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I really hate BIC codes. They could be so helpful. They are not helpful.
Don't read on if you're not a publisher - it's too boring for words.
So I'm trying to find a BIC code for a piece of fiction, written last year, which a retailer would class as women's fiction. Best practice is to have a level three code, which means it's classified in the most detailed way possible. My choices, though, are:
F - Fiction, level 1. Doesn't give enough detail, so I can't have this.
FA - modern and contemporary fiction post c 1945, level 2. I could have this, but it's a bit vague, and there isn't a level 3 option.
FR - romance. Er, not really...
FRD - adult and contemporary romance, the level three option. Even less accurate...
And that's it. The rest are all Historical, or Saga, Adventure and so on. And the same restrictions apply when I try to classify Adept - it's supernatural fiction, or thriller, but there's no option for supernatural thriller, and in thrillers the level 3 options are espionage and political/legal.
Is anyone else as frustrated as I am about this? Annoys the hell out of me.
Comments: 3
Emma
You should check out the technical codes. They were put together by people with no real understanding of science and engineering and books could end up in very strange places.
My question would be why get so het up by them though. Does anyone actually use them to classify books? I'm not convinced.
Libraries don't. Bookshops have shelving classifications that don't match BIC codes so I guess they don't. The internet retailers may use them - but as Rob's post from a couple of days ago points out - amazon classifies everything as everything.
If a retailer would class the book as women's fiction, they'll still do this regardless of a BIC code.
Finally I have to ask why you're limiting your market by labelling a book 'women's fiction'. ;->. Very un PC.
M
Posted by: Matthew on January 4, 2008 03:35 PM
Matthew, our mistake was that we were planning to actually use BIC codes for something. We figured one way to lay out our catalogue, online and on paper, was to group by category - and to pick up the category info from the BIC code. The fault is ours for assuming that industry-wide standards would help more than they hindered.
Posted by: Rob on January 4, 2008 04:32 PM
What Rob said. And it's not me limiting the market - women's fiction is what the retailers call it.
Posted by: Em on January 4, 2008 04:38 PM