I have a confession to make… After over 13 years of working in publishing, I’ve only just found out that ISBNs are not a legal requirement of the industry.
Am I confessing too much in my position as the editor of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook, I wonder? Well I hope not, but at least you'll know I’m nothing if not honest.
So what is the lowdown on the humble ISBN? They might not be a legal requirement, but they certainly are a requirement.
ISBN stands for International Standard Book Number. They’re there to identify not just a book, but a specific edition of a book, in a specific format by a specific publisher (phew!). So if a book buyer wants the hardcover, large print, adult version, first edition of a particular title, oh and on audio book too, then all the information will be at the fingertips of the bookseller – thanks to the ISBN.
Without an ISBN, publishers wouldn’t be able to sell their books to bookshops as there’d be no way of ordering them. There’d be no way of tracking sales figures or finding out info about the author and the publisher or the format. Without ISBNs there’d be no bestsellers lists, no PLR, no records in the British Library. Instead a book would be all dressed up with nowhere to go.
As ISBNs are so essential to the industry, it seems there’s been no need to make them 'official'.
You learn something new every day.
Warn wishes, Jo
Want more info? Read ‘FAQs on ISBNs’ in the latest edition of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook
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