In this digital age, establishing a foothold as an author worth reading requires a strong online presence. As with editing and many other aspects of a book’s production, where and how you choose to build that presence is subjective, but it’s a good idea to take as many options as you can manage to give your message and your work the widest possible audience.
One such platform to consider is Amazon’s Author Central. Author Central allows you to create a page on which your books and other media will appear to give Amazon shoppers a chance to get to know you and your work. If you’re using Kindle Direct Publishing to publish your book, you’ll need an Author Central page if you want to display your author bio on your book’s sales page.
Several of our authors have taken advantage of Author Central’s features to market their books, and themselves, more fully on Amazon. Even William Shakespeare has an Author Page through Author Central! An Author Central Author Page should include:
Your author bio. Your readers will often find this on your author website and in the backmatter of your book. But for some Amazon readers, it’s possible this is the first bio of yours they’ll see.
Professional photos of yourself. As wonderful as you might look in all your selfies, remember that Author Central is a marketing tool. Having professional photos of yourself lends a certain professionalism to any marketing page, so Author Central is a great place to use such images.
All of your books. If you have more than one book available, let the Amazon reader know. If a title is available on Amazon, it can appear on your Author Page.
Your website and social media info. Link your Author Central page to your author website and social media, and provide links to these on Author Central. The goal is to build a cohesive web presence.
Your blog posts. Author Central allows you to link a blog post feed to your Author page. These posts will appear in a feed under “Author Updates” on your Author page, along with your Twitter feed and any media you post to other sites.
Frequent updates about events. Are you hosting a book signing? Are you launching another new book? If you want your readers to be involved in these events, keep them updated on Author Central! Even if your reader’s primary method of keeping track of your events isn’t your Amazon author page, keeping this page updated lets your potential readers know you’re active and interested in involving them with your work.
All of the above can be added to an Author Central page once you sign up and will take a few days to appear. Once your content is approved by the publisher (which, if you’re an indie author, is probably you) it will appear on your Author Page.
If you need help with your Author Central page, we can point you in a good direction.
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