Amazon.com: Use the Monster Part 1

Whether you think Amazon.com is too big for its own good, or not, doesn’t matter. As Indie authors, we’re all on it, and we all need it. One thing Amazon does do well is providing authors with tools to get the word out about their work(s). You’ve got to give them that.

But not all authors are taking advantage of the free tools offered by Amazon.com. Today, we’re going to start with Amazon Author Central pages – because this is the FIRST thing an author should do.

One way Amazon makes Author Central pages convenient is that you don’t need to set up a special author account. You can use your existing customer account log-in (if you’re already a customer). If you’re not, you can set up an account. This account is NOT linked to your Kindle Direct or Createspace accounts, if you have those. This is completely separate.

Before I show you how to claim and set up your author page, you’d probably like to know why you need one. #1 – they’re free. It’s like having your own multi-media website from which people can also buy your books. #2 – you can post your biography, video trailers and even rss feeds from your blog(s) and twitter there. #3 – you can post upcoming events, signings, appearances, etc. #4 – potential readers can post questions directly to you in the “discussions” forum. And lastly #5 – All your books will be linked to one page where people can see everything: how many books, how many reviews, and the cost. Here’s a screen shot of my Amazon.com Author Central page to give you an idea (click on it to enlarge):

Amazon Author CentralThat’s a lot of functionality for free, isn’t it? So what are you waiting for?

If you already have a book listed with Amazon, here’s what you do. Go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com/. On the right hand side of the screen, it says “New to Author Central?” And under that is a yellow button which reads “Join Now”. Click on that.

On the next screen, if you’re already an Amazon.com customer, fill in your log-in information there and sign in. (If you don’t already have an account, type in your email address, then click “no” and follow the instructions from there.) You’ll be asked to accept their terms etc., etc. You know what to do. Next, fill in how your author name appears on your book(s) so they can match you up. They’ll ask you to confirm your identity. Continue to follow the instructions from there.

Now there are lots of things you can do with your Author Central page. You can update your page to include multimedia, blog feeds, a Twitter feed, or events, you can edit your list of books, and you can add more books when they become available. Their instructions are very user friendly.

Author Central Dashboard
Author Central Dashboard

If you click “profile” on the blue bar in your Author Central dashboard, it will bring up a screen with everything you need to customize your page. It even gives you the opportunity to customize a shortcut url for your Author Central page.  Click on the screenshot to the right to enlarge it.

So there you have it. Set up your Author Central page and share it!

We’ll talk about Amazon Affiliates in installment #2.

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K.S. Brooks is an award-winning author and photographer, and Co-Administrator of Indies Unlimited. For more information, please see the IU Bio page and her web site: http://www.ksbrooks.com/[subscribe2]

 

Author: K.S. Brooks

K.S. Brooks is an award-winning novelist, photographer, and photo-journalist, author of over 30 titles, and executive director and administrator of Indies Unlimited. Brooks is currently a photo-journalist and chief copy editor for two NE Washington newspapers.  She teaches self-publishing and writing topics for the Community Colleges of Spokane, and served on the Indie Author Day advisory board. For more about K.S. Brooks, visit her website and her Amazon author page.

20 thoughts on “Amazon.com: Use the Monster Part 1”

  1. Wow, Kat. This is the best bit of info. Another thing to learn to use. Just what I need – another distraction from writing – sigh. lol

    Seriously though, this truly is what I need. Thank you.

    1. The great thing about Author Central is you can go at your own pace and populate it little by little. So take your time Yvonne…and just do what you can when you can. I'm glad this was helpful!

      🙂

  2. I suppose the Author Central thing is good thing … and am betting that there are folks who know how to work it … but I'm not one. So far, my page on Author Central is just another dead-end Internet alley that no one goes down.

  4. Thank you so much for this post, it was so helpful! It only took me a minute to get my page set up and I've already got a ton of stuff added. 🙂

    1. Boyd, Amazon gives you pretty good instructions…just log in to your Author Central page and click on the blue profile tab. In that new screen, in the middle of the page, you should see in orange "Blogs." To the right of that, click "Add Blog". Now, this screen will show you how to determine the RSS feed for your blog. See bullet point #2 for what you're asking. https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/help?topicID=…

  8. Got 'er done. Thanks Kat. It was easier than I anticipated- as usual. 🙂 But how, other than sending the link, as I did, to existing contacts, do strangers find it? Or is that your next installment?

    1. Hey Yvonne, awesome! Glad to hear it. You can put the amazon.com author central link on anything and everything – you can tweet it, like it, etc., etc. It's a great place t send people who want to see everything in one place – your bio, your books, trailers, etc. If I think someone is more likely to make a purchase I always give the author central link instead of my website. that way they're only one click away from buying instead of having to look through a website. 🙂

      1. Thanks again, Kat. I had sent the link to all I could. And sending it to new contacts first instead of my website is a great idea. But if someone runs across my books just browsing through amazon, for instance, how do they find the author page from there? I tried with another author but I seem to be missing something. I know she has one.

        1. If you pull up an author's book on amazon, their name as author should be under the title. If they have an author page, you should be able to click on a drop down arrow next to the name, and you'll have the option of visiting their author page. Here, try it on my novel, Night Undone: http://www.amazon.com/Night-Undone-Agent-Cover-eb…. See the drop down arrow next to my name? That's how you get there. 🙂

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