Self-Help for Self-Publishers

That data is also used to keep track of a book and
categorize it on shelves. In brick-and-mortar libraries and book
stores librarians and bookstore clerks use the ISBN and BISAC
codes to place books where they must go on their shelves.
Even when you assign a title an ISBN that book’s
metadata is entered. That information must be consistent
because it follows the book across all platforms.
Remember keywords are words or terms people might search in
online search engine and find your book, so make it count. Experiment
with different combinations of keywords. Use the best keywords in
your book title and subtitle. All of these examples are marketing
tools. Also, with all the information about the author, it’s best to
be consistent on all platforms you share your book. This includes
ISBN records, title uploads to distributors, websites, social media,
blogs, and interviews. As best you can keep consistent with the
author name’s spelling, the author bio, the book’s contributors, etc.
Because the management of metadata takes a time
investment I gave it focus from the start in chapter one. Your
book content is the most important, however this accompanying
information helps the book reach an audience. When you are
not actively sharing your book your book’s metadata is sharing
for you. Now let’s look at the different pieces of metadata.

Genre and Audience

The BISAC the audience and the genre for your book are
represented by book categories and something called BISAC code.
These code very and are used in the book to indicate to online retailers,
bookstores, and libraries the book’s subject and the targeted ages
of the audience. The codes also help them know where to shelve a
book. With these codes readers can look up a books primary genre(s),
topic(s), and theme(s). When publishing a book only one BISAC code
is required per format, but you can give your book up to three. Go
Highlighting metadata to the Book Industry Studies Group website,
BISG.org to research. You can go to their site to look up the right
codes for your book.