Andrea M. Rotondo - Favorite Books

Resources — BISAC

What Are BISAC Subject Headings and Why Should You Care About Them?

The Book Industry Study Group devises and maintains BISAC subject headings. (BISAC stands for Book Industry Standards and Communications.) These are the categories that your book would be shelved on in a bookstore.

You’ll usually see the subject heading on the back cover of the book in the upper left corner. There is also an alphanumeric code assigned to that subject heading. The complete BISAC code is cataloged with other information about your book and is then entered in various industry databases (Bowker Books in Print, for example, which feeds many other bookseller databases).

The BISAC is a helpful reminder for bookstore employees who may or may not immediately comprehend what shelf you’d like your book placed on in their store. I once heard a story that Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America was actually placed on a Gardening shelf by some hapless bookstore employee. I don’t know if that’s true but it points out what can happen if you don’t rely on BISAC subject headings to direct your book to the most appropriate shelf in the store.

Here’s what BISAC subject headings look like:
MUS035000 MUSIC / Genres & Styles / Rock
BIO004000 BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Composers & Musicians
CKB047000 COOKING / Regional & Ethnic / Italian

Remember, on the back cover of your book (upper left-hand corner), you just need to include the subject heading itself. The numeric code is merely used for database purposes.

Since most of the book industry in the United States utilize BISAC codes, it’s important that you know what category your book fits in. Amazon, Baker & Taylor, Barnes & Noble, Bookscan, Booksense, Bowker, Ingram, and most major publishers use BISAC information in one form or another.

For authors who are still sending out book proposals, it wouldn’t hurt to include the BISAC subject headings that you feel best describe your book. This will give some valuable information to the acquisitions editor. For example, when I’m acquiring books for Omnibus Press, I consider BISAC information. If a proposed book falls outside of a category we sell into it (music, entertainment, pop culture), I don’t sign it. There’s no reason since we don’t have an open channel to that area. For example, we sell books about music so our in-house sales reps talk to buyers who select product for the Music and Performing Arts shelves in the major chain stores. There would be no point in signing a book about gardening because we don’t schedule meetings with the buyer who fills that shelf. (We also don't have existing relationships with the press who cater to that category, etc.)

Remember that if you can’t categorize the book, your agent or editor won’t be able to either. And that’s a detriment when pitching your book.

To select the BISAC subject headings for your book(s), consult Version 2.9 of the list at BISG's website.

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