Classifications allow your book to be placed in the right sections of an online bookstore. If your book does not have classifications or if they do not adequately describe its content, it will end up in the wrong sections and be overlooked by readers. Generally, readers are fond of a particular genre and therefore go to the corresponding section.

Classification schemes were first developed on a national level. The BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) subject headings have been developed in the United States and are used primarily in North America. The BIC (Book Industry Communication) codes are the British equivalent, while the CLIL (Commission de liaison interprofessionnelle du livre) classification scheme is the reference for the book trade in France.

In 2012, the industry unveiled the Thema project at the Frankfurt Book Fair: a global multilingual classification system. Despite its strong adoption, the Thema classification scheme has not yet fully replaced the previous schemes. At present, the most widely used subject headings are still the BISAC.

 

A few tips on classification schemes

  • It is mandatory to specify at least one BISAC category. Ideally, we recommend that you include three. Always select the most specific BISAC categories possible, and avoid categories that are too general, such as Fiction/General, which will not allow resellers to correctly identify the field of your publication.
  • Stay within the same domains. For example, in the case of a work of fiction, be sure to select only categories that are under Fiction (e.g. selecting the category Fiction/History for a historical novel, rather than categories under History).

  • If you publish books for young people, select only categories beginning with Juvenile (up to age 12) or Young Adult (ages 12-18).