Sell Your Book on Amazon

Here is a recent review I received for my latest book:

Sell Your Book on Amazon: The Book Marketing COACH Reveals Top-Secret "How-to" Tips Guaranteed to Increase Sales for Print-on-Demand and Self-Publishing Writers

Brent Sampson’s “Sell Your Book on Amazon” is the book I have been waiting for so I can understand how Amazon ranks my books and how I can better promote my books on Amazon. As an author myself, my books have been listed on Amazon, but I had no idea I had any control over how popular they could become.

While I had already been doing a couple things Brent Sampson suggests, primarily writing book reviews, I learned there is a great deal more I can and should do. Brent Sampson takes us step-by-step through the jungle of Amazon. He explains to us about creating an Amazon-Connect account, which includes a profile to show up on your book-detail pages. He explains in detail all the aspects of the Book-Detail page for a book. And he provides instructions for all those features on Amazon such as writing book reviews, participating in listmania, creating tags, and “So You’d Like To” guides. Throughout the book, he gives excellent advice. Not being the most computer-savvy individual, I never would have figured out on my own the many features he discusses. I guarantee “How to Sell Your Book on Amazon” will sit by my computer for a long time and be frequently referred to as I learn to use Amazon to my advantage.

My greatest revelation from reading “Sell Your Book on Amazon” is that Amazon is not only a bookstore but a networking site for authors. I have already been promoting my book at other sites like Myspace, Facebook and Shelfari, but I now realize Amazon is a fantastic networking site to meet readers, and to group and associate my book with other similar and more popular books in my subject area. I am guessing it is far more effective and lucrative than those other sites as well.

I would say “Sell Your Book on Amazon” is 95% user-friendly. I actually sat at my computer and followed the steps on Amazon as I read the book, so although the book is only 164-pages long, it took me a good week to read through it, spending a few hours each night working on my author profile and creating tags and lists on Amazon. I did get a bit confused at times, but I think that’s because Amazon may have changed the placement of a few things on its website. I hope Mr. Sampson is diligent about keeping the book updated because I think it is already a bit out-of-date in one or two places because of Amazon’s website changes. The only addition I wish the book had was a chart listing all the different addresses for Amazon programs—Amazon-connect, a seller-account (part of Amazon-connect), an associates account, and the different email addresses to contact Amazon depending on the section you need help with. My head rather swam as I grew to realize you don’t just have one Amazon account, but probably several different ones depending on whether you’re selling or directing traffic from your website to Amazon, or simply purchasing from Amazon. I did greatly appreciate the several pages in the back of the book designated for notes. I now have several pages of notes for quick reference when I need to perform a task on Amazon.

Brent Sampson also recommends authors tell people to go to Amazon and write 5 star reviews for their books. He even asks the reader to write a five star review for “Sell Your Book on Amazon.” I am happy to comply with his request, and at the same time, follow his advice that I sign my review with a plug for my own book.

- Tyler R. Tichelaar, author of “Iron Pioneers” available on Amazon.

Sell Your Book on Amazon: The Book Marketing COACH Reveals Top-Secret "How-to" Tips Guaranteed to Increase Sales for Print-on-Demand and Self-Publishing Writers
Brent Sampson
Outskirts Press (2007)
ISBN 9781432701963
Reviewed by Tyler R. Tichelaar for Reader Views (9/07)

Kirkus Reviews and Kirkus Discoveries

I spoke with the founder of Kirkus Discoveries, the paid review service today. The topic was Publisher's Weekly, but naturally the conversation turned to paid reviews and the inherent difficulty that lies therein.

On one side, there is something to be said for the value to the author. Securing reviews is tricky since the number of books published so heavily outweighs the number of reviewers available to review them. One advantage a publishing service provider can offer is the ability to help an author overcome those odds.

On the other hand, the moment a review is "paid for" its creditability is called into question (the same can be said for paid-for-mention blogs and more on that at a future date).

Kirkus Discoveries seems intent to counter such prejudices by being particularly brutal in its reviews of on-demand books. Is that biting the very hand that feeds it, or is that simply its way of maintaining its impartial MO? According to the founder (not sure if he wants to be mentioned or not, which is why I'm referring to him like that), Kirkus has a reputation for being somewhat callous and cruel in its reviews anyway.

Our major competitor offers th "Kirkus Review" for $360, which is $10 more than anybody can get it for from the Kirkus website. Presumably the $10 additional fee above and beyond was is available directly from the Kirkus website is their service fee (ie, profit), but knowing what I know about the 50-word "reviews" coming out of Kirkus Discoveries (that's $7 a word, in case you're calculating), I wonder if that publisher is coming to the same conclusion their authors are coming to -- that paying $350 for a bad review kind of...sucks.

That's where the Outskirts Press Marketing COACH helps. Not only does it tell you what to do; it tells you what to avoid. But if you're the gambling type and feel like playing roulette, place $350 on black at http://www.kirkusreviews.com/kirkusreviews/discoveries/index.jsp