Get Your Book Discovered

Part of your self-publishing journey is purchasing ISBNs to identify each version of your book. Doing so permanently links your book to you as the publisher. But did you know that you should register the ISBN with the same agency? If you want your book to be discovered by retailers, libraries, bookstores, online stores and have your sales numbers tracked you need to complete the registration with Identifiers Services from Bowker.

Registering it is simple. Once you finalize your metadata, log back into your Identifiers Services account, and go to the list of ISBNs. Once you click on the ISBN for the version of the book you can begin filling out the required information.

To get your book discovered, complete these 4 sections. Title & Cover, Contributors, Format & Size, Sales & Pricing. In addition, there are 13 fields that should be completed. These fields have an asterisk next to them. Besides the mandatory ones, use your judgment on which fields should be completed.

Title & Cover

Book title *

Subtitle (good for SEO)

Volume and Edition

Description (80 of 350 words)

Original Publication Date

Current Language

Translated Title

Copyright Year

Library of Congress Control Number

Book Cover Image (JPG only up to 5 MB)

Contributors

Author (s) *

Biography (258 of 350 words)

Function * (your role- author, illustrator, etc.)

Medium & Format

Medium* (where is the book in the process?)

Format * (version)

Packaging Description

Trade Catalog

Size Details

Weight

Number of pages

Number of illustrations

Carton quantity

Size Units (trim size)

Subjects & Genres

First genre *

Second genre

Sales & Pricing

What markets are you selling the book in? For each country, you will need to fill out the following information. Make sure you save your work. Focusing on worldwide distribution might open up the opportunity to sell the rights to another publisher.

Publisher * (will automatically populate once you save your work)

Imprint * (changes will need to be submitted)

Publication Date *

Title Status *

Target Audience *

From age – To age

Grade from – Grade to

Price data * (Currency, Price, Price type, Availability, Distributor)

UNITED STATES

AUSTRALIA

CANADA

NEW ZEALAND

SPAIN

UNITED KINGDOM

From age –  To age

Grade from – Grade to

Medium

Format

Primary Subject

Secondary Subject

Where is the title sold

Title Status

Publication Date

Target Audience

Currency

Price

Price Type

ISBN FACTS:

• Each version of your book (ebook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook) needs to have its own ISBN to identify the specific version a reader can purchase.
• New editions of your book require a new ISBN. If you make enough changes within your book or change the cover you need a new edition that requires a new ISBN. Note: you might lose your reviews if you create and publish a new edition with a new ISBN.
• You can get a free ISBN from Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or IngramSpark, but you can’t publish the book on another platform using the same ISBN.
• You don’t need an ISBN to publish an eBook on KDP. They will assign an ASIN number which is only for Amazon’s website.
• Other eBook resellers like Apple, Kobo, and Google Play Books are looking into not requiring authors to submit an ISBN to publish their eBooks.
• To avoid mistakes and wasting time and money, be careful when you are assigning an ISBN to a version of your book. Once you publish an ISBN you cannot reuse it. In fact, once you ‘assign’ an ISBN on IngramSpark or KDP. you will most likely need to get it released, even if you don’t publish it.
• You don’t need to purchase a barcode from Bowker. You can use any free barcode generator to create a printable and acceptable barcode for the back of your book.

Although you can register the ISBN at any time, it’s wise to do so before you publish the book. Registering your ISBNs is just one of many ‘housekeeping’ activities that you will become aware of during the publishing and marketing phases.  Instead of worrying about each task, it’s easier to take care of all of them. You never know which task might be instrumental in the success of your book.

Rick Lite of Stress Free Book Marketing, stands at the forefront of the ever-changing book industry. He is a seasoned sales and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience in the book industry. Rick’s experience comes from tirelessly working on new and innovative ways to promote books. Embracing the core values of integrity, innovation, and growth, Rick works closely with authors to create custom, robust book marketing programs. His easy-going manner provides “stress-free” support and comfort to authors going through the self-publishing and marketing process for the first time. Rick is quick to share his knowledge and “insider tips” for a successful campaign that will lead to increased exposure, awareness, and most importantly, sales. You can read more about Rick and his success in the book industry by visiting his website at www.StressFreeBookMarketing.com.