If you're an author in the United States or Canada, the broad strokes of self-publishing look similar — write, edit, design, format, publish. But a few details work differently depending on which side of the border you're on, and getting them wrong can slow down your launch or cost you money you didn't need to spend.
ISBN Registration: US vs Canada
In the United States, ISBNs are sold by Bowker, the sole official ISBN agency. A single ISBN costs around $125, though buying in blocks of 10 brings the per-unit cost down significantly. Each format of your book (paperback, hardcover, eBook) needs its own ISBN.
In Canada, ISBNs are issued free of charge by Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to Canadian residents and publishers. This is one of the biggest practical differences between the two markets — Canadian authors can register multiple ISBNs at no cost, while US authors need to budget for them.
Note: if you publish exclusively through Amazon KDP, KDP will assign a free ISBN automatically — but that ISBN lists Amazon as the publisher of record, which can limit your ability to sell through other retailers later.
Copyright Registration
In both countries, your work is technically copyrighted the moment you create it. But formal registration adds legal protection:
- USA — register with the US Copyright Office (a modest filing fee) to be able to sue for statutory damages if your work is infringed.
- Canada — register with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO); registration is optional but strengthens your legal position.
Where Your Book Sells
Amazon operates separate marketplaces — amazon.com for the US and amazon.ca for Canada — each with its own bestseller lists, keyword rankings, and reader base. A book optimized only for amazon.com can be nearly invisible on amazon.ca, and vice versa. If you want readers in both countries, your KDP listing, keywords, and categories need to be set up (and often submitted separately) for each marketplace.
Taxes and Payouts
US authors report royalty income in USD and file with the IRS. Canadian authors receive royalties that may be paid in USD or CAD depending on the platform, and are responsible for reporting income to the CRA — including any applicable GST/HST considerations if publishing is a registered business activity. Neither of us is a tax professional, so this is worth a quick conversation with an accountant licensed in your country.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a US ISBN if I'm Canadian, or vice versa?
No — your ISBN doesn't need to match your country of residence to sell in another market. A Canadian author with a free LAC-issued ISBN can still sell on amazon.com; a US author's Bowker ISBN works fine on amazon.ca. What matters more is that your metadata (title, description, categories, keywords) is optimized separately for each storefront.
Can I publish in both the US and Canada at the same time?
Yes, and most authors do. Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, and most print-on-demand platforms distribute to both markets by default — the work is in optimizing your listing and keywords for each audience, not in separate publishing processes.
Which is cheaper — publishing as a US or Canadian author?
Canada has an edge on ISBN costs (free vs. Bowker's fees), but printing, editing, and marketing costs are broadly comparable in both countries when priced in local currency.
Nova Publisher works with authors across both the United States and Canada, handling ISBN registration, formatting, cover design, and distribution set up correctly for whichever market — or both — you're publishing into. See our publishing services.