Book metadata is all of the information and pieces of data that describe a book. It is important to your book's categorization, discovery, and overall book sales.
Metadata consists of information such as the title, contributors, author bio, book description, publication date, etc.
Search engines use metadata as an information retrieval system to connect searchers with content and products more efficiently than ever before. Having the most accurate and complete metadata for your title will help customers find your books.
Below is an explanation of the different pieces of metadata that can be provided when setting up your book with Lightning Source.
Title and Subtitle
The title is one of the first things customers, retailers, and libraries will see. The title and subtitle are entered in separate fields and then combined to create the full title name.
Example: The Windy Day: My 24-hour Adventure in Chicago
The Windy Day would be provided in the title name field, and My 24-Hour Adventure in Chicago would be provided in the subtitle field. If your book does not have a subtitle, this field can be left blank during setup.
Imprint
This is the publishing company name that will appear for your book in the marketplace. Many larger publishing houses that also have separate publishing companies for different genres of books, will list those publishing companies, also known as imprints, instead of the larger publishing house name. By default, your imprint will be listed by Lightning Source as the business name you used when setting up your Lightning Source account. Please see here for more information on how to add additional imprints to your account.
Authors and Contributor Information
Contributors are anyone associated with the content or creation of the book. Up to three contributors can be provided for each book. During title set-up, names should be entered Last, First M. (i.e. Smith, John P)
Contributor Role: This is the role of each contributor. Examples of contributor roles may include author, editor, translator, photographer, etc.
Contributor Biography: This is a brief summary of each contributor's identity.
Contributor Location: This helps identify the location of where the contributor resides. This can attract readers who are searching for authors in a specific geographic region.
Categorization
Audience: This refers to the target audience of your book. (i.e. Young adult, Juvenile, Adult). If your book is not marketed to a particular age range, we recommend selecting adult/general during title set-up.
BISAC Subject Codes: BISAC subject codes are codes used by retailers, distributors, search engines, and buyers to describe the genre and subject matter of a book. These codes inform booksellers and librarians on how to categorize your title. Lightning Source requires at least one BISAC code to be entered during title set-up but three BISACs is the industry standard to ensure the topic, genre, and subject matter of a book are fully represented. For more info on BISACs, please see here.
Thema Subjects: Thema subject codes are an international classification system used to categorize books in the global markets based on content and subject matter. For more info on using Thema codes see here.
Regional Subject: This is a subject based on a specific geographical location. When setting your title up you can search for that locality by clicking the “Find Regions” button. If your book is about or set in a specific location, regional subjects can help when buyers are looking for books about that region.
Keywords: They are words or short phrases that describe the content of your book and help books appear in online searches. During the title setup, we recommended entering 7-11 keywords (memoir, paranormal, Renaissance, etc). For more information on how to create good keywords, please see here.
Language: This refers to the language in which the book is printed.
Descriptions and Narrative Text
Description: This refers to the full description of the book and describes the content of the book. This is used by distribution partners to describe and market the book in stores and with online retailers. A book description is required when setting up your title with Lightning Source and must be at least 200 characters. For more info on book descriptions see here.
Short Description: Similar to the full description, this is a very brief summary of what your book is about. Usually only one or two sentences long.
Review Quotes: This field can be used to provide quotations from people who have favorably reviewed your book (and given you permission to publicize their words). For quotes longer than a couple of sentences, it’s best to provide a brief excerpt rather than the full text.
Table of Contents: This field is intended for the table of contents of the book. This is not required, but it can be very helpful for non-fction titles. It provides readers with a list of the chapters and provides additional info about what kind of information they can acquire by reading the book.
Additional Metadata Fields
Edition Description: If multiple versions of the same title exist (set up with different ISBNs) an edition description can be used to differentiate them. Examples of edition descriptions include Large Print, 20th Anniversary, Revised, etc.
Page Count: This is the number of pages of your book. It should include all pages including any table of contents, acknowledgments, copyright page, photo inserts, appendices, etc. For more information about page count, please see here.
Series Name and Number: If your book is part of a series, you can provide the name of the series and the series number of the book.
List Price: The list price is the suggested retail price of a title. It is important to offer your book with a list price that is considered a fair and reasonable price for each market the book is being sold into, taking into account the nature and type of content of the book. While you provide a list price, please note that pricing on retailers' websites is at their discretion so it can vary from the publisher's suggested retail price.
Industry best practice suggests setting your prices so that they end with .00, .95, or .99.
Titles submitted with a list price greater than 250.00 (USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, AUD), will be reviewed by the Customer Support team to determine availability through our distribution channels.
If you believe your book is appropriately priced and exceeds 250.00 (USD, GBP, AUD) please contact Customer Support for assistance.
Please note: Lightning Source reserves the right to immediately remove a title(s) from availability from any market(s) or all market(s) for any violation of this pricing rule.
Publication Date: The publication date is the official release date of your book out into the world. This should ideally be set far enough in the future that you will have time to order a printed copy or proof, apply any revisions that arise from the proofing process, and have your first print run produced at least a month before your publication date. In the traditional publishing world, new books are typically released on Tuesdays.
For more information regarding metadata and how it affects the discoverability of your book, please see here.
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