISBN on the product pages. Those vendors that do require an ISBN will generally provide one for free if you don’t have your own. Any ebooks set up on Kobo that don’t have an ISBN assigned will be given a number which is not a valid ISBN, but has the same format.
Amazon KDP will provide a free ISBN for your print book if you wish. Ingram Spark will do the same for customers located in the USA, but not for customers located elsewhere.
Free ISBNs from vendors have some disadvantages. They can only be used at the vendor that supplied them. If you use free ISBNs and set up your paperback at more than one vendor, your paperback will have multiple ISBNs. If you buy your own ISBN (or use one of ours), you will be able to use the same ISBN everywhere.
Free ISBNs have the publisher name already fixed. Books using Amazon’s ISBNs list the publisher as “Independently Published”. Ingram Spark ISBNs list the publisher as “Indy Pub”. Our ISBNs list the publisher as “Shilka Publishing”.
If you buy your own ISBNs, you can set the publisher name. Obviously, you should avoid existing publisher names, but beyond that, you can choose any name you wish. Unfortunately, you need a separate number for each format (eg hardback, paperback, ebook), and they are expensive in many places unless you buy in bulk.
ISBNs must be bought from your country’s ISBN agency (eg Nielsen in the UK, Bowker in the USA). At the time of writing, UK ISBNs cost £93 for one, £174 for ten, £387 for 100, or £994 for 1,000. In some countries, such as Canada and France, they are available for free.
Barcodes
Every print book has the ISBN displayed on the back cover, both in human-readable format, and as a barcode. But note that there is no need to pay for a barcode. We have a free barcode creator, and there are other sites that will create a barcode for free. Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark will add a barcode if the cover does not already have one, and Draft2Digital insist that print covers do not have a barcode.
An ISBN barcode. Note that the barcode number matches the ISBN.Price in barcodes
It is possible to embed the price in a barcode. In this case, a second barcode is displayed to the right, with the currency (specified as a number) and price. Some printers may require the price to be included, but it is possible to set the price to “90000”, which means that the price is not set.
A barcode with a price code of 01399, which equates to ÂŁ13.99 (0 is GBP, 1399 is 13.99)We recommend that the price is not included, for several reasons. The price has to specify the currency, but your book could be sold all over the world. The price in US dollars is of no use to buyers in Canada, the UK, etc.
A barcode with a price code of 90000, which equates to “no price set”In addition, having the price in the barcode complicates changing the price in the future. Any price change will necessitate updating the price section of the barcode (not the ISBN section). This means that you will need to update the barcode on the cover file and upload the new file.
If you hire us to help you publish your book, we’ll deal with all this for you. You can use your own ISBNs, or we’ll supply Shilka Publishing ISBNs for free. In either case, we’ll create barcodes were required.
Hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black discuss options for simple and affordable website builders suitable for authors.
On the AskALLi Member Q&A: Hosts Michael La Ronn and Sacha Black delve into the often-confusing world of ISBNs and book distribution.
N-gated Hacker News
Robin Phillips
porrporr
ALLi Blog (unofficial)