My name is Jack Soley, and I have been writing books for almost 3 years; I have a problem with that my books will not be sold or distributed by retail businesses, local bookshops, or my town library because my books have been published via Amazon (which allow me to enter the online market) and as a result, I'm turned down as they see companies like Amazon as a threat to their very existence. If I buy an ISBN which gives me free rein over my distribution and marketing of my books, I would feel more welcomed and accepted by local shops and libraries.

Large publishers with big names can afford to buy ISBNs in bulk which allow them to sell many books at one time, but for the small scale creative writer flogging their début novel for the very first time, you're looking at hundreds if not thousands of pounds for the proofreading, cover design, binding, marketing, and the ISBN itself which is a crucial component to selling books in the first place.

In my home country, the United Kingdom; ISBNs are not regulated by the British Library which force ISBNs to be purchased from private companies, notably Nielsen, authors have an option to free ISBNs who must publish on restrictive platforms in exchange for a free ISBN are at their whim (i.e. Amazon);

In Canada, Sweden, Denmark, India, Hong Kong, etc... these ISBNs are given for free by their respective national libraries to their residents.

I believe to encourage creativity and to not allow sites like Amazon KDP to become too powerful, ISBNs should be distributed by the British Library as they are seen as a trusted authority for authors in Britain.

This petition aims to give the power of the ISBN to be distributed from the British Library, as many countries around the world already do with their respective national libraries, as this action can save having to go through a meddlesome middleman which charge at least £93 for access to ISBNs; not to mention their disadvantageous pricing model where it costs £93 for a single ISBN or £994 for a block of 1,000 (less than £1); which is small change and a minor expense for large publishing houses but can break the bank for small authors looking to make their breakthrough in writing. I would like this petition to either make the ISBN free for distribution to authors, or at least a significant reduction in price to what it is currently as I believe that £93 for a singular number is unjustifiable.

If you sign this petition, you are helping fuel the creation of new works from small-scale at-home writers by breaking down the dominance of book distribution on print-on-demand services that have leverage on its writers, by limiting royalty payments and forcing customers to having to buy books on Amazon only, for example. You are also giving authors an affordable, and easier way to get their books published without any strings attached by large companies like Amazon, and Nielsen.