Metadata

Introduction

What is Metadata?

You may see metadata as a grid, a task to be
completed, a necessary evil. You may even see it as an
end result: a description, an author bio, a title.

© INscribe Digital. All rights reserved | CONFIDENTIAL | 2

Introduction

But really, metadata is:
Your Bookseller! In this age of online discovery, your
metadata is what sells your customer on your book over
all the rest.

.


Why is Metadata my bookseller now?

According to a recent eMarketer survey, 61% of purchasers researched
& browsed online before purchasing. Only 37% of purchasers did so in
physical stores. Data from Bowker's consumer research initiatives
backs up this trend – and Nielsen is looking at ways of expanding
Bookscan to include that sort of data as well.

• http://www.ecpa.org/news/54960/Your-Metadata-is-More-
Important-Than-Your-Books.htm


According to Bowker…

Top Reasons People Will Buy Books
• Popular searches people use to find books:
• Covers
• TOCs
• Book Reviews
• Summaries
• Author bio
• Description of the book
• Sample chapters
• Subject codes

https://www.myidentifiers.com/isbn/market_your_book

Also according to Bowker…

Top Reasons For Choosing Title
Popular searches people use to find books:
Like The Author
Like This Series
Liked Topic/Subject
Like Character
Price
Intrigued By Book Title
Cover/Jacket Description / Testimonials
Looked Thru Book, And Liked It
Special Offer / Price
Good Book Review
Cover Art
On Bestseller List
Movie/TV Show Based On Book
Recommended From Media Personality/ TV Show
• https://www.myidentifiers.com/isbn/market_your_book


PW Daily says, “We know that good metadata can drive sales. What
we sometimes forget is that a lack of good metadata is a sales killer.”

• According to Mark Ruffilio, CEO of Bookswim.com, “ Look at it
this way: if your book is shelved in the wrong location in a bookstore,
it has little chance of selling. Online retailers, meanwhile, are
becoming increasingly sophisticated, monitoring sales and customer
data to create recommendation algorithms to push sales. Without
good data, your books will either be dropped from those
recommendations (as they aren't bought) or they will be incorrectly
recommended (and therefore never bought).‖


Example #1: Bestselling Metadata

• #4 Bestseller right after the Hunger Games trilogy is a little
known author with a new mystery series.

Manhattanites + Vermont = a pret' near perfect cozy debut
In bucolic small-town Vermont, Stella Thornton Buckley feels out
of her element—and not just because she's fresh from Manhattan.
Mere hours after moving to maple syrup country, she and her
husband, Nick, find a dead man, Allen Weston, in their well. The
police investigation forces the couple out of their lovely farmhouse
and—since the motels are packed with leafpeepers—into a less
than luxurious deer camp. Instead of mourning the loss of
electricity and running water, Stella and Nick drive their Smart Car
all over the Vermont hamlet to question the quirky locals about
Weston, a shrewd businessman who rubbed a lot of folks the
wrong way.

8

Example #1: Bestselling Metadata

• Format: Kindle Edition
• Average Customer Review: 4.0
out of 5 stars See all reviews (6
customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4
Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100
Paid in Kindle Store)
• #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle
eBooks > Fiction > Genre
Fiction > Mystery &
Thrillers > Mystery > Women Sleuths
• #1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller &
Suspense > Mystery > Women Sleuths
• #1 in Books > Literature & Fiction


Example #2: Great Metadata

• A KILLER STALKS HIS PREY…
A calculating and deadly killer is in search for what he terms as his perfect family. Preying upon
single mothers and their innocent children, the police have dubbed him "The Family Man.‖

HE WATCHES THEM...HE TAKES THEM...
He plays out his role as the perfect father. When things don’t go so perfect in his insane fantasy
world, the family man kills.

HOLLY JENNINGS IS ON THE CASE…
Crime Scene Investigator Holly Jennings of the San Diego Police Department is determined to
track him down and see that justice is served. With Holly being a single mother herself, this man's
crimes are deeply personal to her, and turn more so when a friend and her daughter become the
latest victims of ―The Family Man."

Along with tracking an evil killer, Holly is dealing with her own internal demons. She is raising her
daughter Chloe alone after the death of her husband--a death she feels guilty for.

To complicate her life further, Holly is doing her best to avoid possibly falling in love again with
charming veterinarian Brendan O'Neil. As Holly delves deeper into solving the murders, she finds
herself being sucked into a game of cat and mouse by "The Family Man," that may lead her down
a dark path too horrible to bear. One that may cost her gravely-her family, her new found love, and
even her life.


