Do I need an ISBN?

At first glance, it may be tempting to cut the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) from your budget. One ISBN can set you back £89.00, and it’s not needed for any up front sales, direct website sales, or distribution to crowdfunding backers.

At first glance, it may be tempting to cut the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) from your budget. One ISBN can set you back more than $100, and it’s not needed for any up front sales, direct website sales, or distribution to crowdfunding backers.

However if you want to sell your book in bookshops, Amazon, or other online distributors, libraries, or comic book stores, you’re going to need an ISBN. A unique number is required for every version of your printed material, whether hardcover, softcover, or an updated edition.

Please note that the original buyer is always the owner, meaning a resold ISBN will never be published under your name.

At the end of the day, it all depends on your plans. But if you think you’d like to distribute your product through online stores or in bookshops and newsagents, an ISBN is definitely worth the investment.

Please note, we do not sell ISBNs.

Once you’ve secured an ISBN, you’ll need to generate a barcode. You can create a barcode for free through multiple online services.

You can place the barcode anywhere on your book, so please remember to include it when you submit your print files.

Make sure that the barcode image also has a resolution of 300dpi (dots per inch). This is the standard image quality setting for a high-resolution print. It means our printers will produce 300 tiny dots for every single inch of your image so your barcode can be easily scanned.