Author Tip No. Three: The ISBN

The intials ISBN stand for International Standard Book Number, a unique 10- or 13-digit number assigned to published books. Take a look at any book on your shelf. The ISBN is found near the barcode on the back cover. The numbers within the ISBN are grouped and separated by hyphens or spaces. These groups indicate the country of publishing, the publisher, and an item number specific to the title and edition of the book. ISBNs are an optional investment (in most countries) and even if purchased, do not have to be displayed on the cover. However, those numeric identifiers are useful in the book trade and essentially imperative if you want to sell your book to the public. Books without an ISBN and a listing in Books in Print (the official, comprehensive listing of books, publishers, and ISBNs) are far more difficult to order, distribute, and market. A book without an ISBN is equivalent to inexistence within the industry.

For further information about ISBNs, how to get one, and Books in Print, visit bowker.com or click on the link above. Another excellent resource can be found at http://www.isbn-international.org/index.html.