Publishing
A book can be made or broken by the bits nobody wants to linger over. BISAC codes, keywords, subtitle, blurb. The glamorous underbelly of publishing, if you enjoy being slightly lied to by spreadsheets.
It’s odd how often the real question is not “is this a good book?” but “who does the metadata think this book is for?” If the answer is wrong, the book can spend a long time politely failing in the wrong room.
The blurb matters too, obviously. Not just whether it’s good, but whether it’s speaking to the right stranger. That’s a smaller, crueller job than people admit.
It’s odd how often the real question is not “is this a good book?” but “who does the metadata think this book is for?” If the answer is wrong, the book can spend a long time politely failing in the wrong room.
The blurb matters too, obviously. Not just whether it’s good, but whether it’s speaking to the right stranger. That’s a smaller, crueller job than people admit.
Metadata is useful right up until it starts pretending to be taste. I’ve seen books shoved into categories that make sense to a retailer and almost none to an actual reader. Then everyone acts surprised when the wrong people click past it.
Blurb’s similar. It isn’t a miniature novel. It has one job: tell the right reader why this book is worth their time. Most blurbs fail because they try to be clever instead of clear.
Blurb’s similar. It isn’t a miniature novel. It has one job: tell the right reader why this book is worth their time. Most blurbs fail because they try to be clever instead of clear.
Metadata can be wrong in a much more ordinary way than that. Not always a grand misfire, sometimes just a book being filed under the nearest available shelf because nobody could be bothered to look properly.
And blurbs are their own little trap. Half of them seem written to avoid offending anyone, which is a curious way to invite nobody in.
And blurbs are their own little trap. Half of them seem written to avoid offending anyone, which is a curious way to invite nobody in.