HOW TO OPTIMISE YOUR AMAZON AUTHOR CENTRAL PAGE
What is Author Central?
When you publish a book on the Amazon KDP platform you can have your name hyperlinked direct to an Author Central page which holds information about you, such as your biography, the books you have published and other credentials. It allows readers to get to know you and to follow you if they wish which means it can do wonders for your visibility and increase your readership.
The image below represents what I see each time I log in to my Home page.
Setting Up Your Page
Setting up an Author Central page is easy to do. Go to authorcentral.amazon.com and click ‘Join Now’. Use your KDP account to log in. The name you enter should be the one that is on the cover of your book. Claim your book/s and they will appear on your Author Central page. If they do not, then you will need to contact Amazon. Once your book is claimed, the your account will be activated. Verify your account and you’re on your way!
Amazon allows you three names on your account. For example, that could be your own name and two pen names.
Optimising Your Author Central Page
1. Start with a Sizzling Bio
Get started under the ‘Biography’ tab. You should mention your books, credentials and some fun facts like this example from Victoria Schwab:
#1 VICTORIA SCHWAB
Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including the acclaimed Shades of Magic series, This Savage Song, Our Dark Duet, City of Ghosts and Vicious. Her work has received critical acclaim and has been featured in the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, Washington Post, and more. When she’s not haunting Paris streets or trudging up English hillsides, she lives in Nashville and is usually tucked in the corner of a coffee shop, dreaming up monsters.
If this is your first book, then don’t worry. You won’t have achieved best-seller status or professional accolades just yet! All you need to add is a resumé about yourself and your self-publishing journey so far. Your bio can be altered at at any time in the future. If you have them set up, don’t forget to add your website, social media profiles and/or blogs to enable readers to find your presence outside Amazon.
Your bio should be at least 100 characters in length and once you’re happy with it, just click ‘Add Biography’ and boom! You’re there!
Here are some other bios from top authors:
#2 STEPHEN KING
Stephen King is the author of more than fifty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His first crime thriller featuring Bill Hodges, MR MERCEDES, won the Edgar Award for best novel and was shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger Award. Both MR MERCEDES and END OF WATCH received the Goodreads Choice Award for the Best Mystery and Thriller of 2014 and 2016 respectively.
King co-wrote the bestselling novel Sleeping Beauties with his son Owen King, and many of King’s books have been turned into celebrated films and television series including The Shawshank Redemption, Gerald’s Game and It.
King was the recipient of America’s prestigious 2014 National Medal of Arts and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for distinguished contribution to American Letters. In 2007 he also won the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. He lives with his wife Tabitha King in Maine.
#3 JAMES CLEAR
James Clear is a writer and speaker focused on habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. He is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits. The book has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than 50 languages.
Clear is a regular speaker at Fortune 500 companies and his work has been featured in places like Time magazine, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and on CBS This Morning. His popular “3-2-1” email newsletter is sent out each week to more than 1 million subscribers.
2. Add a professional photo
It’s time to upload that photo of yourself. Ensure that it’s a high quality, professionally produced profile There’s no need to limit yourself to just one photo – you can use up to eight! Some can be with you holding one of your books or attending literary events. Be creative! These additional photos don’t need to be of the same quality as your main photo but they still need to look good. Go to ‘Profile’ at the top of your Author Central dashboard and then scroll down and you’ll see ‘Photos and Videos’ on the right hand side.
3. Create a Shareable URL
This is available on your amazon.com page only.
You can create a URL that you can share on your website and social media platforms that will take your potential readers direct to your Author Central page. Surely that’s worth doing! On your Author Central dashboard, go to ‘Profile’ at the top of the page and then on the right hand side of the page, click on ‘Author Page URL’. When you access this page, it’ll give you the instructions to set up this useful link.
4. Add Your Blog Posts
This is available on your amazon.com page only.
Imagine how good it would be if you could connect to your readers with your latest blog posts via your Author Central page. Well, you can! Head over to ‘Profile’ at the top of your dashboard and over to your right, go to ‘Manage blog feeds’. When you ‘Add Feed’, this is not your website URL – it’s the RSS feed.
Here's How Your Author Central Page Could Look Like
You may not be at the same level as Rick Riordan or have the same number of published books but I include this example to show what an author page could look like for you in the future. It lists his publications, bio and blog posts.
Self-published authors have more input into what actually goes into their author pages compared with going through a traditional publishing house.
Good luck with your Author Central page. You can always contact me at grahamcann6@gmail.com or sign up to receive my blogs direct to your inbox (see below).
Graham Cann is a #1 best-selling non-fiction author and CEO of Chas Cann Publishers
Affiliate Disclosure
I earn a small commission on some product links on my blog pages at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I use now, have used in the past or would use if there was a personal need. The extra pennies help with the coffee fund.
