Do You Need an ISBN to Self-Publish?

An ISBN identifies a specific edition of a book. Ebook, paperback, and hardcover are different editions, so they usually need different ISBNs. Audiobooks are tracked separately.

Amazon can give you an identifier for a Kindle book, and a free ISBN for a paperback that lists them as the publisher of record. That is enough if you only sell in that store and you do not mind their name in the publisher field.

Buy your own ISBN if you want your imprint on the book, if you will sell the same edition in more than one store, or if libraries and bookstores need a number you control. In the United States, ISBNs come from Bowker. Other countries have their own agencies.

Do not reuse one ISBN across formats. A store that receives a paperback file under an ebook’s number will treat the metadata as wrong.

The barcode on a print cover is the ISBN rendered for a scanner. It has to match the number in the listing. If you change trim size or page count enough to make a new edition, that is a new ISBN.

Pinallo does not take your rights in exchange for formatting. The ISBN decision stays yours: use a platform number for a single store, or your own when the book needs to travel.