For print books, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) and Draft2Digital (D2D) will supply a free International Standard Book Number (ISBN) with the click of a button. The companies are not trying to steal your book or pull a fast one on you. The trick is that the “Publisher” who purchases an ISBN becomes the publisher of record. If KDP gives you a free ISBN, the publisher of record is Kindle Direct Publishing, and there is nothing wrong with that. After all, if Dutton published your book, Dutton would be the publisher of record.
Self-Publishing is usually the work of one or two individuals, not a publishing corporation. Many who self-publish make up (or officially create) a “publisher” for their book. That’s you, hence the term self-publishing. In my case, I thought for about two seconds and typed in Books from Graestone. Some self-published authors come up with names that sound like a company with giant printing presses, cranking out books.
If you want to “create” your own publishing company, Bowker Identifier Services is the standard house to purchase ISBNs, and I do not suggest registering your book with anyone else. Bowker will sell single ISBNs, but it is much cheaper to buy a bundle. The cheapest seems to be 10 for $295.00. That price alone may help you decide to let KDP get a number.
If you publish through KDP and do an eBook, that book doesn’t need a number. Each “impress” of a print book needs a separate ISBN. If you offer a hardback of that same paperback book, it needs a unique ISBN. Audiobooks require their own ISBN, as well. Bowker will also sell barcodes, but I notice that when viewing a print book on KDP, one of the steps in preparing the book is “Creating an ISBN barcode.”
If you purchase ISBNs, you will enter one of the 10 numbers when setting up each Print Copy for your book. KDP will ask, “Who is the publisher?” Remember the name you enter because you have to log into Bowker and record the publisher for that number. Apparently, KDP and D2D check with Bowker to make sure you didn’t try your hand at making up a number.
I offset the cost in my mind by telling myself that I am the publisher, making the book totally mine. And, I can go to Washington DC, visit the Library of Congress, and find my book listed, so there’s that.
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