Managing Reference Data

Reference data provides the building blocks for organizing your content in Inkwren. This guide covers genres and tags (managed under Reference Data), plus series and publishers (which have their own top-level navigation items).

Accessing Reference Data

Reference Data in the sidebar contains Genres and Tags. Series and Publishers are separate top-level items in the sidebar navigation.

Section	Purpose	Access
Genres	Categorize stories by genre	Reference Data > Genres
Tags	Flexible hierarchical labels	Reference Data > Tags
Series	Group related publications or stories	Series (top-level nav)
Publishers	Track publishing houses and markets	Publishers (top-level nav)

Genres

Genres provide simple categorization for your stories (e.g., Science Fiction, Romance, Mystery).

Managing Genres

1. Go to Reference Data > Genres
2. View all genres with their usage counts (how many stories use each genre)

To add a genre:

1. Click Add Genre
2. Enter the genre name, optional description, and optional parent genre (genres support up to 3 levels of nesting)
3. Click Create Genre

To edit a genre:

1. Click the genre name in the table to edit it inline
2. Press Enter or click away to save

To delete a genre:

1. Click the delete icon next to the genre
2. Confirm the deletion

warning

You cannot delete a genre that is assigned to stories or that has sub-genres. Remove the assignments or child genres first.

Using Genres

When creating or editing a story:

1. In the Genres section, click on available genres to add them
2. Select multiple genres if your story spans categories
3. Optionally set a Primary Genre to indicate the main category

Tags

Tags offer flexible, hierarchical labeling with custom colors. Use them for themes, content warnings, project status, or any custom categorization.

Tag Features

• Hierarchical structure: Create parent-child relationships (e.g., "Content Warnings > Violence > Graphic")
• Custom colors: Each tag has a color for visual identification
• Descriptions: Add optional descriptions to clarify tag usage

Managing Tags

1. Go to Reference Data > Tags
2. View tags in a tree structure showing parent-child relationships

To add a root tag:

1. Click Add Tag
2. Enter the tag name
3. Choose a color from the palette, and optionally add a description
4. Click Create Tag

To add a child tag:

1. Click the + icon next to an existing tag
2. Enter the child tag name
3. The parent is automatically set
4. Click Create Tag

To edit a tag:

1. Click the pencil icon next to the tag
2. Edit the name, description, color, or parent in the modal
3. Save your changes

To delete a tag:

1. Click the delete icon next to the tag
2. Confirm the deletion

warning

You cannot delete a tag that has child tags. Delete the children first, or move them to a different parent.

Tag Hierarchy Examples

Content organization:

Writing Status
├── Draft
├── In Revision
└── Ready to Submit

Content Warnings
├── Violence
│   ├── Mild
│   └── Graphic
├── Language
└── Adult Themes

Project tracking:

Projects
├── Novel 2025
├── Short Story Collection
└── Magazine Submissions

Using Tags

When creating or editing a story:

1. In the Tags section, click on available tags to add them
2. Tags display with their custom colors
3. Add multiple tags as needed

Series

Series group related publications or stories together. Use them for book series, story collections, or anthology lines.

Series Types

• Story: Groups interconnected stories (e.g., a short story series sharing characters)
• Anthology: Groups related publications (e.g., annual "Best Of" anthologies)

Managing Series

1. Go to Series in the main navigation
2. Toggle between Gallery and Table view modes

To create a series:

1. Click Add Series
2. Enter the series name and optional description
3. Select the type (Story or Anthology)
4. Click Create Series

You can add a cover image while creating the series, or add it later from the series detail page.

To edit a series:

1. Click on a series to open its detail page
2. Click Edit to modify details
3. Update name, description, type, or cover image
4. Save your changes

To delete a series:

1. From the series list, select one or more series
2. Click Delete Selected
3. Confirm the deletion

Adding Content to Series

From the Series detail page:

1. Open the series
2. Click Add Publication or Add Stories
3. Select the item to add
4. Set the Series Order (supports decimals like 1, 1.5, 2 for flexible ordering)

From a Story or Publication:

1. Edit the story or publication
2. In the Series section, select the series
3. Set the order number

Series Statistics

Each series displays:

• Total story count
• Total publication count
• Number of authors
• First publication year

Publishers

Publishers track publishing houses, magazines, and markets you work with. This section covers the basics — see Publishers for the full guide, including logos, the detail page, and Single Publisher Mode.

Managing Publishers

1. Go to Publishers in the main navigation
2. View all publishers with their publication counts

To add a publisher:

1. Click Add Publisher
2. Enter the publisher name
3. Optionally add website URL and description
4. Click Create Publisher

You can add a logo after creating the publisher from its detail page.

To edit a publisher:

1. Click on a publisher to open its detail page
2. Click Edit to modify details
3. Update name, website, description, or logo
4. Save your changes

To delete a publisher:

1. From the publisher list, select one or more publishers
2. Click Delete Selected
3. Confirm the deletion

warning

You cannot delete a publisher that has publications. Reassign or delete the publications first.

Publisher Details

Each publisher page shows:

• Publisher name and logo
• Website link (opens in new tab)
• Description
• Statistics (total publications, stories, authors, publications by type)
• All publications by this publisher

Best Practices

Genres

• Keep genre names consistent and standard (e.g., "Science Fiction" not "Sci-Fi" and "SF")
• Use genres for broad categorization; use tags for specific themes
• Set primary genres to help with sorting and filtering

Tags

• Create a clear hierarchy that makes sense for your workflow
• Use colors consistently (e.g., all content warnings in red tones)
• Add descriptions to tags that might be ambiguous
• Don't over-tag; focus on tags that help you find and organize content

Series

• Use meaningful series names that identify the collection
• Keep order numbers sequential; use decimals for insertions
• Upload cover images for visual identification in gallery view

Publishers

• Include website URLs for quick reference
• Add descriptions noting submission guidelines, response times, or payment info
• Upload logos for visual recognition

Tips

Search across reference data: Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+/ (Windows/Linux) to search for any genre, tag, series, or publisher by name.

Bulk operations: Series and Publishers support bulk deletion. Select multiple items using checkboxes, then click Delete Selected.

Usage tracking: Genres and tags show usage counts, helping you identify unused items that can be cleaned up.