Authors, Did You Check Your Metadata?

 

When your book is listed for sale on major websites such as Amazon, Walmart, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, Apple, etc., you need to make sure that your metadata is complete, accurate, and crafted to your advantage. 

What is metadata, you ask? Is it the information that you provide to describe your book in a way that the online world sorts, files, and searches for your book. 

Let’s look at the many key components that make up your metadata: 

1.      Your Book Title

      It is recommended that your title be short, memorable, easy to say or spell, and not be the same as a competing title. For your metadata, Ingram Spark recommends that a title and subtitle combined do not exceed 80 characters for maximum mobile optimization. 

2.      Author Name & Contributors

Whatever names that are on your cover – author, co-author, illustrator, translator – should be listed with no misspellings and consistency (ie – if a middle initial is used or not). 

3.      Author Bio

Keep it to 50-250 words and avoid using external links to blogs, sites, etc. 

4.      Description

Using 200-600words, describe your book in a conversational tone. Consider bolding the opening line and use paragraph breaks. 

5.      Genre

Choose up to three BISAC subject codes (genres). Pay to cover three distinct areas. 

6.      Keywords

Choose five to seven words or phrases that draw customers in. Repeat them throughout anything – description, reviews, testimonials, biography, etc. 

7.      Format

List all formats and ISBN’s for each one – ie: e-book, trade paperback, hardcover, and audiobook. 

8.      Review/Media Quotes & Testimonials

List three to ten quotes from professional book reviewers, stories in the media about you or the book, and testimonials from experts. 

9.      Age/Grade

If you chose a juvenile or YA audience code, pick a targeted age range that is focused.  

10.  Series

Inform your readers of other titles in a series, including the names of your series, and if applicable, the book numbers in the series.

 

Your metadata is like a book’s DNA – a series of codes that tells everyone how to identify your book. Take the time and effort to get it right.

 

Do You Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, with over four million page views, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors like you to promote your story, sell your book, and grow your brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

About Brian Feinblum

This award-winning blog has generated over 4.5 million pageviews. With 5,300+ posts over the past 14 years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs  by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.”  Copyright 2025.

 

For the past three decades, Brian Feinblum has helped thousands of authors. He formed his own book publicity firm in 2020. Prior to that, for 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and as the director of publicity at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler.

 

His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent (https://pubspot.ibpa-online.org/article/whats-needed-to-promote-a-book-successfully).

 

He hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America several years ago, and has spoken at ASJA, BookCAMP, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, Morgan James Publishing, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. He served as a judge for the 2024 IBPA Book Awards.

 

His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. His first published book was The Florida Homeowner, Condo, & Co-Op Association Handbook.  It was featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald.

 

Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog, and El Chapo, a pug rescue dog.

 

You can connect with him at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum/