Where Should I Buy My ISBNs? - Indies Unlimited

Today, Panzer decided to make a quick stop at the Indies Unlimited site. With a little digging in the posts, our inquisitive kitty found one about buying and owning ISBNs for your books, ebooks and audio books.

Now where is that ISBN hiding?

According to Melinda Clayton, where you buy your ISBNs (International Standard Book Number) is extremely important. Your book's ISBN identifies it in the Books in Print database. This is how libraries and bookstores can find your book. Bowker is the official seller of ISBNs in the United States. If you buy your book's ISBN directly from Bowker, you are listed in Books in Print as the publisher of your book.  If you get your book's ISBN from Amazon, then Amazon bought that ISBN from Bowker and Amazon is listed as the publisher of your book. There's also an illegal side to not buying your ISBN from Bowker (or Amazon) too. Turns out there are scammers online who advertise they sell ISBNs at discounted prices and the ISBNs are either not delivered or fake made-up numbers.The post includes a link to the Bowker site and one for authors outside the United States.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... You do need to worry about who owns that ISBN, because some bookstores won't carry books with ISBNs showing Amazon as your publisher."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in the post, bring a second cup of tea and another muffin.

To read the post tootle over to ISBNs