Using the Amazon Author Central page will make your profile stand out. It will boost your profile credibility and help buyers discover your books quickly. It will also make your account to be well organized.
However, creating an outstanding Amazon author central account can be challenging. It might sound stressful to you.
Why is it so? Because creating such an account requires a lot of things. From writing an outstanding biography down to adding your book to the page.
But don’t worry, I have got you covered. After reading this article, you will be able to set up an outstanding Amazon author central page by yourself.
This article will reveal a step-by-step guide to creating an Amazon author central account and an outstanding author page. However, if you have not set up your Amazon account, learn How to Create Amazon KDP account Now
In this article, you will learn the following;
- What is an author central?
- What is Author Page?
- How to create an Author Central account.
- How to write an author page biography.
- How to link your blog to your author page.
- How to Add videos and pictures to your Author page.
- How to Add books on your author page.
- How to customize your Author Page URL.
- How to check your book sales rank.
- How to check customer reviews.
- How to edit your book description via the page.
- How to contact Amazon KDP customer care through the page.
- How to customize Your book description using an HTML editor, add editorial reviews through Amazon Author Central page, and many more.
Let’s get started;
What is Amazon Author Central?
Many writers are only interested in publishing their books on Amazon without looking at the key things that help to boost sales. They will forget to set up their Amazon author central page, which is one of the most important things.
So, what is Amazon Author central?
It is a platform that allows you to;
- Set up your author page.
- Add your book detail to your listings.
- Chat with your potential readers.
- Monitor your book sales.
- Check your book reviews and respond to reviews.
- Edit your book listings.
- Contact KDP customer care. etc
Who Can Create Such an Account?
It is available to anyone who has a book published on Amazon. If you have any book that is published on Amazon, you can create an author central account. However, if you don’t have a book yet, you can learn how to write a book in 7 simple steps.
Also, creating an account will allow you to create your author page.
Benefits of the Account?
- It will allow you to monitor your sales.
- It will allow you to customize your book description.
- It will allow you to have control over your books.
- You can use it to drive traffic to your blog by linking your blog to your author page.
- It allows you to add your biography so that your potential readers will know more about you.
- It avails you the opportunity to add your videos.
- With the account, you can monitor your book reviews and reply to the ones you want.
- It also allows you to create a customized author URL to share with your potential readers.
What is Author Page?
It is one of the primary reasons you should create an author central account. The author page is a page found on the Amazon author central page. It is a vital page that every author needs. The author page is a personal page that allows you to;
- Add your picture so that your potential readers will know you.
- Add your biography.
- Link your blog
- Create a customized author URL and share it to various social media platforms.
- Add videos
The author page is significant to published authors on Amazon. It gives buyers easy and straightforward access to your books.
In other to understand the author’s page very well, Go to Amazon. Type any book name of your choice. When the books are displayed, click one of the books. You will see that the author’s name is hyperlinked below the title. If you click the author’s name, it will take you to the author page.
Inside the page, you will see;
- Books that are written by the author and the author’s various book formats (eBook, paperback, etc.).
- Author picture.
- Videos uploaded by the author, if any.
- Author biography.
- Author blog, if any. Etc.
You will see that your author page gives buyers quick access to your books. If you have written books that are linked together, buyers can be able to find the rest of your book easily via your author page.
However, let’s talk about what makes an author page stand out among the crowd.
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Major things to include in Amazon Author Page
Creating an Author Page is good. But, creating an outstanding author page is what will drive more book sales. There are thousands of author pages on Amazon, but only a handful of them stand out. Most of them have limited information about the author.
You might have created the Amazon author page without anything happening. Maybe you forgot to include the important things that buyers are looking for.
Here are the major things that you need to include on your Amazon Author page;
Biography: Write a detailed biography about yourself. In your biography, highlight your goals and objectives and the reasons why you wrote the book. Use your biography to convince your potential readers to purchase your book. You might want to add one or two of your achievements.
