Shawn P. B. Robinson

Barcodes on the backs of printed books sure do look cool, don’t they? They make your book look professional and as if you really know what you’re doing (it’s best to maintain that illusion).

Barcodes aren’t always a big concern for many authors. If you publish printed books exclusively on Amazon, they offer to insert a barcode for you on the bottom right-hand corner of your back cover (unless you select that you’ve included your own). If you let them insert the barcode, you have to leave a 2″ wide by 1.2″ high area on the bottom right-hand corner for them to insert it. If you put text right there… they’ll just cover it up.
And, of course, you don’t need a barcode for ebooks.

Where you need a barcode is if you’re publishing with Ingram or another printer/distributor. The barcode will not only give a professional look to your book, but it will also allow bookstores to scan your book at the till.

The question is… how do I get a barcode?

Well, I’m glad you asked.

First, you need an ISBN. The barcode is created with your ISBN (so when your book is scanned at a book store, it recognizes your book). To learn about ISBNs, click here.

Next, you need to either have some software that produces a barcode from your ISBN, or you need to have access to an online service that does this for you.

I’ve listed two sites below where you can get a barcode. The first one (Creative Indie Covers) is the one that I use. They produce a high-quality barcode, and I like the looks of it. The second option provides either software to do this (that you can purchase from the site) or offers a free online barcode generator.

1. Creative Indie Covers Barcode Generator

This is generally the one I use. It produces a barcode for you, and it’s good quality. Their tool is quick and easy to use. Your barcode is downloaded in a ZIP file with both an EPS and PDF barcode (I use the PDF).

NOTE: there is an option to include the price of your book in this barcode with instructions as to how to do so.

NOTE #2: Creative Indie Covers is acting up right now. Here’s another simple, free site that offers high quality barcodes: bookow.com

2. TEC-IT Barcode Generator

The nice thing about TEC-IT is you can purchase software to produce barcodes any time you like. The style of the barcode offered through the free option is very different from what Creative Indie offers (option #1). Compare them to see which one you like more.

There you have it! A simple way to make a barcode for your book!

Shawn