What is Bowker, you ask? It is the only place for independent publishers to buy ISBNs in the United States. Yes, here we must purchase our ISBNs, and they can be quite costly. $199. for one or $299. for ten. You need a different number for each type of book, such as paperback, e-book, and audiobook. Since “The Sick Mom’s Guide®” is going to be sold in each of those three types, I purchased ten. That way, I’m also prepared for Book 2 in the series, which is already halfway written, and will be released in 2018.
Each version of the book must be meticulously detailed on the Bowker site so that the book’s information will be readily available for checking against the ISBN for anyone who is searching for it, including Amazon when I upload each version there. WHEW!! They do have a great way to copy some of the info between ISBNs, but many of the details must be input again each time.
Are you thinking about writing a book? Are you going to self-publish? Check out myidentifiers.com ahead of time, you’ll be able to have many of your questions answered, and you’ll realize how many more questions you need to ask!
Thank you for following the journey!
Jen