Unfortunately not, as each ISBN uniquely identifies a format of your book. Can I use the same ISBN for all versions of my book? So you only ever wanted to print limited copies of your paperback for close friends and family, an ISBN would be of no benefit to you.Ī tip to save you time, If you only ever intend to sell your eBook on Amazon, I would not bother getting an ISBN. The MOBI version of your eBook sold exclusively on Amazon does not require an ISBN although there is a place to capture the ISBN should you have one.Ī general rule would be an ISBN is needed where you intend to profit from book sales. Physical book formats such as paperback must have a unique ISBN number (where you intended to sell them through any bookshop or warehouse.) This will include books sold through online print on demand companies such as Createspace and Ingram Sparks.ĭigital eBooks will need an ISBN for the ePUB format should you intend for example to publish through the eBook distributor Smashwords, Apple iBookstore or Barnes and Noble. This allows for easier marketing efforts as well as the ability to keep track of book sales through bookshops, libraries, universities, wholesalers and distributors. The reason our books need an ISBN number is to identify one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher from another. ISBNs are calculated using a specific mathematical formula and include a check digit to validate the number.

Up until the 31 December 2006, ISBNs used to be 10 digits in length but since 1 January 2007, they have 13 digits. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. Many self-publishing authors have asked whether they need ISBNs or how to apply for them so it was decided that a post answering all your ISBN-related questions and explaining what an ISBN is and how to apply one was called for. Are you an author who is in the process of self-publishing a book? Here is how to save time and money by applying for your own ISBN number.

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