A Guide to Books
A great thing about Mibba is how members can interact with each other and how this allows us all the be exposed to so many new things. Mibba's new Books section gives us yet another way to do just that. The Books section contains an ever-growing list of published books, compiled by Mibbians, and allows users to explore new books as well as recommend the ones they've already read and enjoyed.
While this feature is great, it can be confusing at first glance. Hopefully, this tutorial will make this feature easier to understand and use.
Mibba's Books Section
First, let’s learn about Mibba's Books section. To get to the Books main overview page, click the “Books” tab at the top of any Mibba page. [1]
There you'll see five tabs – Books, Drama, Prose, Poetry, and Genre.
- The Books tab holds a short list of the most recently submitted books.
- The Drama tab holds scripts, plays, and other theatrical pieces.
- The Prose tab holds novels, short stories, essays, and other pieces told in a typical narrative. It also includes graphic novels and other pieces that falls under that category (comic books, manga...).
- The Poetry tab holds poems and and poem anthologies. These are basically pieces written in verse.
- The Genre tab takes you to a list of genres. Here you can narrow down your browsing by clicking on the genre you're interested in.
To see more information on any book, click the book's title. [2]
There you'll see the book's description – as well as other information – and a list of Mibbians who have read that book.
- If you click the book's author, you'll be redirected to a page that lists other books that author has written.
- If you'd like to recommend the book to other Mibbians, click the “Recommend” button.
- If you've read the book and would like to add it to your book list, click “Yes” and you'll be listed as one of the readers.
Now that you've learned how to navigate Mibba's Book section, you're ready to submit some books of your own.
Submitting a Book
For each book you successfully submit to Mibba (if it gets published to the site), you'll receive 5 points. Since we only need one entry per book in our database, it's important that users do a quick search before submitting. On the Books main page, a search form can be found at the top right corner. Just type in the book title and see if it shows up. If it doesn't, you can now begin to enter your submission.
To add a book to Mibba’s Books section, go to the right side of any books section page and click ‘Submit a book’ or click the “Books” tab in your My Mibba section. [1+2]
Once you get to your Books page, you'll see a list of pending books (if you've submitted any) or a turquoise “New book” button if you have no books pending. Click the “New book” button to be redirected to the “New book” page. [3]
When you get to the new book page, you will be prompted to type in the information for the book you wish to submit. This information ranges from the book’s author to its publishing date.
Cover 1
First you should enter the link to the book cover. A simple way to do this is to do a quick Google image search. When you find an image you like, click it. You'll be redirect to a page like this. Click the “full-size image” link. You'll then be taken to a page with just the image (like this), copy that url and paste it here on Mibba in the “cover image” line.
Author 2
Next, you can add the author of your book in the section below the cover image. Be sure to have the correct spelling and capitalization of the author's name – including any necessary punctuation.
Title 3
Once the author is added, it's time to include the title.
While some books may have different stylized titles on the book cover, it’s important to use the book’s official title. This makes books easier to search and makes it easier to prevent duplicates.
For example:
Fifty Shades of Grey should not be listed as 50 Shades of Grey
Thirteen Reasons Why should not be listed as TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY or 13 Reasons Why
Also…
13 Little Blue Envelops should not be listed as Thirteen Little Blue Envelops
1984 should not be listed as Nineteen-Eighty-Four (or any other variation)
If you’re unsure of what the “official” title is, a quick search on a site like Barnes and Nobles should help.
Language 4
After the title, comes the language. You will see a drop down menu with many different languages. Select the language that is appropriate for your book. If you book has been translated to many different languages, like Harry Potter, use the language it was originally written in.
Type 5
Next, you will need to add the book's type.
Remember:
- Drama: Scripts, plays, and other theatrical pieces written in script format.
- Prose: Novels, short stories, essays, and other pieces told in a typical narrative. It also includes graphic novels and other pieces that falls under that category (comic books, manga...).
- Poetry: Poems and and poem anthologies. These are basically pieces written in verse.
Genre 6
After type, you'll add the genre. This drop-down list has many different genres and many books will fall under a few of these categories. Use your discretion and pick the one you think it fits best.
For a list of book genre definitions, click here.
Publish Year 7
Next, you will need to add the year the book was published. Be sure you add the original publish date, not the publish date of the edition you've read.
Description 8
The description is the next to last step.
The description should briefly describe the book and should be written in your own words. It cannot be taken from another source (like the back of the book or from another website). It must be written by you.
Press “Submit” 9
The final step is the easiest. Just click “Submit” and you're done!
Now, take a step back, relax, and wait for your book to be reviewed by a story editor. When your book is approved, you'll receive an alert here on Mibba and 5 points will be added to your overall point count.