An
International
Standard
Book
Number (ISBN number) is the critical identification number used within the book publishing and distribution system and libraries worldwide. If you plan to sell your books through bookstores or through online book retailers, you MUST have an ISBN number for it.
The owner of the ISBN number is the
Publisher Of Record for the book and the only place to get one is from
www.bowker.com (for US publishers) or one of the international agencies listed on the ISBN International website (
www.isbn-international.org/agency). So, if you are looking at any of the various Print-On-Demand (POD) publishers who tell you that they'll assign an ISBN to your book,
they will be the publisher-of-record for your book. That might be a big deal to you, or it might not.
ISBN PricesRight now, the Bowker ISBN registration site sells single ISBN numbers for a $150 and blocks of 10 ISBN numbers for $325. Every version of your book will require a unique ISBN (audio book, paperback, hardcover, etc.) so it makes sense to order a block of 10 if you can afford the cost.
When you reserve a block of ISBN numbers, you don't have to know what books they will eventually be used for. You can hold them until you need them.
Andrew
