ISBN Not Working on Amazon? Do THIS!

About this video

Dale Roberts explains why an ISBN gets rejected. An ISBN is a book’s unique identifier, but free ISBNs from platforms like Amazon KDP, Draft2Digital, and Lulu belong to the platform, not the author — you are not the publisher of record, so the ISBN can’t be taken elsewhere and reusing free ISBNs across platforms creates duplicate listings. Even an ISBN you own can fail because of distribution overlap: KDP distributes print directly to Amazon, and its Expanded Distribution runs through Ingram Book Group, which he says reaches over 40,000 retailers, bookstores, and libraries and also powers Ingram Spark, Draft2Digital, Lulu, and Blurb. Opting into KDP Expanded Distribution costs a 20% royalty cut, and then trying to publish the same book through another Ingram-based service triggers an ‘ISBN currently in use’ rejection; publishing to KDP and Ingram at roughly the same time without Expanded Distribution can work. Ingram distribution also reaches Barnes & Noble, so authors wanting Barnes & Noble Press direct should skip Ingram routes. Another rejection cause is mundane: the imprint name must match the registered ISBN record keystroke for keystroke — his imprint is ‘One Jacked Monkey LLC’ — so he advises keeping a metadata sheet and copy-pasting the imprint (all caps helps). He then maps overlap-free routes for ebooks (avoid KDP Select if going wide; direct platforms plus aggregators like Draft2Digital, PublishDrive, Lulu, StreetLib, and direct-sales tools like Shopify, Gumroad, and Payhip, which need no ISBN), paperbacks (deselect KDP Expanded Distribution and use one Ingram route, optionally adding Lulu/Blurb bookstores, BookVault, and PublishDrive with Amazon and Ingram deselected — noting PublishDrive is subscription-based starting at about $21 per month), hardcovers, and audiobooks (ACX for Amazon/Audible, Findaway Voices by Spotify, Kobo Writing Life, Google Play Books, Author’s Republic, and others, deselecting overlaps; Lantern Audio charges a distribution fee up to $199). His closing advice: take it slow and expand as the author business matures.

Key takeaways

• Free ISBNs from KDP, Draft2Digital, or Lulu belong to the platform, not you — they can’t be used elsewhere and cause duplicate listings if reused.
• Most owned-ISBN rejections come from distribution overlap: KDP Expanded Distribution and Ingram Spark/Draft2Digital/Lulu/Blurb all run through Ingram Book Group, so the same ISBN collides.
• KDP Expanded Distribution costs a 20% royalty cut for partial (US/UK) Ingram reach; deselect it and go through one Ingram-based service directly instead.
• An ISBN can also be rejected for a misspelled imprint name — it must match the registered record exactly, so keep a metadata sheet and copy-paste it.
• Go wide format by format — ebooks, paperback, hardcover, audiobook — deselecting overlapping channels on aggregators like PublishDrive, Findaway Voices, and Author’s Republic.

Episode details: published July 8, 2024 · 16:53 long. Summary written by Self Growth Videos from the episode itself. Business results and any income figures mentioned are Dale L. Roberts’s own claims, shared for education — they are not typical or guaranteed.

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