Author Photo: This is very important in building trust. Photos will allow you to gain your buyer’s confidence. At least someone will see the real picture of the author he is purchasing his or her book.
Add All your Books: The most crucial aspect is the primary reason you should create your author central account. After creating your author central page, add all your books, book detail, and the different editions immediately so that they will be accessible easily.
Add Your Blog: If you have a blog, link it to your Author page. It will give buyers access to your blog and drive more traffic to your blog. If your buyers have questions about your books, they can read more via your blog or even contact you.
Add videos; It is very crucial. It will help you to explain certain things.
Add the + follow button: The follow button is significant. It will allow buyers to follow you and know whenever you release new books.
Now that we have understood what Author central and the author page are about let’s proceed and create our account. You can follow these steps and modify your account if you have also created your account.
How to create Amazon author central account
Remember that you need to have a book on sale on Amazon before you can your account.
If you don’t have a book yet on Amazon, go to kdp.amazon.com, create your account, and upload your book. You can learn how to create a Kindle direct publishing (kdp) account here.
However, if you already have your book selling on amazon, you can proceed and create your account. But if you have already created your author central account, you can skip this step and go to the next step on creating an author page.
Now, to Create your Amazon author central account,
- Go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com/ and click JOIN NOW.
- Sign in with your regular Amazon KDP username and password.
- Read the T & C and click ACCEPT.
- Search for your books and add them. You can start by entering the names your books are written under it.
- When your book appears, select the ones you want to create the account.
- If your book is not appearing, use the ISBN number to search for your book.
- Amazon will send you a confirmation email through your registered email address. Go to your email and confirm your registration.
- Amazon may contact the publisher to verify your identity if you use a third-party publisher. It might take 3 to 7 days.
That’s it; you have successfully created your account
NOTE: You must have a book selling on Amazon before you can create the account
Common Issues Published Authors Face When Creating The Account
- You don’t have a book selling on Amazon: If you don’t have a book on Amazon, you can’t create an Amazon author central account.
- You are not the Publisher: If you are not the real publisher of the book on Amazon, you might find it harrowing to create an author central account. If you used a third-party publisher and now want full control over your books, you will need to contact the publisher ahead to permit you before creating your author central account. It is because Kindle direct publishing (kdp) customer care might likely want to verify your ownership over the books from the original publisher.
- Email Verification Issues: Always cross-check your email before creating your account. And if you don’t receive your confirmation email, you might have to check your spam folder.
Once you have created your Amazon Author Central account, you can start adding the necessary details while you await your full confirmation from Amazon.
How to set up Amazon Author Page
Now that you have finished creating your Kindle direct publishing (kdp) author central account, it is now time to set up your Amazon author page. Your author page is a page in your author central account housing your core details. You can update them any time you want.
Now, sign in to your Amazon author central account. Locate your author page at the top and open it. Fill in the following details;
BIOGRAPHY
Fill in your biography. Start by telling buyers about yourself and include things that can make your profile legit. Include awards, work experience, projects you did, hobbies, and your social media links.
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How to Add Biography to the Author page.
- Open your author page.
- Locate the biography on the LEFT side of the page written in pink. On the right side, you will see “add biography.” Click on it.
- Type your biography or copy and paste your biography.
- Preview your biography to see how it looks, and click save.
ADD PHOTOS TO YOUR AUTHOR PAGE
Adding your photos will boost your author’s credibility. It will increase your buyer’s trust.
How to Add Photos to Amazon Author Page
- Open the author page.
- By the right, you will see Click add a photo.
- Choose your photo and upload it.
- To change your photo, you can click Manage and change your photos.
ADD VIDEOS TO YOUR AUTHOR PAGE
Videos can make your author profile stand out. However, Amazon only permits authors to add up to eight videos, each of which must be 10 minutes long. The videos must be in the following formats; avi, wmv, flv, mov, mpg, and should be less than 500MB.
