diff --git a/README.rst b/README.rst
index 47711b7..5a6bcd9 100644
--- a/README.rst
+++ b/README.rst
@@ -49,6 +49,16 @@ And the correct metadata::
 
 Configuration options can be specified with Meta data at the top of the file. These include:
 
+======    ======
+Option    Notes
+======    ======
+fit       Default fit of the bookmark. Can be overwritten per bookmark. See `Wiki <https://github.com/captn3m0/pystitcher/wiki/Zoom-Levels>`_ for more details.
+author 	  PDF Author
+keywords  PDF Keywords
+subject   PDF Subject
+title     PDF Title. If left unspecified, first Heading (h1) in the document is used.
+existing_bookmarks    What to do with existing bookmarks in individual files. Options are ``keep``, ``flatten``, and ``remove``. See `Wiki <https://github.com/captn3m0/pystitcher/wiki/Existing-Bookmarks>`_ for more details.
+
 .. _pyscaffold-notes:
 
 Note
diff --git a/src/pystitcher/stitcher.py b/src/pystitcher/stitcher.py
index aa12ab1..145caa5 100644
--- a/src/pystitcher/stitcher.py
+++ b/src/pystitcher/stitcher.py
@@ -97,7 +97,8 @@ class Stitcher:
             self.bookmarks.append(b)
 
     def _existingBookmarkConfig(self):
-        return self._getAttribute('existing_bookmarks')
+        EXISTING_BOOKMARKS_DEFAULT = 'remove'
+        return self._getAttribute('existing_bookmarks', EXISTING_BOOKMARKS_DEFAULT)
 
     def _removeExistingBookmarks(self):
         return (self._existingBookmarkConfig() == 'remove')