Example #2: Great Metadata

out of 5 stars See all reviews (22
customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5
Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100
Paid in Kindle Store)
• #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle
eBooks > Fiction > Genre
Fiction > Romance > Romantic Suspense
• #1 in Books > Mystery, Thriller &
Suspense > Thrillers > Psychological
Thrillers
• #1 in Books > Romance > Romantic
Suspense


Example #1: Suffering Metadata

• When Jem and Oliver accidentally fall through a portal to another world just before
their first year of high school, they quickly discover that all is not well here. The first
person they meet, a creepy old man named Atychis, almost gets them killed by a
ferocious, fire-breathing dragon. They're only narrowly saved when Sierra, a shy farm
girl from a nearby town, uses illegal magic to help them escape. Allowed to stay with
her family while they try to figure out a way back home, Jem and Oliver begin to learn
of magic and the Regime that is oppressing it.

It isn't until the Regime kills a woman that the three kids realize they have to do
something to stop the Regime from taking over completely. After being framed for a
crime they didn't commit and banished from the town, Jem, Oliver, and Sierra take off
on an adventure across this strange world in an attempt to defeat the Regime. New
creatures and new kinds of magic are around every corner, but so are dangers that
could have them wishing they were back safe at home.

Through the Portal is approximately 104,000 words and is the first in a planned
trilogy.

The most unique characteristic within the book is the use of sylph, a physical
manifestation of magic that allows the user to manipulate it however they need while
exerting minimal energy. Sylph makes transportation available through sylphcycles
and sylphquads, and is just one of the exciting new concepts explored in this magical
and complex world.


out of 5 stars See all
reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers
Rank: #71,943 Paid in Kindle
Store (See Top 100 Paid in
Kindle Store)



• NO PUBLISHER PROVIDED DESCRIPTION: fills in with PW review
• In Myers's over-the-top 15th crime caper starring Amish-Mennonite sleuth
and innkeeper Magdalena Yoder (after 2006's Grape Expectations), the
corpse du jour is the once-handsome scoundrel Cornelius Weaver, who
may have been murdered by any one of seven women—his lovers. Familiar
cast members provide the usual foils to Magdalena's running (and often
very tired) jokes and too-breezy banter as she worries about her looks and
upcoming mixed faith marriage to Dr. Gabriel Rosen more than she does
about her investigation of Cornelius's killer. The thin plot is so improbable
and haphazard, it's a relief but no great surprise when Magdalena closes
that case and solves another murder as well. Cornelius's death-by-
painkiller-laced Indian dish inspires the curry-themed recipes sandwiched
between chapters. Maybe it's time to close the kitchen and order
takeout? (Feb.)
Review
• "As sweet as a piece of brown-sugar pie... Magdalena is so likable."
-Booklist



• Average Customer
Review: 2.9 out of 5
stars See all reviews (14
customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers
Rank: #194,232 Paid in Kindle
Store (See Top 100 Paid in
Kindle Store)
•


So what are the differences?

• Description is key.
• This is not the back of a book jacket, as much as it might seem so. Instead, this is your
moment to sell the book.

Think about:
• Endorsements. Did a relevant person love this book, and write a blurb for the cover?
It should be the first thing your customer reads.

• The HOOK. What is the hook in your description? If you don’t know, it’s not there.

• Similar authors: How do customers know if they’ll like it? If it’s like someone else
they enjoy.

• Don‟t be too specific: Spending too long on specific details can mean that you lose
the reader completely.


What works in the description?

• According to Carolyn McCray, bestselling Amazon author, it‟s
almost a formula.
• First off, note any awards or accomplishments for either the writer or the
book itself. Establish yourself/book as an authority on the subject or prove
that it is popular. Keep this BRIEF.
• Put your best 3 quotes/blurbs/reviews for your book (punchy, short,
exciting). Again, each quote, etc should not be longer than a few
sentences.
• After these initial 3 quotes, put a brief style description of your book. Do
NOT go into specifics about the book. You will lose the excitement you just
built. This is a sales pitch
• Follow your punchy/pithy/exciting sweeping pitch with 2-3 more glowing
reviews (no longer than a sentence or two each) to reconfirm that the book
you just described is a popular one. End your book’s ―Product Description‖
with a definitive call to action. ―If you enjoy gardening any time of the year,
then ____ is for you! ―
• http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2011/best-practices-for-amazon-
ebook-sales/

