Amazon … You Can Love It – Hate It … But You Need to Use It!
When you have your book cover, create an Amazon.com/Advantage account along with your Author Centralaccount on Amazon. Set your Author Central account up at AuthorCentral.Amazon.com.
*Note – you need to have at least one book for sale through Amazon in order to set up an Author Central account.
Start loading info about your book, along with any endorsements received (and about you within the Author Central account).This is another gateway to gather orders. Some of my clients have actually gathered over 1,000 pre-orders from Amazon before the book was available.
Author Central is like a secret sauce. It’s the single, fastest way to get a “live” person from Amazon to talk to. If you have a critical question, a snafu of some sort, even wonder if you are in the right category, you are able to go to your Author Central account, click on the “Connect/Talk” or whatever they call the icon at the moment on your page. Within seconds, your phone rings and your get help. I’m amazed at the speed of the call and the helpfulness on the other end.
Summing Up: your benefits of setting up an Author Central Account on Amazon include:
1. You can speak with a LIVE PERSON at Amazon! How long does it take to connect with someone—is five seconds fast enough?
2. A live person can do magic—help you with getting the “right” categories for your book listing; make sure you are in the right positioning if you are doing a best sellers push; get things fixed when they go missing from your account; get other books and offerings connected to your account that should be and aren’t. Just ask, they will tell you what they can do and can’t do.
3. It is free to set up an Author Central Account.
4. You have more “control” over the content you submit for your book description, including from the author, from the inside flap, from the back cover, etc.
5. You can add your blog feed to your Author Central Account.
6. You can connect your Twitter account to your Author Central Account.
7. You can upload videos and images to your Author Central Account. Great opportunity to share your book teaser video!
Tip: Most likely, Amazon is going to be the biggest outlet, outside of you, for your book. Take advantage of it.
Judith Briles is a book publishing expert and coach. She empowers authors and is the Founder of Author U, a 
membership organization created for the serious author who wants to be seriously successful. She’s been writing about and conducting workshops on publishing since the 80s. Judith is the author of 34 books including Author YOU: Creating and Building Your Author and Book Platforms (ForeWord IndieFab Book of the Year), Snappy Sassy Salty: Wise Words for Authors and Writers and a speaker at publishing conferences. Book #34 was published this summer: The CrowdFunding Guide for Authors & Writers. Get your copy.
Become part of her inner circle by joining the Author’s Ark and exclusive monthly webinar and coaching event. Each summer, she holds Judith Briles Book Publishing Unplugged, a three day intensive limited to a small group of authors who want to be seriously successful. In 2016, the dates are June 23-25th. Her audio and workbook series, Creating Your Book and Author Platform is now available. Join Judith live on Thursdays at 6 p.m. EST for Author U – Your Guide to Book Publishing on the Toginet Network at bit.ly/PublishingShow .
Follow @AuthorU and @MyBookShepherd on Twitter and do a “Like” at AuthorU and Judith Briles – TheBookShepherd on Facebook. If you want to create a book that has no regrets, contact Judith at Judith@Briles.com.
Author U is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to the author who wants to be seriously successful. Monthly education programs delivered face-to-face and online, The Author Resource ezine, BookCamps and the annual Author U Extravaganza are tools designed for authors pre, during and post publishing of their books. Join AuthorU.org today.
If you are looking for FREE author and book coaching … call in to Judith’s Author Monday Mornings at NOON Eastern each Monday. The number is 218-632-9854; Access Code 1239874444 … have your questions ready–there’s a full hour to ask and listen.