The Hidden Battle Indie Authors Face Over ISBNs – What They Don’t Want You to Know
If you’re a self-published author—or even thinking about becoming one—you’ve probably noticed that pesky little number staring back at you from the back of every book: the ISBN. That 13-digit code isn’t just some random string; it’s the invisible passport your book needs to travel through bookstores, libraries, and online marketplaces. But here’s a question that might twist your brain a bit: why does buying a single ISBN in the U.S. cost nearly as much as a fancy dinner for two, while scooping up a batch slashes the price down to pocket change? And if each format of your book needs its own identifier, how many of these “numbers” will you really need to fork over for? It turns out, the world of ISBNs isn’t as straightforward as it seems. From surprising price tags to the tug-of-war between “free” and “buy your own,” this is one indie author’s candid journey through the ISBN maze—complete with a pinch of frustration and a dash of revelation. Curious how the rules of this game shape your publishing choices? Let’s dive in.
The Short Of It
To buy or not to buy
International Standard Book Numbers (ISBNs) are those 13 digit numbers on the back of books that are used for categorizing, cataloguing, and ultimately selling books, so that all across the world we know which book is which, including every distinct edition. Traditionally published books need them and so do self-published books.
Self-published authors have two avenues for getting ISBNs: buying their own or getting free ones through indie publishing services… but with some strings attached. It’s a choice every indie author or aspiring indie author will have to face.
Show me the money
So in my recent article I underestimated the price of ISBNs. I was pulling from my memory, so either it was faulty or the price has gone up since that memory was logged. On Bowker, the one official place to buy ISBNs in the U.S., it does not cost $40 dollars for one ISBN like I claimed previously. It costs $125.
Or you can buy a pack of 10 for $295, bringing it down to $29.50 each. There are also packs of 100 and 1,000 with competitive pricing more geared to serious indie authors or small presses.
Does that fact that if you buy 1,000 ISBNS for $1500, they only cost $1.50 (I hope my math is correct; I checked it thrice) each, but a solo one is $125 seem like a price scaling that is awfully exploitative?
Obviously, the single ISBN is so overpriced to push you to the ten pack; that’s like the psychology of pricing 101. Considering every version of a book (hardback, paperback, ebook, audiobook, special edition…) needs it’s own ISBN, many self-publishers who even want to go with the modest option of paperback and ebook pair will need to purchase more than one to launch one book into the world. $250 for two, or $295 for ten? Yeah, it’s obvious what they are doing. The fact that they don’t offer a better priced two or three pack of ISBNs for such authors is another thing that feels… money-hungry. But alas, that is the game we’re stuck in.
From digging around on reddit, apparently some other countries give ISBNs to self-published authors for free, or have much lower prices, so… I feel like that says enough about Bowker for now.