How to add a video to the Amazon author page
- Open the author page.
- By the right, you will see Click add video.
- Choose your video and upload it.
- To change your video, you can click Manage and change your videos.
ADD THE AUTHOR PAGE URL TO YOUR PAGE
It allows you to share your amazon author profile links easily. With your author page URL, customers can visit your author page and check your books quickly. It will still save you the stress of copying long links when you want to share your book link.
How to Create Amazon Author Page URL
- Open the author page.
- By the right, you will see the author page URL. Click create author page URL.
- Write your author page URL. You can use your author’s name for easy remembrance.
- Click Save. Amazon will create the URL.
- Once your author page URL is live, Amazon will notify you via email.
- You can share it with your friends.
ADD A BLOG FEED TO YOUR PAGE
Adding your blog to your author page will drive more traffic to your blog. It will also increase the credibility of your profile. Buyers can also be able to reach you effortlessly through your blog.
How to Add Blog Feed to your Amazon Author Page
- Open the author page.
- By the left, you will see “blog.” Click Add Blog
- Specify an RSS feed for your blog.
Examples of RSS feed: https://bennyselfpublishing.com/atom.xml, https://bennyselfpublishing.com/rss.xml, https://bennyselfpublishing.com/index.rdf.
- Once you specify it, Click Add.
- Amazon will display your recent blog post in your profile within a few days.
However, you might find it difficult to know your blog feed.
How To find your blog Feed.
Finding your blog feed is not difficult. Follow these steps to find your blog feed.
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- Go to your browser and open your blog.
- Right-click on the home page and click the view source page.
- A page will appear with codes.
- Open search with Control F.
- Type “FEED” in the search. It will show the website link with the feed.
Copy the website link together with the feed. Example; https://bennyselfpublishing.com/feed/
- Copy the link with the feed, paste it on your amazon Blog feed, and save.
- If you use Blogger, use either of the following formats (replace yourblognamewith the name of your blog). http://yourblogname.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss OR http://yourblogname.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default.
CHECK YOUR + FOLLOW BUTTON
By default, it is supposed to be on your profile. But if it is not there, you can add it. It will allow your fans to follow you and get updates when you release new books.
Other things you can add to the author central account
If you want to gain more trust from your buyers and boost your sales, these things will make your profile look more legitimate.
ADD ALL VERSIONS OF YOUR BOOK
Adding all versions of your book will increase your book sales. A buyer might open your profile, and while going through your books, he will purchase other versions of your book.
Also, a buyer might want to buy the print version of your book. But if you only have the ebook version on your author page, you might miss the sale. So, it is very crucial that you add all your book versions like; ebook versions, paperback versions, audio versions, and hardcover.
How to Add Book versions/editions in Amazon author central
- Go to Amazon and login to your Author Central account.
- Open your book page.
- Click on “Add more books.”
- Search for books you’ve written by title, author, or ISBN and add them to your bibliography.
- Once your book appears, click Add.
The book will appear on your author central page within three days.
Book Versions/editions Not Linked Together In amazon author central.
Sometimes, you might face the problem of a book version not being linked together in amazon author central.
Example: The paperback and the ebook version of a specific title show differently on the Author page.
The first thing is to know if the titles correspond. Amazon automatically links book versions with the same title together.
Example: If you wrote a book and published the paperback and the ebook version. If you added the two versions to the Author Central page, Amazon would link the two together.
However, if yours is not linked after three days, and the titles correspond, you can contact Amazon Kindle direct publishing (kdp) Customer care to link it for you.
CUSTOMIZING BOOK DESCRIPTION USING HTML EDITOR
Book description is one of the things that boost sales. A well-arranged book description gives clarity and understanding to the buyers.
How to customize Book Description on Amazon author central page
- Go to Books on Author central page.
- Click and open the book that you want to customize the description.
- By the right, you will see the different book editions (ebook, paperback). Choose the edition you want to customize the book description.
