Finding new books to enjoy is always fun, and the All Romance and OmniLit websites have two Search options, the Quick Search and the Advanced Search, that can help you find what you seek. Digimonkey’s going to tell you how the Quick Search functions in this post, and she’ll go into the details for the Advanced Search in her next post.
Search for your books.
The Quick Search box is located in the upper right hand section of the website header, just below the Cart and Wish List links.
SEARCH BY TITLE
The default search category is Title. If you know the title of the book you want to purchase, type it in the text box. The Search will offer suggestions as you type, so if the correct title appears in the list before you finish typing, you can click on the title and then click “Go” to speed up the Search.
Get the title you want.
Tip #1 When searching by Title, you must know the first word of the title and it must match the way the publisher entered the book in the system. For example, if you wanted to find the book Feeling the Heat, you could enter either “Feel” or “Feeling” in the Title Search box and the book would come up in the Search. If you entered “Felt”, “Feels”, or just “Heat”, it would not. If the book title starts with “The” or “A”, you will need to search with those words included.
Tip #2 If the book is part of a series and the publisher has chosen to list it by series with the title afterward, then it will only show in the Title Search if you enter the title of the Series. (for example, Forbidden: The Sacrifice). The title of the book is “The Sacrifice”, but entering “The Sacrifice” in the Title Search box will not bring it up. You would have to enter “Forbidden” first to locate it by title.
The four other Search categories are Author, Publisher, Series, and Product Tags. To search by one of these categories, click on the “up/down” errors just to the right of the category currently displayed (in this case, Title) and a drop down menu will appear so you can click on the best category for your search.
Search by different options.
SEARCH BY AUTHOR
Like Digimonkey, you probably have favorite authors that are a “must buy” for you. The author search is a great way to be certain you haven’t missed any releases. This search will also bring up the author’s bio and contact information so you can learn more about your beloved author.
Tip #1 The tips for titles do not apply to an Author Search. If Digi wanted to find books by Rhonda Nelson, she could enter Rhonda or Nelson, and the Search would find all Rhonda Nelson’s books, along with any other author with a first or last name of Rhonda or Nelson. That’s a lot of names, so Digi would need to refine the search to include the author’s first and last names, or at least the first name and last initial.
SEARCH BY PUBLISHER
Publisher searches are great if you find you’re purchasing a lot of books from the same publisher. Rather than hunt around for authors you think write for that publisher, or be limited to just the authors you know, you can search by publisher to see all the books currently available. You can find new authors as well as previous releases you may have missed.
Tip #1 Some publishers have multiple lines that they publish under, so the more you can refine your search to the specific line you enjoy reading, the more you can cut down on huge numbers. For instance, if you do a Publisher Search for Harlequin, it will return more than 5500 books. That might take a while to get through!
SEARCH BY SERIES
If the publisher has listed books as a series, then you can search for all the books in that series using the Series Search. Digi’s a fan of Cat Johnson because Digi loves cowboys (please don’t tell her boyfriend Paco), so she did a search for Cat’s “Studs in Spurs” series using the Series search, and voila! All four books appeared on the search results. This is a great way to keep track of new releases in a series you love or to find the books you’ve missed in a series you’ve just discovered.
Tip #1 Many publishers don’t list books that are part of a series with a Series tag, so the Series search won’t work. In that case, you’ll want to search by Author if all the books are by the same author, or by Publisher if they’re all from the same publisher with different authors.
SEARCH BY PRODUCT TAGS
Product tags are particularly helpful if you like stories with a specific element or theme. Digimonkey likes werewolves, so entering that Product Tag generates a list that looks like this.
Pick a tag, find a book!
Digi can decide what type of werewolf story she’s looking for from the suggestions, without needing to know a specific title or author. Digi uses this feature a lot to find new authors and series!
Tip #1 The more general your product tag keywords, the more results you’ll receive. If you’re seeing too many options, refine the search by adding or changing keywords. If you’re seeing too few, broaden the search by using a more general keyword.
Tip #2 Check the ARe/OmniLit pages for the books in your Library that you’ve really enjoyed and see what product tags are listed. You’ll find them just after the book description. That will give you a good clue for which terms to enter when doing a new Product Tag Search.
Stay tuned for Digi’s next post which will reveal the wonderful world of the Advanced Search!
Filed Under: DigiMonkey eBook Tips
Tagged: book search, eBook tips
Hi, how do I add the books in my library into my booklist in the Café?
The Cafe bookshelf isn’t quite ready to go live yet, but as soon as it does, Digi promises she will have a post that goes into all the details. Stay tuned!