Ahh yes, the ISBN. The DNA fingerprint of the literary world. In today’s article, we’re going to demystify the ISBN for any budding authors, or any curious readers who have skimmed past the popular acronym whilst window-shopping for new books on Amazon.

“ISBN” stands for “International Standard Book Number”. Why exactly is it important? Well, it’s used to identify a book’s edition, publisher and physical properties such as trim size, number of pages and the kind of binding used. The intention of the ISBN- which is always a thirteen-digit number, post-2007- is to create an entirely (or mostly) unique way of identifying a book.

Down below are some crucial things to understand about ISBN numbers.

1). Numbers Differ for Different Formats

One might be led to believe that ISBN numbers are assigned universally based on title alone, but this is not the case. ISBN numbers differ based on format, so a paperback edition of a novel will have a separate ISBN to the hardback, which will in turn have a separate ISBN to the e-book, for example.

2). Separating an ISBN into Parts

It’s easy to run your eyes over an ISBN number and think that it’s a jumble of random numbers. That’s not the case, though; every single component of an ISBN has meaning, and it can be broken into separate parts.

For example, a generic ISBN might be 978-3-16-148410-0. The first three digits identify the code as an ISBN, the fourth identifies the country, the next three identify the publisher, the following five identify the title, edition and format, and the final number identifies the check-digit.

3). How and Where Do You Obtain an ISBN?

Where exactly do ISBN numbers come from? Well, they aren’t delivered by storks, that’s for sure. ISBN numbers aren’t created by publishers either! They are issued by affiliates of the International ISBN Agency, which vary based on geographical location. This is why one of the digits in the ISBN is used as an identifier for the country. In this way, it could almost be thought of as an area or country code in a phone number.

4). Unpublished Books Cannot Have ISBN Numbers

A book must first be published before it can be issued an ISBN, which raises the question; how does a self-published author obtain an ISBN? Thankfully, it’s very simple; a self-published author can obtain an ISBN the exact same way a publisher does; from an ISBN agency. Obtaining one from an ISBN agency typically has a fee of around $125 attached to it. It is also possible to obtain one for free through your self-publishing platform.

5). ISBN Numbers Do Not Guarantee Copyright

Some might be led to believe that an ISBN number is sort of like a trademark because of its unique nature. This is not actually the case, as ISBN numbers are issued via private companies.