Publishing
Metadata does a lot of quiet gatekeeping.
A blurb can promise one thing, the categories can point somewhere else entirely, and the keywords can be off doing their own little freelance project. Then everyone wonders why the right readers never seem to find the book.
It feels unglamorous to talk about, but this is part of publishing too. Not just what a book is, but what the store thinks it is, what the algorithm thinks it is, and what the poor reader is allowed to assume from a thumbnail and ten words of copy.
A blurb can promise one thing, the categories can point somewhere else entirely, and the keywords can be off doing their own little freelance project. Then everyone wonders why the right readers never seem to find the book.
It feels unglamorous to talk about, but this is part of publishing too. Not just what a book is, but what the store thinks it is, what the algorithm thinks it is, and what the poor reader is allowed to assume from a thumbnail and ten words of copy.
Metadata is one of those unromantic bits that can still ruin a book’s chances if it’s handled carelessly. But it’s not a cure-all. If the blurb, cover and category are all immaculate and the book still disappoints, readers do not become more forgiving because the shelving was clever. The packaging can open the door. It cannot make people stay.