What is an ISBN and Do I need one?
ISBN means International Standard Book Number System. It is an identification system for controlling inventory in book stores around the world. Any book with an ISBN is listed in Books in Print. Beginning in January 2007, ISBNs are 13 digits. Not every book needs an ISBN. If you plan to sell your books in major bookstores or gift shops though, you should have one. Wordrunner Press (WP) can supply an ISBN (for $30), but this means the number is registered with WP and you cannot be listed as the publisher. If you want to file for your own ISBN as a publisher, it will cost a minimum of $150 for one number or $275 for ten numbers. The U.S. agency for ISBN is R.R. Bowker; the entire process can be completed on-line at www.isbn.org. However, you can still use the name of your publishing house and have an ISBN issued by Wordrunner, as long as your house is listed on the copyright page as an imprint of WordRunner Chapbooks.
