ISBN INFORMATION

Purchase and ISBN Number

Whether you are planning to print and sell a hardcover book, softcover book, cookbook, coffee table book, children’s book, calendar, etc.. The ISBN is a very important part of the process. ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number.  You can purchase your ISBNs online through various agents/brokers.  PRC Book Printing recommends purchasing your US ISBN through R.R. Bowker, to purchase online: www.isbn.org.  You will receive a 13-digit number, which uniquely identifies a book and the publisher/author.

The 13 digit number is created in five parts:

1.     “978” this is the prefix
2.     Group or country identifier number
3.     Publisher ID
4.     Title ID, which is for a particular title or edition
5.     At the end a “check digit” which validates the ISBN

Current ISBN pricing (as of January 2025)

The cost of an ISBN varies depending on where you purchase it and how many you buy at once. In the United States, Bowker is the official ISBN agency. Here’s a general pricing overview: 

From Bowker (US ISBN Agency):

• Single ISBN: Around $125 
• 10 ISBNs: Around $295 (approximately $29.50 per ISBN)
• 100 ISBNs: Around $575 (approximately $5.75 per ISBN)

Other Providers:

There are also other companies that resell ISBNs, sometimes at lower prices, especially if you buy in bulk. However, it’s essential to ensure these providers are legitimate and that the ISBNs they sell are valid.

Key Considerations:

• Each format needs an ISBN: If you plan to publish your book in multiple formats (e.g., paperback, hardcover, ebook), each format requires its own unique ISBN.
• Bundling: Buying ISBNs in bundles is significantly cheaper per ISBN than purchasing them individually.
• Barcodes: You’ll also need a barcode for your book’s cover, which can often be purchased along with the ISBN.

In summary, while a single ISBN from Bowker costs around $125, the price per ISBN decreases significantly when buying in larger quantities. Exploring other reputable providers might offer lower prices, but always verify their legitimacy.

It’s important to note that the only way to brand yourself as the publisher of a book is to own the ISBN. Many financial support or vanity publishers (“vanity publisher” term describing a publishing house which authors pay to have their books published) exist online that say they are “giving” you an ISBN as part of their publishing package but there is no legitimate way for them to do this because Bowker is the exclusive US agent for ISBNs. What the vanity presses are actually doing is letting you use one of their ISBNs. This distinction is important because that means the ISBN has their publisher prefix and NOT yours. In other words, the vanity presses are the publisher of record, NOT you. Many people have been misled, believing that they are the publisher, when they are not and it can cause problems down the road when you try to market the book.

Given that vanity presses have always had an extremely bad reputation in the publishing industry; it’s a good idea to avoid them. Reviewers and bookstores generally won’t touch books produced by vanity presses. When you publish with a vanity press, under some contracts, you may not have complete ownership rights of the books that are produced. If you have to pay someone to publish your book and they say you’ll get royalties and “your own” ISBN, be very wary. It’s probably a vanity press.

If you never plan to sell your book through any online channels like Amazon or work with bookstores, distributors or libraries, it’s possible you can avoid getting an ISBN.

The barcodes are usually placed on the back cover of books.  If you are printing a cover and dust jacket, you will need to place on both.  Placement of the barcode is usually at the lower right hand corner of the back cover.

We highly recommend our self publishers/authors to add the ISBN number to their cook books, children’s books, hard cover book and soft cover books!