Author Tools: Amazon

Okay, a quick blog post for today. Did you know you can take advantage of the author pages on Amazon.com?

https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/landing

You can set up your bio, link multiple pen names into one account, edit book info (great if your back copy blurb is one mashed paragraph as sometimes happens), add pictures, and link your blog RSS feed so it shows up on your author page automagically. You can also easily access customer reviews, see your sales rankings, and more.

And don't forget product tagging. You should be tagging ALL your books with the appropriate (key word there, no pun intended) tags. For example, if your book is a steamy menage about cowboys, then you definitely want to tag with your pen name(s), erotica, erotic romance, cowboy erotica, things like that.

Do NOT tag with generic tags trying to get more hits. It won't work. The more specific the tags, the better. The more people who agree with a tag, the higher up in the ranks it will travel.

And play with tags -- you can have discussions set up by topic. For example, click on your pen name tag and voila, you'll see where you can start discussions. (Or, hopefully, fans will.)

Remember, do NOT spam Amazon discussion forums with pleas to buy and review your book. That will get you boycotted by people (NOT what you want to happen). Participate as a fellow reader and recommend books that aren't yours. If a discussion is applicable to your book, then by all means (if that forum doesn't frown on self-promotion) mention your book.

Do NOT under any circumstances mention your book if it has little to do with the discussion! I cannot emphasize that enough!

This free set of tools is invaluable. Don't overlook it!