Book tabs! I remember when I first saw a book with colorful tabs, my instant reaction was: I NEED THAT.
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But it seems people didn’t want to share their secret to book tabbing… the tutorials and how-to guides were incomplete or showed only the final result (beautiful, by the way).
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So, for me, it was trial and error until I mastered the book tabbing art, hehe. And now I’m pretty comfortable with my method. I love how my books look on the shelf with tabs, and best of all: my tab system is useful! š
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So here it is, for all of you, my ultra mega-complete tutorial on book tabs!!
Hope you enjoy it!!
Table of Contents
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What are book tabs for?
Book tabs are essentially annotations used to highlight important parts in a book. There are several ways to annotate a book (such as underlining sentences, using highlighters). Sticky tabs are the most popular method and have several benefits:
- You refrain from writing in your book; it remains unmarked
- You can remove book tabs at any time.
- Book tabs are aesthetic. š
- Using different colors for book tabs is helpful to highlight different aspects in books (plot twists, worldbuilding, spicy scenes, etc.).
Should I annotate my books?
It depends on what type of reader you are.
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I find it very helpful to annotate what Iām reading, whether it’s on my Kindle, where I always highlight and add notes, or in a physical book. It aids me in future reference.
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I love to tab my favourite quotes and intense moments between the love interest and the female character. When I reread the book, it’s helpful to know where the juicy parts are. And last but not least, books look beautiful with my tabbing method!
What are the disadvantages of annotating?
It can be time-consuming or impractical if you tend to read outside your house (for example, on public transport). I’ve managed to tab my books while reading on a plane, but there are places where it can turn out to be a difficult task (like on the beach, for example, XD).
How I tab my books
Step 1: Picking the correct materials
Book tabs
Choosing the right tabs and markers is essential for an effective tabbing process. I’ve tried countless tabs before and I’m lucky enough to have found a seller who offers the BEST BOOK TABS on Amazon. I currently only use this brand, and it has given me the best results.
Ink pens
For writing your tabs,Ā My favourite brand is Paper Mate. Theyāre smooth and donāt stain the tabs or my books.
Markers
For sticky notes, I exclusively use Sharpies. They are durable and come in beautiful colors. The pastel Sharpies are aesthetically pleasing and my favourites
Transparent sticky notes
For writing longer notes inside books, if you donāt want to mark your books, these notes are the best solution for you. Theyāre transparent and work great withĀ markers! A must-have!!.
Step 2: Organize your book tabs by colour
Morandi Book Tabs come with a very useful plastic ruler, but the colors are all mixed up.
First things first, rearrange all your tabs into palettes (believe me, this will save you time later!). Shades of pinks, blues, and so on should be grouped together.
It should look like this:
Step 3: Picking the correct tab colour palette for your book
In this example, I will be using the special edition of Kingdom of the Wicked, which has a beautiful pink color.Ā
Take a picture of the cover of the book you choose to tab and go to Google. Search for “canva palette.”
Click the link and you will be asked to upload a picture to generate a color palette.
Done! Now we have our color palette for the tabs to match the cover. I stick to just 4 colors for tabbing my books, but you can add more shades while maintaining the same palette if you need more tabs.
Step 4: Picking themes for book tabs
Now it’s time to define our themes for the tabs.
You can follow my tab system or make your own! This system is the one that worked best for me. If you want to know more about different tab systems, jump to this part of the post.
My Proven and Tested Book Tab Method
My method is entirely character-driven.
I use only 4 tabs, focusing on tabbing important parts that always relate to the main characters.
- 1 Tab for the FMC (Female Main Character): All quotes or passages that revolve around the main female protagonist.
- MMC tab (Male Main Character): The tab for the main male character, usually the love interest.
- 3 Tab: This tab remains empty and depends on the book. It could be reserved for another love interest (in case of a love triangle) or significant plot twists.
- 4 tab: Reserved for quotes that I really like and want to keep for later.
