Hi {!firstname},

Welcome to the last of a five-part series designed to answer your most pressing questions about publishing content through the Internet's largest retail outlet: Amazon! In the last email I told you that you can get published through Amazon for next to nothing, and that's true. But there is something you might want to spend money on – your own ISBN number. 

ISBN stands for "International Standard Book Number" and is a unique thirteen-digit number that identifies every book – or "book-like item" – that is published around the world. The ISBN assigned to your content, whether it's a book, a CD, or an eBook, is unique to that format and edition. In other words, you cannot publish a hardcover book and use the same ISBN to publish that same content as a paperback. 

Amazon's CreateSpace publishing arm will supply you with an ISBN at no charge. However, there are some restrictions. Should you ever decide to publish your book elsewhere, you will have to get a new ISBN. You cannot transfer it from one publisher to another. Your book cannot be made available through other booksellers, like Borders. It will only be available through Amazon. Also, your book will list CreateSpace as the publisher instead of your name or your company name. 

The other option is to purchase your own ISBN. This allows you the greatest control, but the price is a bit steep. You have to purchase ISBNs in blocks of ten, and you must also pay an annual fee to the registrar (think of them like the GoDaddy of ISBNs). All together, purchasing your own ISBN will cost you around $200. But the good news is, you'll have nine more to use when you publish more content!
 
Happy Publishing!
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P.S. Ready to take the plunge and get your content out to a wider audience? Amazon is waiting for you! Grab a copy of my step-by-step plan for publishing on Amazon, Amazon Navigator, and you'll be selling books and CDs in no time!