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What is a publishing imprint (for self-publishers)?

A publishing imprint is a trade name a publisher uses for a line of books. Bowker, the ISBN agency for publishers located in the United States, says an imprint does not have a corporate life of its own. On Kindle Direct Publishing, the name readers see follows the ISBN: a free KDP ISBN shows Independently published, and an ISBN you own shows the imprint you enter, which has to match the agency record.

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The short answer

  1. Bowker says an imprint is a trade name, or brand name, under the publisher of the ISBN. Buying the ISBN makes you the publisher of the titles tied to those numbers.[20][238]
  2. A free KDP ISBN is only for use with KDP. KDP registers it as Independently published, and the detail page shows that imprint name.[51]
  3. Your own ISBN can be used outside KDP. The detail page shows the imprint name you enter, up to 100 characters, and it must match Bowker.[51]
  4. Bowker does not say an LLC is required to add an imprint. A doing-business-as name is a separate state question, and the SBA says it might be required depending on where you are.[237][238]
  5. The imprint is metadata for the edition. It is not a copyright registration and not a trademark filing.[237]

01

How does an imprint relate to an ISBN?

Bowker says the purpose of an ISBN is to identify one title or edition from one specific publisher. When you buy ISBNs there, you are recognized as the publisher of the book titles associated with those numbers. An imprint is a trade name, or brand name, that publisher uses to identify a line of books or a publishing arm inside the organization. You may have more than one, aimed at different readers. Bowker's imprint instructions say you add an imprint under your publisher or company name in the account. They also say Amazon is not an imprint of your publishing company, and that you do not have to create an imprint record merely to use your ISBN on Amazon. The name you give Amazon should be the same as the publisher or company name on the ISBNs.[20][51][238]

  • KDP says a free ISBN can be used only with KDP. An ISBN you purchased can be published outside KDP.
  • KDP says you do not need an ISBN for an ebook. The print ISBN is the record in KDP's comparison of imprint names.
  • Whether a self-publisher needs any ISBN, and how a free number differs from one you buy, is covered in the ISBN answer.

02

What does KDP show if you use a free ISBN?

KDP's ISBN help says a free KDP ISBN is automatically registered as Independently published in Bowker, and the book's detail page shows the imprint name Independently published. KDP registers that free number. You do not file a separate Bowker record for it. Low-content books are not eligible for a free ISBN. The same page says hardcover publishing is not supported on kdp.amazon.co.jp.[51]

  • If you add your own ISBN, the detail page shows the imprint name you enter when you publish. The imprint field has a limit of 100 characters.
  • KDP says the details you enter must match the information registered with Bowker. A mismatch means you will not be able to publish the book.
  • The help page does not offer a custom imprint name on a free ISBN. The displayed name is the one KDP states.

03

Can you create an imprint name without an LLC?

The Bowker imprint page does not say a limited liability company is required. It says that, unlike a division, an imprint does not represent an entity with a corporate life of its own. A Bowker Self-Published Author FAQ dated 8 May 2018 says the publisher imprint Amazon asks for is the name registered at MyIdentifiers, and that a self-publisher can use an author name. It says it can be preferable to use a name distinct from the author, and that the name can be an invented name, an existing business or website, or some other variation. The SBA, on a different question, says a sole proprietor can get a trade name. It also says a doing-business-as registration does not give legal protection, but might be legally required depending on the business structure and the location. That state filing is not the Bowker imprint record, and it is not an LLC.[51][237][238][239]

  • KDP says to register your own imprint with Bowker or your local ISBN agency. The ISBN help page does not mention an LLC.
  • Any state name-registration fee is absent from the Bowker and KDP pages cited here. This answer does not invent one.
  • Whether an LLC changes liability or federal tax is a different question. The LLC answer is general information, not advice to form a company in order to have an imprint.

04

How does an imprint appear in book metadata?

KDP says the book's detail page shows the imprint: Independently published for a free ISBN, or the name you enter for your own ISBN. Bowker says an ISBN lets retailers, libraries, and distributors tell one edition from another by identifying the publisher as well as the title and format. Its buy-ISBN page says the book's information is stored in Books in Print. The imprint instructions also say not to add an imprint record that simply repeats the company name. Use the organization name itself as the Amazon imprint name.[20][51][237][238]

  • If the imprint or the other details do not match the ISBN agency record, KDP says the book cannot be published until they match.
  • An imprint name is not a copyright registration. The SBA describes an entity name, a trademark, and a doing-business-as name as legally separate registrations, with state rules that differ.
  • ISBN agencies for other countries are listed on the official ISBN agencies page. Bowker is the agency for publishers physically located in the United States.

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