I’ve found that it’s not necessary to add a tab specifically for spicy or romantic scenes. I include them in the corresponding character’s tab (FMC or MMC). If the banter or romantic scene is initiated by the MMC, I add it to his tab; if, on the contrary, the FMC declares her love for the MMC, I add it to the FMC tab.
After writing the guide tabs down, add the tabs to a preferred page at the beginning or end of your book. You can paste the tabs onto the endpapers or the flyleaf.
Don’t forget this step! Sometimes, I was lazy and skipped this, only to find myself mixing up the colors when tabbing the book. T_T
Step 5: Time to tab your book!
The fun begins! Now it’s time to tab your book. I’ll show you the method I use, which, for me, has yielded the best results. It is aesthetically pleasant and practical for future references.
So, first, an example:
This is how NOT to tab your books: ( click images to enlarge)
See how the sticky tabs are way out of the pages? It doesn’t look good AND is impractical. When tabs stick out like this, they overlap each other, and finding the correct one when you want to go to a specific tab is almost impossible.
My proven and tested book tab placement method
This is how I like to tab my books. The sticky note is positioned near the page edge, only slightly surpassing it. Placing the tab directly at the edge works too, but I’ve found that leaving it 2mm outside doesn’t hurt the overall view and is better for reaching the tab when going back to the book.
You might think that with this method, the tabs will be almost invisible, but believe me, they’re not. They look amazing and are easily reachable.
Another photo for comparison and why my preferred method works better:
Voila! Aesthetically pleasing to the eye, and you can reach the reference tabs easily without them being overlapped.
Last step: Transparent sticky notes ( optional)
Ā If you don’t want to write on your book, these notes are a must. You can use markers to add some colour. These pastels are beautiful and give your notes a lovely touch. ( click images to enlarge)
What is the best pen to write on sticky notes
As mentioned in the materials list, I exclusively use this pen for writing on my tabs.
Gel pens prove to be the most effective on the sticky tabs I use as they don’t leave stains, allowing for clear writing. Additionally, when using transparent sticky notes, I prefer Pastel Sharpies to add a touch of color and an aesthetic look.
What do different colored book tabs mean?
As mentioned in Step 4 of my Tab method, I employ a character-driven method for tabbing my books:
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- 1 tab for the FMC: All quotes or passages that revolve around the main female protagonist.
- MMC tab: The tab for the main male character, usually the love interest.
- 3 tab: Empty. Depends on the book; this tab could represent another love interest (in case of a love triangle) or major plot twists.
- 4 tab: Quotes. Quotations that I really like and want to keep for later.
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I’ve found that it’s not necessary to add a tab specifically for spicy or romantic scenes. I include them in the corresponding character’s tab (FMC or MMC). If the banter or romantic scene is initiated by the MMC, I add it to his tab; if, on the contrary, the FMC declares her love for the MMC, I add it to the FMC tab.
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Other methods may use more tabs (you can use more shades of the same palette to add more coloured tabsādon’t worry!). Here are some additional points I’ve seen readers add to their tabs:
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- Worldbuilding: Anything related to how the fantasy world is built, including landscapes, buildings, creatures, etc.
- Magic system: For heavily fantasy books where the magic system is complicated (e.g., Brandon Sanderson’s works).
- Spicy scenes: As mentioned earlier, annotating spicy scenes in the corresponding FMC or MMC tab, although some people prefer to have a dedicated tab for this.
- Funny scenes: This can include banter or just funny quotes.
- Tabs for secondary characters: If the world is divided into factions or there are many secondary characters (for example, in Crescent City), you can use tabs for the most important ones.
Book tabs: Final thoughts
Book tabbing is an art. But you have to decide if you enjoy reading while annotating.
If you’re not sure, try tabbing a book you’re planning to reread to see if you enjoy the process (and to get used to putting tabs in the correct place as well, hehe).
Don’t worry if your first attempts don’t look beautiful to the eye; I’ve been there as well!!. By the second book and following my tips, you’ll be an expert on book tabbing!!!
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