Calling ALL Indie Authors … Own Your OWN ISBNs … Here’s How …

"Calling ALL Indie Authors …Own Your OWN ISBNs … Here’s How …"

ISBNs are essential for books. All books should have one that is unique to their publishing efforts. In the United States, Bowker is the only authorized dealer. Oh, you can get them via Amazon, Book Baby, Lulu, IngramSpark, and a number of other publishing related sites. BUT they all get them through Bowker and either resell or offer the “grab to an author or other entity as an incentive to work with them. Amazon offers them as a freebie. And even if you ID yourself with your own publishing name, the dark side is that it is really under Amazon’s (or whoever you got the ISBN from) umbrella. AuthorU’s advice: own your own. And you do it via Bowker’s portal: MyIdentifiers.com

You can buy a single for $125, 10 for $295, 100 For $575, or greater amounts in the thousands.

Recommendation: Get at least TEN … you will need one for you paper edition; one for eBook; and a third for audio. With the AuthorU discount, you will save 15%.

Authors have access to getting a 15% discount by using our special code: AUTHORU2026.

If you are the publisher. and you find an error in any of the product details related to your book, please provide Bowker via the MyIdentifiers.com portal any updated information.

1. Set up an account on MyIdentifiers.com. It is free. Once you are in your account on My Identifiers:

Select the “My Account” link and click on “My Identifiers” in the menu. You can use your MyIdentifiers.com or BowkerLink username and password to sign-in. The page that opens up will be a dashboard of all your ISBNs. You may navigate to your ISBN by clicking on the title, or search for your specific ISBN in search at the bottom of the page by ISBN-13 format.

2. Make sure you complete the forms to add a description of your book, author bio, upload front cover, ISBN for all formats—digital and audio if appropriate. Include publication month and price of book.

3. This information will now be available whenever a bookstore looks up your book with the ISBN # for ordering.

Dr. Judith Briles is the award-winning and bestselling author of 49 books and calls Colorado home. When she’s not in the kitchen or in the garden, she’s working with clients as The Book Shepherd, a book and publishing consulting and project management firm that works with authors at all stages of their book to create and publish a book they never regret! She’s the founder of the first Authors’ Hall of Fame exclusively dedicated to ensuring the legacy of authors connected in some way with Colorado.

Judith’s books have been translated into 17 countries with over 1,000,000 copies sold! They have been featured in over 2,000 radio and TV shows including repeat appearances on CNN, CNBC, and Oprah. She has worked with over 1,500 authors and created 500 plus bestsellers. Print publications include Newsweek, People, Time, The Wall Street Journal and … The National Enquirer! Her popular podcast, AuthorU-Your Guide to Book Publishing is dedicated to authors and writers and their success and is ranked in the top ten in four categories on GoodPods.

©2026 Judith Briles – The Book Shepherd™ All Rights Reserved.