When an author is published in the traditional manner by a publisher separate from themselves, all the business part of a book is taken care of for them. This includes getting an ISBN and CIP.
When you’re a freelance novelist—one who self-publishes—you get to do all this yourself…for good or bad.
ISBN
The acronym stands for International Standard Book Number. This number is exclusive to a book and book format. You’ll find this in the front matter (the pages between the front cover and the first word of the text) of a book, fiction or nonfiction. It’s a 13-digit number which can often appear on the back cover of a book as well.
Here’s what mine looks like for Shadows in the Stone, Book One…The Castle Keepers (bold text added to emphasise point below)
978-0-9868089-7-5 Shadows in the Stone – Electronic Kindle
978-0-9868089-8-2 Shadows in the Stone – Electronic Smashwords
978-0-9868089-6-8 Shadows in the Stone – Book (soft cover)
978-0-9868089-9-9 Shadows in the Stone – Book (hard cover)
