When self-publishing a book, ISBNs (International Standard Book Numbers) are an optional extra.
It’s a good idea to buy a batch of numbers if you want to make your book available to sell, but…
There’s no legal requirement in the UK or Republic of Ireland for an ISBN and it conveys no form of legal or copyright protection. It is a product identification number. Source: Nielsen, the official agency for the UK and Ireland
Here in the UK, you can buy them individually and in batches of ten, 100 and 1,000, and I suggest buying them from Nielsen rather than a reseller you find via the Big G.
Why a batch? Because each format you publish will require its own, dedicated ISBN – that means one for a paperback version and each ebook format (ten ISBNs in the UK currently cost £164, including VAT).
If you choose to go with an ISBN, you’ll need a barcode to go with it.
Again, avoid the firms who’d like to charge you and get one free from one of the lovely places below, then, when you have the barcode as an image file, send it to your designer to add to your book’s cover.:
>>>Playlist<<<
