Books own publishing. 

That has been true for centuries, from ancient Greece to illustrated manuscripts to Gutenberg to modern publishing corporations. Everything was built around the idea and form of the book, whether it was a scroll or a codex, and so production methods focused entirely on creating the finished product: a collection of writing with a start, a middle, and an end. 

Serialization was always there, whether in the form of chapters being printed sequentially resulting in books being sold parts and bound later, or in actual serials printed in magazines. But the end goal was always “a book.” 

This history helps us understand why modern online reading platforms work the way they do, with flat hierarchies and minimal metadata and “covers.” But think about it: there is zero reason for webnovels to have “covers” that are shaped like a book cover, that is, a vertically aligned rectangle; but most platforms demand that format. 

One thing that became apparent to me quickly back in the LiveJournal days of fanfiction was that online storytelling had a unique metadata advantage, because it was possible to use HTML code to add all kinds of information to a story. Character lists, primary relationships, genre/category, tropes, content warnings, author notes, word/chapter count, and more where all right there for the taking. 

There were some who argued that including metadata was, somehow, cheapening the experience of the story but I still don’t understand that argument, honestly. It’s just silly. 

So, imagine my surprise when the only platform who learned that lesson and ran with it was the fanfiction depository Archive of Our Own (AO3). Wattpad? No. RoyalRoad? No. Inkitt? No. 

It took me a long time to figure out that none of those other platforms actually care about the reader experience. Not really. They are businesses and they want to do the least amount possible to leverage the numbers to make money. To them, “discoverability” and “metadata” are meant to drive revenue, not reader enjoyment. Like trad publishers, they don’t care much about the authors either. The user experience, author or reader, is an afterthought.

But I am spoiled. I want to write, post, and read stories with extensive metadata attached. I want my work to be found by people looking for that specific kind of story. I saw first hand how good metadata actually increased reader attraction and retention, and how lack of that information made stories hard to find. There is one fanfic writer I know who basically made herself and her work irrelevant by refusing to use any kind of metadata at all. I always respect a purist, but I also saw what her commitment to the bit did to her. (Maybe that’s what she wanted! I’m not here to judge, simply to point out “cause and effect.”)

Having as much metadata available as possible while making the majority of it optional was a huge priority for me with Keely App. Here’s what is baked into the app:

• Title
• Summary (at all levels: project, story, scene)
• Author notes (at all levels: project, story, scene)
• Characters
• Locations
• Main Category/Genre (standardized)
• Secondary Category/Genre (freeform)
• Tags (standardized and freeform)
• Content warnings  (standardized and freeform, and can be used at all levels: project, story, scene)
• POV character (if any)
• Narrative Mode
• Variable thru-line navigation (if a writer wants to set up multiple ways for readers to engage with the story)
• Acknowledgments
• Dedication
• Publish dates (first published, updated)
• Word count
• Number of scenes