- Click EDIT beside the product description.
- Edit your book description.
- To add bold text, italicize, underline, or other formatting tools, click “EDIT HTML” at the top right corner of your editor dashboard just beside “COMPOSE.”
- You will see the HTML code placed inside the text.
- You can use your HTML editor to add bold text, underline text, paragraphs, etc.
- After that, preview your text.
- If it is good, click Save. Amazon will update your book description within three days.
- You can still edit other versions of your book by following the same method.
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ADD EDITORIAL REVIEWS
Amazon book Editorial reviews increase a book’s credibility and boost sales. Amazon allows sellers to add up to five editorial reviews. Most potential readers prefer books with editorial reviews. To them, it means that someone has read the book and certified it very good before dropping a review. So, add an editorial review to your author page.
How to Add Editorial review to Amazon author page.
- Go to BOOKS on the author central page.
- Under REVIEW, Click ADD
- Write your editorial review on Amazon or copy and paste it.
- Customize it using an HTML editor.
- Preview it
- Save it.
Amazon will review it and publish the review on your Author page.
Other things to note when creating an author central page
WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE A PEN NAME
Amazon creates pages based on the author’s name listed. If you write books under more than one pen name, Amazon will create different author pages for each pen name. However, you can manage all the pen names in one author’s central account. Amazon allows a maximum of three pen names for a single account.
To add your book with a different pen name;
- Log in to your author central account.
- Open your book page and click on Add more books.
- Search for your book and once you find it, click This is my book.
- Amazon will verify that you are the owner of the book.
- Once they finish the verification, a new author page will be created for that particular pen name.
To switch to your previous PEN name,
- Go to your PEN name at the top right corner of the page.
- Click on the tiny drop-down; it will show your other pen names.
- You can switch to anyone you want.
WHAT TO DO IF YOU HAVE CONTRIBUTORS
Amazon permits an individual author page. So, if you are listed as a contributor for a book, you can reference each other’s author page in your biography or through a blog post, forums, or social media. Like including your contributor author page link in your biography and vice versa.
HOW TO CHECK YOUR BOOK SALES RANKING
Checking book sales ranking will help you to understand your book performance. If you are running the Amazon AMS campaign, it will help you to make certain decisions concerning your Ad. Also, it will help you to know if your keywords, title, and description are performing well.
How to Check Book sales Ranking in Amazon author central
- Log in to your Amazon Author Central
- Click on “Sales Info” to see your books.
- Click on any book that you want to see the sales ranking.
- A graph will show up with lines displaying your recent ranking.
- Hover over the line to see each day’s sales ranking.
Follow the same step to check your other book sales ranking.
HOW TO VIEW CUSTOMER REVIEWS ON THE AUTHOR PAGE
Monitoring your customer’s reviews is very crucial. It will help you to understand what buyers think about your books. Most especially if your book is in a series, it will help you to know what your potential readers expect in your next edition/series.
Also, the book reviews will help you know the areas you need to edit in your book.
Unlike on the amazon home page, where you will have to open each book to see the reviews, the author central page will display all your book reviews on a single page.
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How to check book reviews and reply to them in Amazon author central
- Log in to your amazon author central account.
- Click on customer reviews at the top of the page.
- A page will open, displaying all your book reviews.
- Read them and reply to anyone you want.
HOW TO CONTACT AMAZON KDP CUSTOMER CARE
Sometimes, you might have an issue that requires you to contact Amazon kindle direct publishing kdp customer care. It might be account issues or book issues.
You can contact Amazon kdp customer care from your author central page.
To contact kdp customer care;
- Log in to your Author Central account.
- Open your Author Page.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click ‘Contact Us.”
- A page will open where you can contact Kdp customer care.
However, you have two options; contact through email and phone. Use anyone convenient for you.
That is everything you need to know about Amazon author central. I hope this article was helpful to you.
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