Today it’s easier than ever for an author to publish a book. Many choose to go the indie publishing route and bypass traditional publishing houses. And one of the most popular platforms for indie authors is Amazon, thanks to its global distribution channels and Kindle e-book service (via KDP Select). But what is Author Central on Amazon, and how can you learn to use it to publish your book? Read on to find out how easy it can be.
What Is Amazon Author Central?
Amazon Author Central, in short, is the central dashboard you will use when self-publishing with Amazon. Consider it your personal feature page or author profile on Amazon’s site. A potential reader can learn all about you here and access all your published books for purchase.
They can also see reviews written about your book(s), so your page can be considered a great source of credible information for potential buyers.
From this hub, you’ll be able to manage your Author Page, track information on your book sales, and collect and publish reviews of your book.
Who should sign up for Amazon Author Central?
Basically, anyone who is publishing through Amazon should sign up for an Amazon Author Central account! Do you want customers to find you and learn about who you are and why they should buy your book? Then your Amazon Author Central account and author profile are key tools at your disposal to help drive book sales.
Why is Amazon Author Central so important for authors?
Your Author Central page is important because it has so many different features you can use to leverage your book sales and book marketing. Once you create your Amazon Author Page and add your author bio, you can add in all the books you’ve written and published.
Additionally, you can add to your author profile by managing your biography, posting photos and videos, and adding in editorial reviews. A potential reader will be able to instantly access links to buy hard copies of your book, as well as the Kindle e-book versions.
Not to mention, you can use Amazon’s tools on your Amazon Author Central account to check your sales rankings and any reviews that buyers are posting.
Essentially, your Amazon Author Central page is your central repository for all things regarding your self-publishing career.
How does Author Central work?
Amazon Author Central is linked directly to your Amazon KDP account. That means that you can pull any books you’ve written and published via KDP into a listing on your Author Central page.
By keeping everything linked within Amazon’s platform, Author Central becomes a primary tool for authors to keep all of their books organized, engage with potential readers, and leverage sales.
How to join Amazon Author Central
To join Amazon Author Central, there are a few steps you’ll need to follow. The good news is once it’s done, anything you publish in the future can go right onto your Author Central page, and you can manage all your books from one place.
The most important thing to note is that you must have published at least one book via KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) to create an Author Central account.
Where can you go to join Amazon Author Central?
Self-published authors can go to their KDP page and log in with their Amazon account or create a new account. Go to “Author Central.” Select the marketplace (domain) where you’d like to publish your book. Then, click “Manage author page” to get to Author Central.
From there, search for your book title in order to get started.
What do you need to join Amazon Author Central?
You’ll need your KDP account information and information on the book(s) you’ve already published to join. If you have the ISBN of your book(s), that may be helpful too.
What are the steps to joining Amazon Author Central?
As mentioned, you can log into an Amazon Author Central account via KDP. Or, if you have an Amazon account, you can go directly to //author.amazon.com (in the United States).
The first thing the site will prompt you to do is to agree to Amazon’s terms and conditions. Then you can enter the names or ISBNs of previous books you’ve published to start creating your page. Amazon will likely use a two-step verification process to confirm your identity. You’ll have to be patient during this process—it can take up to a week!
In the meantime, you can work on filling out your author information page, but nothing will go live until your account is confirmed by Amazon.
How to find your Author Page on Author Central
Once your Author Central page is set up, the good news is it’s pretty easy to find. Just search for the name of your book on Amazon, and go the book’s page. Then click on your name.
Why is it important to be able to find your Author Page on Author Central?
If you want to become a successful indie author, you can’t leave any sales on the table. You definitely want potential readers and buyers to find your book(s). That’s why it’s so important to be able to find your Author Page easily on Author Central.
Your Author Page URL will be where all your published books are listed so readers can quickly find them all in one place. If they like one book, maybe they’ll want to try another…or even buy them all at once!
As you work on your book’s marketing plan, it’s important for readers to learn who you are and engage with you. Having a central page like your Author Central profile makes it convenient for readers to find you and learn about your work.
What do you need to find your Author Page on Author Central?
It’s pretty simple to find your Author Page on Amazon Author Central. If you’re logged onto the Author Central site, go to “Home.” Then, under the “Author Page” section, click which country’s listings you want to see. Then click the “Go” button. That’s it!
How can you direct others to your Author Page on Author Central?
To grow a successful following, you need to encourage others to visit your Author Page as much as you can. Social media is a great tool for this. You can add links into your social posts directing people to visit your Amazon site and promote your latest work. If you have your own website, be sure to promote your Author Page prominently there too.
Another good practice is to include a link to your Author Page URL in your email signature. You can also encourage visitors to your Author Central page to use Amazon’s “Follow” button so that they’ll be automatically alerted whenever you add a new book to your site. You can even create mailing lists to keep readers in the know about your upcoming plans and new books.
Tips to manage your Amazon Author Central account
Keeping your Amazon Author Central account up to date is important to maintain momentum in book sales. From managing your biography to updating photos and adding more books to your Amazon Author Page, you can best manage your author account in multiple ways.
What information should be available on your Amazon Author Central account?
There are a few key elements that should be readily available on your Amazon Author Central account to target potential readers.
- Your biography. An engaging author bio will help readers get to know you and learn about why you write your books.
- Photos and videos. Adding updated images and book trailers to your Author Central profile makes you easily identifiable and gives readers a sneak peek into your work.
- A blog feed. If you have one, you can update it instantly on your Amazon Author Central page.
- All your existing books. Pulling these from your KDP account gives readers access to your entire library of published material.
- Events and promotions. You can host these as part of your book marketing budget.
- Social media information. This, of course, refers to your Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.
- Reviews of your books. A great editorial review can go a long way in convincing a new reader to buy your book!
When should you have professional help with your Amazon Author Central account?
It may be easy enough to get your Author Central page set up. But sometimes, due to lack of time or expertise, managing the page can get away from you.
If you want to drive a larger marketing plan, it may be a good idea to get some professional help. That way, you can use your Amazon Author Central account to the fullest extent and keep it optimized at all times.
You can grow a following in countries outside the United States too. Just set up Author Central pages in other countries’ Amazon domains. This is a good area to engage some professional help as well. If you need translation services or help managing multiple pages, it may be time to beef up your support team. There are many book editing services out there that can assist you with your Amazon listings.
How often should you update your Amazon Author Central account?
Your Author Central account is definitely something you’ll want to keep up to date. Any time you have new books published, you should log in to make sure the book is listed and properly promoted.
Of course, when you have new photos or videos available, it’s a good idea to update them on your Author Central page. You should also add any new editorial reviews to your page, especially if they’re well written and from reputable sources. You may want to respond to the reviews, as well, to build engagement with your readers.
Get your book on Amazon today with Elite Authors.
So there you have it! Author Central on Amazon is a great central site for you to use to manage your published books and grow a following of loyal readers.
If you still need some help getting started, no worries. There are plenty of resources out there to assist you. From helping you set up a KDP account to adding new books to your Amazon Author Page, a full-service agency like Elite Authors can help.
Elite Authors offers a full staff to aid with your book publishing needs, with a particular focus on helping authors self-publish on Amazon. Reach out for a free quote today!