Publishing View: The ISBN. Why It Should Belong to You!

Obtaining an ISBN is one of the most important steps in successful book publication. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. The ISBN is a specially assigned book identification number used by booksellers, librarians and others to track the entity responsible for publication of the book. This number, once properly registered and assigned, is printed on the copyright page. This makes your book part of a universal book database, and if your hope is for your book to be sold in bookstores, retail stores or with online retailers, you must have an ISBN in order to do so.

In summary, the ISBN uniquely identifies your book and helps retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and other potential vendors find you as the publisher/author so they may inquire about ordering the book, request an appearance or speaking engagement, or more.

So what does this mean to you, the independent author?

We believe that as an independent author, it is most beneficial if the ISBN belongs to you. It can be registered directly in your name, or through a name you've established as your own publishing company. Many competing services will claim that you, the independent author will receive 100% control of your book, but yet they do not register the ISBN to you. We believe this is not the optimum way for an author to benefit from their book, and let's examine why.

As an independent author, you are also a small business. You have invested in proper editorial, professional design and printing, and have a quality product in every detail. Don't you deserve to glean every opportunity available to you? Shouldn't your book be directly linked to you in every possible way? We think so.

If the ISBN does not belong to you and instead belongs to another party, that party becomes the representative for your book in the eyes of the inquirer. That might not be all bad, but what happens when an interested vendor contacts that party to inquire about your book?  Will that party respond with the same knowledge, passion, professionalism and energy that you would? Will they ask questions that help seek out further opportunities on your behalf? Will they leave the same positive impression that you know you would try to make? We believe that cultivating relationships is the cornerstone to building a successful following as an independent author. You should have every chance to connect with those inquiring about your book so that you can establish a longterm relationship with them. In short, if the ISBN does not belong to you and you do not get the chance to connect with inquiries, you are short-circuiting your opportunity to build a customer base one phone call, one inquiry, one opportunity at a time.

With Book Bridge Press, you own your book in every way. You will own every opportunity that comes to you. You receive 100% control, and 100% profits from your book. When we register the ISBN for you, we have the ISBN assigned to you so that you are directly connected to your book and its opportunities.

The ISBN is a critical step in successful book publishing. As you consider your next book and all the ways to benefit from it professionally, make sure you ask your publishing service if the ISBN will be registered to you. If they say no, you may want to consider all the valuable reasons why it should be.