Your book's ISBN, registered in your name.
An ISBN is how the world finds, sells, and tracks your book. We'll obtain yours, create your barcode, and register it to you, so you stay the owner of your work, not us. Many print-on-demand and vanity presses register the ISBN in their name. We never do that.
What is an ISBN, and why do you need one?
An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is the unique 13-digit identifier for your book. It's what bookstores, libraries, distributors, and online retailers use to catalog, order, and sell it. If you want your book available anywhere beyond your own hands, you need one.
Each format needs its own ISBN: your paperback, hardcover, and ebook each get a separate number. The ISBN also generates the barcode that prints on your back cover, encoding the number (and often the price) for retail scanning.
Getting one yourself through the official agency is possible, but it means navigating their system, buying in blocks, and setting up your own publisher record. We handle all of it for you, and register it correctly, in your name.
Whose name is on the ISBN?
This is the question that separates a printer from a publisher who quietly takes a piece of your book. It's worth understanding before you let anyone register an ISBN for you.
Registered in their name
- They become the "publisher of record" on your book
- You can be locked into printing with them
- Moving your book elsewhere can mean a new ISBN
- Their name, not yours, is tied to your title
You're the publisher of record
- You own the ISBN and the publisher record
- You're free to print with anyone, anytime
- Your name stands behind your book
- We're your printer, not your gatekeeper
An ISBN registered in someone else's name quietly makes them the owner of your book. We make sure that someone is always you.
ISBN & barcode, done for you.
One flat fee. We obtain the ISBN, generate your retail barcode, and register everything in your name. No blocks to buy, no agency accounts to set up.
ISBN & Barcode Service
- A unique ISBN for your book, obtained on your behalf
- A print-ready retail barcode for your back cover
- Registered in your name: you're the publisher of record
- Correctly recorded so retailers and libraries can list your book
- Real help from our team if you have questions along the way
Copyright & ISSN.
Two things authors often ask about alongside ISBNs. Here's the short version, and where to go for each.
Copyright
Your work is technically protected by copyright the moment you create it, but registering your copyright gives you stronger legal standing if you ever need to enforce it. It's separate from an ISBN: copyright protects your content, the ISBN identifies your book as a product.
Registration is handled directly through the U.S. Copyright Office, and it's inexpensive to do yourself.
ISSN
An ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) is the ISBN's cousin for serial publications: magazines, journals, newsletters, and other titles published on an ongoing basis under the same name. If you're printing a one-time book, you need an ISBN, not an ISSN.
ISSNs are issued (at no cost) by the Library of Congress for U.S. publications.