Should an E-book Have a Different ISBN and Pub Date Than Its Print Version?

Barbara Techel, author the multi-award winning, Frankie, the Walk 'N Roll Dog wrote in with a question about ISBNs for books and e-books:

I am having WITS graphic designer Jessica Dockter get my Frankie book formatted as an e-book. Should I change the copyright page to state that this is the e-book version? Also, do I need a different ISBN # if it is e-book format? And lastly, do I keep the same publishing date or do I change that for the e-book version?

Yvonne answers: your e-book should be treated as a separate entity from the print version of your book. Therefore, the e-book will have its own ISBN and pub date. You should change the copyright page to reflect that this is the e-book version.

Here’s an extra tip: Make sure you include a list in the back of the book that shows all the other books you have written. Since this is an e-book you are publishing, you can link directly to the titles so readers can get more information and make a purchase.