Weekly Writers: ISBNs And Barcodes

Plus: "When Do I Need A (New) ISBN?"

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ISBNs And Barcodes

Most (but not all) books have ISBNs. An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a unique product number that identifies a title and a format in the distribution chain. Lost Solace has an ISBN for the paperback, one for the hardback (a different format), one for the ebook, and one for the audiobook. If there was a large print edition, that would require another ISBN.

If you know the ISBN and present it to a librarian or bookshop, they will be able to look up the details and order a copy of the book. An ISBN is an unambiguous identifier, whereas the author and title may lead to a wide range of results, and it may not be clear which edition or format is required.

The numbers in an ISBN aren’t random: they encode useful information. It’s a secret power of publishers and librarians to be able to read and comprehend it.

Here’s the thirteen digit ISBN for the Lost Solace paperback: 978-1-911278-11-5. Sometimes you’ll see ISBNs without hyphens as they aren’t necessary, but they are a handy way of separating the meaning of each block of numbers.

• 978: just a prefix showing that the ISBN refers to a book (it may be 978 or 979)

• 1: indicates the country or language. 1 = English language

• 911278: a code unique to the publisher or imprint. So this number always indicates Organic Apocalypse.

• 11: a unique identifier for the particular title, format and edition. So this was the eleventh ISBN used by Organic Apocalypse, and applied to the paperback of Lost Solace, first edition.

• 5: the check digit – a final single number that confirms the ISBN is formulated properly (i.e. not mistyped) when a calculation is applied. If I mistyped any of the numbers, the check digit would indicate an error had occurred.

A printed book has a barcode on the back. That is just the ISBN in a form that a digital scanner can read. The ISBN block also includes the ISBN in a form a human can read, in case they need to type it in or write it down. Many publishing and distribution companies provide a template which has the correct ISBN barcode already on it, or they indicate where it should be placed. Beware of companies that try to charge you extra for something so simple as a barcode of your ISBN.

But what about building prices into barcodes? I have a recommendation here.