Playing the BISAC game

• Extra features = extra sales

• By appearing in Top 100 lists, your book will have extra
exposure. So have you picked 4 BISAC codes, allowing you
extra exposure in all categories?
• Carolyn McCray added “Women Sleuths” and “Hard Boiled,” as
well as generic mystery. That gave her additional lists in which
customers could find her books.
• According to Carolyn, ―getting onto the Top 40 Bestselling page does give you an
additional 5% increase. The Top 20 Bestselling page, another 7% pop. If you are lucky
enough to climb into the Top 10 Bestselling, add another 14% increase in sales if you
are ―above the fold‖ (in a slot that can be viewed WITHOUT having to scroll down any
further) which is usually about rank #5.‖
• Carolyn also states that this is LASTING progress. The more traction you gain on the
bestseller lists, the longer your title lasts there, giving you week after week of sales.
• http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2011/maximizing-digital-book-sales-part-2/


Good Author Bio

• The author description is a highly searchable piece of information.
Think about what the customer will be searching for, and use those
keywords within your description and author bio.
• Is the author accomplished? List awards, relevant training, all the
pieces that will steer the reader toward your book and overcome
objections.

• Ex/ Paula McLain was born in Fresno, California in 1965. After being abandoned by both parents,
she and her two sisters became wards of the California Court System, moving in and out of
various foster homes for the next fourteen years. When she aged out of the system, she
supported herself by working as a nurses aid in a convalescent hospital, a pizza delivery girl, an
auto-plant worker, a cocktail waitress--before discovering she could (and very much wanted to)
write. She received her MFA in poetry from the University of Michigan in 1996. Since then, she
has received fellowships from the corporation of Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, the Ucross
Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Her first book of
poetry, Less of Her, was published in 1999 from New Issues Press and won a publication grant
from the Greenwall Fund of the Academy of American Poets. She's also the author of a second
collection of poetry, Stumble, Gorgeous, a memoir, Like Family: Growing Up In Other People's
Houses, and the novel, A Ticket to Ride. Her most recent book is The Paris Wife, a fictional
account of Ernest Hemingway's first marriage and upstart years in 1920's Paris, as told from the
point of view of his wife, Hadley. She teaches in the MFA Program in Poetry at New England
College, and lives with her family in Cleveland.
• © INscribe Digital. All rights reserved | CONFIDENTIAL | 19

Series Tags

• Don‟t forget to use the optional areas of metadata to help drive
your book. Is it the first in a series? Put that in the series tag.

• Is it the fifth book in the series? Is there another related book?
Don‟t hesitate to put that in the description. If the reader can
tell it‟s part of a series they haven‟t read, they will want to find
the first. Don’t make it hard for them.
• Here’s an example: In this stunning follow-up to the global phenomenon The Da Vinci
Code, Dan Brown demonstrates once again why he is the world's most popular thriller
writer. The Lost Symbol is a masterstroke of storytelling—a deadly race through a
real-world labyrinth of codes, secrets, and unseen truths . . . all under the watchful eye
of Brown's most terrifying villain to date.

• By all means, use the subtitle to denote a series as well.


Not Metadata, but while we‟re here…

• Reviews: You need „em!
• Make sure you have a minimum of five reviews for your title,
with 10 preferred. Customers do look at reviews, and the more
you have, the better.
• They don‟t have to be five star reviews, but a one star review
needs that many more five star reviews to lift the average.
• When your book comes out, check the pages. If you aren‟t
seeing reviews, in Carolyn‟s words…

• “It is the job of the writer or publisher to drive reviewers (friends, family,
fans, Tweeps, bloggers, etc) to your Amazon page and fill these
reviews/likes (a bare minimum to have legitimacy is 5 but 10 is a better
number to shoot for) as quickly as possible after your title goes live (and
especially before any kind of ad campaign).
• After the original launch, then you can allow the reviews to come in
organically through paying readers, however monitor your page daily. A
single 1 star review can kill sales.
• © INscribe Digital. All rights reserved | CONFIDENTIAL | 21

Still not metadata, but important…

• Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

• Customers often look at this bar as validation. If you think your
book is similar to another author, buying your book and theirs
together is one of the best investments you can make in your
book.

• The longer this bar is empty, the longer customers think the
book is irrelevant in the marketplace. Help the search engines
make the right choices; it will build your customer base.

• http://www.digitalbookworld.com/2011/best-practices-for-
amazon-ebook-sales/


Summary

You can control most of the areas your customers are searching:

Cover
Title
Description
Author Bio
Reviews
If You Like, You‟ll Love

Why don‟t you give it a try?

Make your next book a bestseller!


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