This is the slide deck from my presentation at Writer's Digest Conference East 2013

1. Data 101 for Authors
How Understanding the Numbers Can Help You Build Your Business
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

2. Hello!
Kristen McLean
Founder & CEO
Bookigee, Inc.
@BKGKristen
#WDCE
(c) 2013 by Bookigee, Inc. All rights reserved. No distribution or reproduction without permission.

3. To discuss.....
• Metadata
• The Open Web
• The Future of Content
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

4. Metadata
• met·a·da·ta/ˈmetəˌdatə/
• Noun:
• A set of data that
describes and gives
information about other
data.
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

6. Current System
Massively complex
Very messy
347,000 trad. frontlist books
1.8m non-trad. frontlist books
32m books in print
Inconsistent data practices
No central data clearinghouse

7. Central Data
Clearinghouse?
Data Warehouse
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

8. Central Data
Clearinghouse?
Data Warehouse
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

9. Central Data
Clearinghouse?
Data Warehouse
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

10. X
Central Data
Clearinghouse?
Data Warehouse
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

11. The way it should work (now)
From the 2012 report: “Development, Use, and Modification of Book Product Metadata” prepared for the Book Industry Study Group by Brian O’Leary, Magellan Media Consulting. Used with permission.

12. The way it actually works (now)
From the 2012 report: “Development, Use, and Modification of Book Product Metadata” prepared for the Book Industry Study Group by Brian O’Leary, Magellan Media Consulting. Used with permission.

13. What we
want
What we
have

14. Challenges
Volume of data
Long lead times
“Pipeline thinking”
BISAC -vs- keywords
Chaotic rights situation
Pubdate is “end of process”
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

15. Why it matters
Titles that meet the standard
sell 98% more
Titles with cover images sell
268% more
Titles that meet the standard,
have image, and enhanced
metadata, sell 2,600 units
more
Fiction sales are most
impacted by poor data

16. What you
can do
• If self-publishing, make
metadata compliance &
edit access a central
consideration
• Monitor & check your
book’s online data regularly
• Respectfully request
corrections & updates
quickly when errors occur

17. What to ask?
• “Do you comply with
BISG metadata best
practices?”
• How can I request
corrections or make my
own updates?
• How quickly can I
expect my changes to
take effect?

18. The Open Web
• The Open Web
Movement=open source
• Cooperative, and standard
World Wide Web
communications
• It opposes private,
exclusive, proprietary Web
solutions

19. The ISBN is
not enough
Two new identifiers:
International Standard Name Identifier (ISNI)
International Standard Text Code (ISTC)
This is “structured metadata”
#WDCE | @BKGKristen

20. International Standard
Name Identifier
• Identifies names of creators
• Disambiguates authors with same name, collocates
authors who spell their name in different ways
• Pseudonyms get separate ISNIs
• Related to Source ISNI in metadata
• Relates across all media, not just books!

21. Relating In the Metadata

22. Who’s Using This Stuff?
Wikipedia
Google
(c) 2012 by Bookigee, Inc. All rights reserved. No distribution or reproduction without permission.

23. International Standard
Text Code
• Identifies text, regardless of format
• Contains “related titles” information in its metadata
Allows linkages between the derivation and the original

24. What can we do
in the open web?

25. Thanks!
Kristen McLean
Founder & CEO
Bookigee, Inc.
@BKGKristen
(c) 2013 by Bookigee, Inc. All rights reserved. No distribution or reproduction without permission.