Whether or not to get an ISBN is a tricky question. It can depend on the country (some countries charge for ISBNs, others don't), on what you want to do with your book, on how you want to track your book's sales, where and how you want your book reviewed, etc. etc. etc.
Here is an article from the Alliance of Independent Authors on this topic:
Briefly, here is the Leanpub position on whether or not you should get an ISBN:
You definitely do not need an ISBN until your book is finished. So while you're writing and publishing your book-in-progress using Leanpub, we recommend you don't worry about ISBNs - just focus on your writing!
Start worrying about getting an ISBN only when you discover you absolutely need one. For example, if you are going to publish your book using other 'channels' like KDP, under certain circumstances you will be required to provide an ISBN. At that point, you'll know you need one, and you'll know why, and you can ask whoever's requiring the ISBN what they need.
To add an ISBN to your Leanpub book, please follow these instructions: http://help.leanpub.com/author-help/how-can-i-add-an-isbn-to-my-book.
How you actually get an ISBN is up to you. The best thing to do is use a search engine to find a solution that you're OK with.
OK, that's it!
If you have any feedback or questions about this article, please email the Leanpub team about it at hello@leanpub.com!
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