Indie Corner: Registering ISBN Numbers at Bowker

Vision 65

Indie Corner:

Registering ISBN numbers at Bowker

By

J.A. Marlow

Copyright © 2011, J.A. Marlow, All Rights Reserved

 

Note from editor:

A short time after this was published, Bowker remodeled their site.  Although the pages look different, much of the information here is sill useable!

 

With the increasing numbers of authors going it alone without publishers as part of the self-publishing Indie movement, this means authors are also having to take on the responsibilities once taken care of by their publishers. One of the items an author might want to consider is buying and using their own ISBN numbers.

 

First, what is an ISBN? From the Bowker website:

 

The purpose of the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is to establish and identify one title or edition from one specific publisher. For example, a paperback, an audio-book and an eBook edition of the same title would each have their own unique ISBNs. This allows for more efficient marketing of your products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers, and distributors. 

 

In the United States, there is only one entity with the legal authority to provide ISBN numbers and that is R.R. Bowker LLC (link: http://www.bowker.com ). The following article does not go through the reasons you might want to buy ISBNs, but instead gives practical advice in how to use the Bowker website to register and assign an ISBN number to a specific work.

 

The first step is to purchase the ISBNs. Bowker sells ISBN numbers in blocks of 1, 10, 100, and 1000. With each bigger block of numbers, the price of the individual ISBN goes down. The current pricing of each block can be found here.

 

When buying your block of ISBN numbers you will also set up an account. This account is also your "publisher of record" information. Once the sign-up and purchasing steps are finished you will receive an email listing your block of ISBNs and confirmation that they are ready to be assigned to individual works.

 

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NOTE: According to Bowker guidelines, each individual format/edition is required to have its own ISBN. This means that a paperback, hardback, trade paperback, mass market, and ebook of the same novel will each have a different ISBN. New preliminary guidelines are suggesting a new ISBN for each format of e-book (epub, mobi, pdb, and so on). It is up to each author/publisher to decide how many e-book ISBNs to assign.

 

Below are the steps to assign an individual ISBN to a book. I will be using one of my e-books as an example.

 

1. Sign into the MyIdentifiers website and click "My Account." This will bring up a page listing your block of ISBN numbers. Remember, each number can only be used once. If the "Title" column is blank on a specific number, then it is available for a new work.

 

NOTE: If the MyIdentifiers  site is not working, try another browser such as Firefox or Safari. Some users have reported problems using Internet Explorer.

 

2. Choose an ISBN number from your block. Clicking on the line will bring you to the first page of information to fill in. DO NOT click in the "Premium Widgets" column unless you want to purchase the add-on.

 

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3. Fill out part 1 of Page 1 of title information.

 

NOTE: There are many options that are not mandatory when registering an ISBN number. This article will focus only on those parts that are mandatory.

 

A: This is the 10-digit ISBN number. The 10-digit format is being phased out and should no longer be actively used.

 

B. This is the 13-digit ISBN number that you will be using for this title and putting in the book/title itself.

 

C. The title of the work.

 

D. Language of Origin. This isn't a required field, however, some online stores pull this information to use in their catalogs.

 

E. Cover Image Metadata. Only a jpeg of less than 5 MB can be uploaded. The MyIdentifyers website is slow to upload, so it may take several tries to get a cover uploaded. For reference, I typically upload a 800px by 500px cover.

 

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4. Scroll down to fill out part 2 of Page 1 of the title information.

 

A. Main Description. Some retailers use this information in their catalogs. Use the same description you will be using when you officially publish your book.

 

B. Contributer Details. The option most likely used will be "Person." This section must have either person or company information. If using the "Person" option, then only a last name is mandatory. If a second contributor is needed, click "add contributor." If there is a mistake in one of the contributors, highlight the name in the right box and click "delete contributor."

 

C. Format & Size. In the example below I have shown the most likely used choices. Start with the "Medium" of "E-Book."

 

D. Format. This should default automatically to "Electronic Book Text."

 

E and F. Primary Subject and Secondary Subject. These are the classifications the ebook would most likely fall in. Only the first one is mandatory.

 

G. File Type. As Amazon (mobi) uses their own internal catalog number, I don't assign an ISBN for anything other than an Epub for Apple and Sony. However, you might also use PDF or other file formats in this area.

 

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5. On the right side of the page click "Save." Do not be concerned about any error messages. They will go away once the second page is filled out.

 

NOTE: There are other options further down on page 1, however, they are not mandatory.

 

6. On the right side of the window, click on "Sales & Pricing." Fill out part 1 of Page 2.

 

A. Where Is This Title Sold. Usually, this will be "United States" as this is the US ISBN site.

 

B. Publisher. This is optional, but still a good field to fill in.

 

C. Title Status. For a title actively on sale, choose "Active Record."

 

D. Publication Date. The date the title goes live and on sale.

 

E. Target Audience. The audience the book is targeted towards

 

F. Audience Age Range From and To. Both of these are optional fields.

 

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7. Scroll down and fill out part 2 of Page 2 of the title information.

 

A. Currency. What currency the book will be sold in.

 

B. Price. The posted list price of the book.

 

C. Price Type. In this example I chose "Retail Price" as the book will be sold primarily through retailers directly to the public.

 

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There are other options further down on page 2, but none are required. Click "Save" on the right side of the window to save all the new information.

 

At this point the registration is finished. If you go back to "My Account" you will see a yellow icon next to the new entry. This icon will turn green after the system has processed the registration. If the line has a red icon, then you may have missed a necessary field. Click on the line to return to the information pages and pay attention to any warnings towards the tip of the window.

 

And that's it! Enjoy the flexibility and power of making your own way in the publishing world.