What is BISAC: How BISAC Codes Help Your Book Get Found

Life as a self-publisher or indie author is not for the faint of heart. It takes grit, determination, a strong work ethic, resilience, and passion. And that’s just to get your book written and published. Once you’ve celebrated that huge milestone, you need to get your book in front of readers, which involves learning how to sell audiobooks. 

  

A key part of audiobook marketing is making sure your metadata is as accurate and informative as possible. This helps retailers, libraries, and audiobook platforms categorize your book so that it gets found by your target audience. While you may be familiar with some pieces of metadata (like the description, genre, MSRP, and copyright information), there’s one element that is often overlooked yet critical for maximizing your book’s discoverability, and that is BISAC codes. Let’s dive in and find out how this mysterious string of numbers and letters can be your book marketing secret weapon.

BISAC Code Basics: What Does BISAC Stand For?

First, a quick background on BISAC. BISAC stands for Book Industry Standards and Communications and was created by the nonprofit Book Industry Study Group (BISG) in 1976 as a system for categorizing books. The group, which now consists of more than 2,800 contributors, including publishers, book manufacturers, distributors, and retailers across 10 countries, maintains the BISAC code list and updates it yearly each fall. BISAC codes tell book retailers, librarians, and distributors key information about your book, including its subject matter, reading level, and genre, so they can process and market it accurately. Because they are standardized across the publishing industry, BISAC codes help both buyers and sellers because your book will always be categorized the same way, whether you’re searching online, at a library, or in a brick-and-mortar store. 

 

Breaking Down BISAC Codes: What’s In a Number?

Now that you know the basics of what is BISAC and what does BISAC stand for, let’s dive into the numbering system itself and how it can benefit you and your book marketing. BISAC codes are 9-character alphanumeric codes that are comprised of a 3-letter prefix followed by a 6-digit sequence of numbers. Two main factors determine the alphanumeric part of BISAC codes: whether a book is fiction or nonfiction and the age of the intended audience. The code ‘FIC’ comprises all fiction genres for adults, while nonfiction adult titles are further broken down by topic (for example, HIS for history or REL for religion). For juveniles and young adults, you can use one of four codes: 

 

• JUV for children’s fiction books (ages 0-11)
• JNF for juvenile nonfiction (ages 0-11)
• YAF for young adult fiction (ages 12-18)
• YAN for young adult nonfiction (ages 12-18)

 

After the first three letters of a BISAC code is a string of 6 digits that are used for further coding. Then, following the 9-character BISAC code is what’s referred to as BISAC subject headings, which are basically the English language descriptions attached to each code, made up of two to four parts separated by a forward slash (/). These are the book’s main category, subcategory, and further descriptor. For example, for a book on the life of Charles Lindbergh, a potential BISAC code could be BIO034000 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Aviation & Nautical.

 

Finding the Right BISAC Codes for Your Book

Because BISAC codes are so important in categorizing books for retailers and distributors, making sure you choose the right code for your book is essential. The good thing is, it’s a fairly straightforward process, and we’re here to guide you on selecting the best BISAC categories and BISAC subject headings for your book, plus share some BISAC code list tips to help your book get discovered. 

 

Key BISAC Code Considerations

 

When determining your book’s BISAC codes, there are a few helpful things to keep in mind:

• Most retailers let you choose up to 3 BISAC codes, so take advantage of this. The more categories your book gets filed under, the more opportunities for it to get found and read.
• Think about your target audience. How would they describe your book?
• Hone in on the main topics or themes of your book. What is the main objective of your book? 
• Who are your competitors and how do they categorize their books? 

 

How to Pick BISAC Codes for Your Book: A Step-by-Step Guide

 

1. Navigate to the BISG site and find the full BISAC code list.
2. Read through the list of 53 BISAC subject headings, which are the main categories that your book can fall under, including fiction, travel, true crime, biography, and more. Pick the option that best suits your title. Remember that BISAC categories are one of the most critical components of metadata because they determine where your book appears in search.
3. After narrowing down the BISAC categories to the best-fitting option for your book, you’ll need to select a subcategory. All of the BISAC subject headings on the BISG site have a list of subheading options to pick from. The more specific your subcategory choice, the better because this will help zero in on your target audience, narrow down your competition, and increase your discoverability by categorizing your book with similar titles.
4. After collecting a list of potential BISAC categories and subcategories, choose your three best options and rank them based on how they best fit your book. Do they accurately match your target audience and the main themes of your book? 
5. Pick your primary BISAC code – the one that best matches the main subject of your book. This will be the one you list first when entering BISAC codes in metadata information. The reason you need a primary BISAC code is because book retailers weigh your three BISAC codes differently, and sometimes only one BISAC code is printed in a book; you want the most relevant one to be the first one that’s listed, ensuring your book will be properly categorized, stocked, and marketed. 
6. The last step is to enter your book’s BISAC codes into the platforms you’re using, whether it’s Amazon, Apple, Hoopla, or any of our other distribution partners. The key thing to remember is to always enter your most important BISAC code first.

 

A Final Word on BISAC Codes & Categories

While it may seem overwhelming at first, BISAC categories can be one of the most helpful tools in getting your book discovered by interested readers. Along with ISBNs and great book descriptions, thoughtful BISAC subject headings codes are some of the most powerful elements of book marketing strategy. BISAC codes help retailers and libraries put your book where it belongs, and they help buyers easily identify books they may want to read. 

 

The next time you’re at a bookstore, check out some of your favorite titles and see what codes they’re using (hint: they’re usually printed on the copyright page) or if you’re stumped trying to figure out what BISAC code to use for your own book, you can try looking online at similar titles for inspiration. Understanding the basics of BISAC codes and categories is a little bit of art and a little bit of science, but in the end, you’ll see that putting in the effort to find the right code for your book will pay off in getting your book discovered and read.