Amazon’s AuthorCentral is the gold standard when it comes to creating and managing an author presence on a third-party website. In fact, some budget-conscious authors could even use it as their primary author presence on the Internet (although not recommended as an author website substitute). Consider... Branded website link to take someone to your page: Check. Display bio and contact information: Check. Display photos and videos: Check. Promote appearances and events: Check. … [Read more...]
An Interview with Book Publicist Julia Drake
One of the most popular blog posts on AuthorImprints is this interview with book publicist Julia Drake of Wildbound PR. The questions Julia answers were asked by attendees at a book marketing panel discussion I moderated for the Independent Writers of Southern California (IWOSC). Even though the event took place in 2012, the questions are timeless and Julia’s responses have been updated and contemporized for the 2017 book marketing landscape. More about Julia follows the interview. Q: Should … [Read more...]
Advertising Kindle eBooks On Amazon
One of the more interesting KDP Select benefits Amazon offers is the ability to advertise a Kindle eBook on Amazon.com. Like the other KDP Select benefits, notably Free Book Promotion and Kindle Countdown Deal—for that matter any book marketing benefit—this won’t by itself guarantee sales. But it is marketing tool that is relatively cheap to use. To repeat: you must participate in the 90-day exclusive KDP Select program to use it. What is advertising for KDP Select? It is similar to those … [Read more...]
10 Things Author-Publishers Should Know About the Amazon Advantage Changes
Amazon has rolled out a makeover for their successful book consignment program, Amazon Advantage. The old annual membership fee—$29.95—is now $99 per publisher, per year, billable in May (beginning 2016). Like the old fee, this is deducted from sales or can be paid by check. Understandably, more than tripling the fee raises the questions: Is it worth it? Are their alternatives? This presents a dilemma for publishers with one or even a handful of books. As every indie publisher knows, … [Read more...]
2016 BISAC Subject Codes and Amazon Book and Kindle Browse Categories
We all know by now that Amazon browse categories are fundamentally important to selling books, and to attaining coveted best-seller status for our books. However, these browse categories can and do change each year, and we need to be aware that there are multiple category lists. This article will help you understand the recent major changes and provide guidance for monitoring and changing categories. Summary advice: visit each store or distributor that sells your books and make sure they are in … [Read more...]
A Simple Author Metadata Audit in Less Than 30 Minutes
Earlier this month I conducted an author metadata audit workshop and the homework was a 30-minute audit. The objective was to help authors understand the role of metadata in selling books by showing how their online public information is used by search engines. This posts explains the importance of metadata and outlines the steps you can follow to do a simple 30-minute audit. It concludes with meeting notes that share additional insights about how you can build a stronger online presence by … [Read more...]
How to Print Advance Reader Copy (ARC) Books Using CreateSpace
One of the most effective marketing tools available to self-publishers is the ARC, or Advance Reader Copy. Sometimes referred to as an advance review copy, galleys, or reader’s edition (ARE), the ARC is nothing more than a free copy of your book that you share with potential reviewers in advance of the publication date. In this article I want to talk about timing, how to format your book, and share my experiences using CreateSpace to produce ARCs for our publishing clients. (Update: I … [Read more...]
How Changes to Amazon’s KDP Select and Review Rankings Impact Authors
Here is how some authors have been gaming self-publishing on Amazon: Write a bunch of short books and get a bunch of friends (or paid reviewers) to give you 5 stars. Add your books to KDP Select—the program that pays authors every time a book is borrowed—and make some money. This will be a strategy of the past if the latest changes Amazon is implementing have their intended impact. While these two changes are not tied together, they do form a solid foundation for gaming two hugely popular … [Read more...]
Optimizing Print Book Metadata Options for CreateSpace, IngramSpark and Advantage
The 3 most common ways new indie publishers distribute print books are online via Amazon Advantage, Amazon CreateSpace and IngramSpark. The last two are POD (print-on-demand) printers. Advantage is Amazon’s consignment program that you can use to sell books printed by any printer. My use of the word distribute in this case refers to making your book available for purchase by readers from a retail store like Amazon.com, and by physical bookstores, who might order your book from their … [Read more...]
Are book websites a waste of money, or smart marketing?
There are three kinds of websites an indie author can have: an author website, book websites and a website for their publishing company, or imprint. Deciding what to do depends on your goals, budget and the stage of your publishing efforts. (I discuss these options in more depth in this article: How Many Websites Does a Hybrid Author Need?) This post discusses book websites and how to use and manage book domain names. More specifically, how and when to create book websites, how long you need … [Read more...]
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