The International Standard Book Number, or ISBN, is a unique number that is specific not only to your title, but your edition and format. Also, it is worth knowing that the ISBN links the book to the publisher, but we will talk more on that later.

Do you need an ISBN or do you not? This depends on where and how you want to sell your book. First, if you will not distribute a book through any online or offline bookstore, you do not need an ISBN, but this is a very rare case, and it is best overall if your book has one. But do you need to buy one?

If you will only distribute your book through Amazon, they will give you an ISBN so you will not need to purchase one. Other distributors will also assign an ISBN, so do your research to know where your book will be printed before you purchase an ISBN.

Next, if you will publish with any publishing company, whether traditional or indie, they will assign an ISBN, so you will not need to assign a number to your books or editions.

Finally, if you are self-publishing through various distributors like Amazon AND Ingram, you will want to assign your ISBN. Amazon does not require the number, but Ingram does. You cannot have two separate ISBN numbers, so you will not want Amazon to assign a number and then assign a separate one to distribute on Ingram.

Finally, if you are distributing your book through various sources, you are effectively the publisher, so you will want to create your publishing company and link your ISBN to your company name. We will talk about that in different videos and posts on this site.