IPN Membership and ISBNs
The two membership options below are at a one-off cost with no recurring fees:
“Membership including ISBN Number and Registration” is normally for an ebook, which doesn’t need a printable barcode image.
“Membership including ISBN Number, Registration, and Barcode” is usually for a physical book, which requires a printed barcode image for scanning.
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Membership including ISBN Number and Registration
Membership of IPN + ISBN Number + Registration of your ISBN number and book details on Nielsen’s Book Database.
This is normally for ebooks, for which printable barcodes are not needed.
INSTANT DELIVERY BY EMAIL: After you place your order and make payment, your ISBN number(s) and registration instructions will be emailed to you immediately.
HOW MANY ISBNS? You need a unique ISBN number for each format of your publication (e.g. for a paperback and an e-book format, you would need 2 ISBN numbers).
“PUBLISHER”: “Independent Publishing Network” will be listed as the publisher in Nielsen’s system. Please read this before joining.
QUANTITY of ISBNs PRICE 1 £ 30
2 £ 28 each (£56 total for 2 ISBNs)
3 £ 26 each (£78 total for 3 ISBNs)
4 + £ 23 each (£92 total for 4 ISBNs)
Add to basket
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Membership
Including ISBN Number, Image and Registration
Membership of IPN + ISBN Number + Barcode images ( jpg, pdf, eps, tiff & BMP ) + Registration of your ISBN number and book details on Nielsen’s Book Database
This is normally for physical books, for which printable barcodes are needed.
INSTANT DELIVERY BY EMAIL: After you place your order and make payment, your ISBN number(s), barcode image(s) and registration instructions will be emailed to you immediately.
HOW MANY ISBNS? You need a unique ISBN number for each format of your publication (e.g. for a paperback and an e-book format, you would need 2 ISBN numbers).
PUBLISHER: “Independent Publishing Network” will be listed as the publisher in Nielsen’s system. Please read this before joining.
QUANTITY of ISBNs PRICE 1 £ 40
2 £ 38 each (£ 76 total for 2 ISBNs)
3 £ 35 each (£ 105 total for 3 ISBNs)
4 + £ 30 each (£ 120 total for 4 ISBNs)
Add to basket
How many ISBNs do I need?
The ISBN number is your publication’s fingerprint. It is a globally unique 13-digit identification number assigned to both electronic and physical (print) publications.
You need a unique ISBN number for each publication format. For example, if your book is in paperback, hardback, ePUB, or PDF, you need four ISBN numbers.
Do I need barcode images?
An ISBN barcode image is the vertical black bars & white spaces (with the ISBN printed below). It is used on a printed book cover and is physically scanned at retailer Points of Sale. The image is an encoding (a graphical version) of the ISBN.
If you are selling your book in electronic format only online, you only need an ISBN number; you don’t need an ISBN barcode image because the book will never be physically scanned.
However, if your book is to be printed in a physical format (paperback or hardback) and sold from retail outlets, we recommend that you purchase an ISBN barcode image so that it can be physically scanned at retail checkouts. The scannable barcode image enables checkout staff to quickly scan the barcode into their Point of Sale (POS) system when your book is being sold.
What’s the difference between an ISBN and a barcode image?
Please see our short video.
What is Registration?
If you obtain an ISBN number and registration from us, you can submit publication details to register the publication in the Nielsen Book Database.
Nielsen runs the ISBN and SAN Agencies for the UK and Ireland, providing search and discovery services for booksellers and libraries.
* Please note that Nielsen registration means your book will be automatically listed on Amazon (and sometimes other databases). If you do not wish your book to show on Amazon, please do not register on Nielsen.
Benefits of Registration
UK exposure of your publication:
Registration ensures that title information will be sent out via Nielsen data products to UK bookshops (including Amazon), libraries and distributors and to their international data customers.
If your publication is registered, all UK bookstores have the details on their shop systems, making it easier for anyone to order it.
But if your publication is NOT registered, bookstores don’t know about it and can’t order it!
Global exposure of your publication:
Registration on the Nielsen Book Database causes your publication information to be made available to thousands of book buyers around the world. Nielsen collects book information from over 70 countries. Its book database holds millions of title records and is available to booksellers and libraries worldwide. Nielsen’s website states: “By providing your title records to Nielsen Book, you ensure that timely, accurate and comprehensive data is available to leading internet retailers, chains, specialist and independent retailers, libraries and other book buyers worldwide.”
Important information, please read:
Some key details about Independent Publishing Network that should be understood before becoming a member of our Network:
Publisher:
For all ISBNs that we source from Nielsen, “Independent Publishing Network” is listed as the publication’s Publisher in Nielsen’s system, and this cannot be edited.
Imprint:
If you are ever asked for the publication “imprint”, please type “Independent Publishing Network”.
List yourself as Distributor:
“Independent Publishing Network” is listed by default as the publication’s distributor in Nielsen’s system, but this is editable, and we encourage authors to list their own Distributor details. You can state your details when completing our Registration Form.
Where our ISBNs are accepted:
To the best of our knowledge, our members are using our ISBNs on their books throughout the UK, including with Foyles, Waterstones, Createspace, Bertram Books, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Amazon.com Marketplace, Kindle E-Reader, AbeBooks, Barnes & Noble, Valore Books, Biblio, eCampus.com, TextbookRush, and many others.
However, we cannot guarantee that any particular bookseller, distributor, wholesaler, or third party will accept the ISBN numbers that we issue (as policies/requirements of distributors and booksellers can change at any time). Therefore, you will need to check with your distributor or bookseller directly to find out what their current ISBN policy is.
Your Legal Deposit obligations (these apply to all books published in the UK):
By default, send one copy to the British Library: You must send one copy of each of your publications to the British Library (free of charge) within a month of publication. This has been a legal requirement in the UK since the 1600s. If you publish the same content in print and electronic formats, you need to deposit the print version and don’t need to submit the electronic version unless it is specifically requested.
On request, send five copies to the ALDL: An organisation in Edinburgh called the Agency for Legal Deposit Libraries manages the distribution of copies to the other five most important UK Libraries. You only need to send five copies to them (free of charge) if they specifically request the copies. They will either do this via email or letter. They don’t ask for every title. For more information, please see https://bookisbn.org.uk/legal-deposit/.
Other information:
IPN Membership & ISBNs