Categories
Books published through StreetLib can be classified in two standard categorization and management systems of book genres, by retailers and bookstores:
- BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communication) is the U.S. national classification standard adopted internationally. At least one BISAC category must be included.
- THEMA is a multilingual subject-based classification standard designed to provide industry professionals with a more effective solution for global distribution. It is recommended to include at least one THEMA category.
- WGS (Warengruppen-Systematik or Classification System for Product Groups) is a content classification system used in the German book market distribution. It is recommended to use this classification system for German-language books targeting the German market.
These classification systems are adopted by the libraries that are part of the StreetLib network, allowing them to place books in the correct sections, as well as making these titles easily searchable by readers. The category choice is fundamental for a correct indexation of online books.
How do online stores manage categories?
These categories are an international classification, but the naming may differ depending on the store. Therefore, the category at a store may be different from the one that you chose on StreetLib, but don't worry, the group of books will still be the same. This is a bit like emojis: every system has a frowning emoji, but it won't look the same on iOS chat, Facebook Messenger, Android text, Whatsapp, etc. A store can actually decide to group multiple categories together.
Choosing the appropriate category is critical for the proper classification of your book with online bookstores, so our advice is simply to choose carefully.
You can assign more than one category to a book, but we advise not to overdo it. Select only those truly relevant to your own book. It may be helpful to look for books similar to yours and see what categories they were assigned.
During the StreetLib book publishing process, you'll see a field to pick your categories. A drop-down menu will appear as soon as you enter at least 3 letters:
The choice of the age of the public of interest
Related to the choice of category, there is the choice of the age that we believe our audience should be (age of the "Audience Type", in HUB):
For some categories, it is important to specify the age range. For example:
- Juvenile Fiction > 0-11 years
- Juvenile NoFiction > 0-11 years
- Young adult fiction > 12-18 years
- Young adult NoFiction > 12-18 years
- If the presence of adult content is reported: minimum age to indicate > 18 years
NB: Ratings for adult audiences is a field disconnected from the categories and audience of interest. It should only be filled in if you are publishing content that is not suitable for minors. For more specifics on this matter, please refer to our adult content guidelines link.