7 Author Central Tips To Publish A Book On Amazon

With over 650 million books available worldwide, it’s no surprise that Amazon has become the go-to platform for authors to publish and sell their books. However, simply listing your book on Amazon is not enough. To maximize discoverability and sales, authors need to strategically leverage Amazon’s Author Central program.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll dive deep into the key features of Author Central and how you as a self-published author can use them to boost your book's performance. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to publish a book on Amazon, these tips will help refine your author presence. Let’s get started!

Setting Up Your Author Central Account

The first step is to create your Author Central account, which serves as the hub for managing your books on Amazon. Here’s how to get set up:

• Go to Author Central and sign up. You’ll need to enter your name, email address and password.
• Search for your name and any existing book listings. Link them to your new account.
• Complete your author profile with a bio, headshot and social media links. This helps readers learn about you.

A complete profile adds credibility and gives readers confidence in you as an author. Take the time to provide detailed information highlighting your background and achievements. If you're looking to publish a book on Amazon, a robust author profile is key to establishing your authority.

Managing Your Book Details

Once your account is set up, you can start adding new titles and managing the vital details for each book.

• Upload your cover image in a high-resolution format for maximum impact.
• Craft a compelling book description that draws readers in. Focus on themes, characters, and key details.
• Enter all things such as category, keywords, and publication date accurately so your book can be discovered.
• Update any changes to new editions or series for existing book listings. This helps avoid confusing readers.

Thorough and organized book details ensure your titles stand out among the millions of options on Amazon.

Building an Engaging Author Page

Your Amazon Author Page acts as your customizable hub that readers can visit to explore your body of work. Make sure yours reflects your personal brand. If you are aiming to publish a book on Amazon, optimizing this page is important for engaging readers and standing out.

• Select a profile photo, cover image, and author description that represent your vision and voice.
• Showcase your full bibliography by adding your books, including print, ebooks, audiobooks, and translations.
• Share multimedia content like book trailers, interviews, podcasts or speeches to offer extra insight.
• Engage readers by sharing your social media handles, website, blog and events listing.

Much like your website, optimize your Author Page for your target readers. The easier you make it for visitors to learn about you and your work, the more likely they'll buy your books.

Leveraging Marketing Features

Discover powerful marketing options on Author Central to expand your audience and drive book sales.

• Monitor your Amazon Author Rank, which measures how your books are selling compared to all authors on Amazon.
• Run Countdown Deals or Free Book Promotions to boost visibility and get more readers.
• Analyze customer reviews and editorial reviews to refine your book details and metadata.
• Identify your best performing categories and keywords to maximize exposure in relevant spots.

Regularly experiment with different marketing features and track results over time. This will reveal what moves the needle for your books. When looking to publish a book on Amazon, leveraging these built-in marketing tools can provide a real boost in visibility and sales.

Expanding Your Reach with Kindle Direct Publishing

To publish your ebooks and paperbacks on Amazon, you’ll need to set up a Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) account. This fully integrates with your Author Central profile for a streamlined process.

• Manage your ebook and paperback listings seamlessly from one dashboard. Changes automatically sync.
• Opt into KDP Select to enroll in Kindle Unlimited and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library for expanded reach.
• Create targeted promotions by adjusting pricing, enabling pre-orders, or scheduling ad campaigns.

KDP provides the tools to make your books available to Amazon’s global audience. Coordinate initiatives between the two accounts to maximize visibility.

Tracking Performance

The reporting and analytics within Author Central provide incredible intel to help shape your strategy.

• Keep tabs on your book sales, including units sold, revenues, returns and refunds.
• Segment reviews and ratings by marketplace, language and time period for targeted insights.
• Identify trends in your daily, monthly and yearly author rank to spot opportunities.
• Compare how contributing to Kindle Unlimited or Kindle Owners Lending Library impacts your readership and royalties.

Regularly analyzing your Author Central data will reveal how it is beneficial for your books. Use these insights to refine your approach.

Conclusion

By now it’s clear that Amazon’s Author Central platform is invaluable for self-published authors. The tools, marketing capabilities, and data insights offer immense potential to reach more readers and sell more books.

While it may take some time investment up front, setting up your optimized Author Central presence will pay dividends in the long run. Not only will it expand your visibility within the Amazon ecosystem, but it will help drive overall book sales across all channels. This is especially important if you are aiming to publish a book on Amazon, as Author Central will be important for maximizing its performance.

Looking for assistance optimizing your book presence on Amazon? Hire Book Writing Cube - Our team of experts can help set up and manage your Author Central account and book listings to maximize exposure and book sales.