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20
Steve Weber
followed up with four successful adventure books, a novel, and lecture
tours.
And this is only the beginning, for Simpson and all of us.
Readers are finally able to find the books they want, even in the
smallest niches. Readers are finding their books at Amazon and other
Web stores because they offer unmatched choice and convenience. All
this is a godsend for authors, who finally have a way to build their
audience effectively and inexpensively. Never has it been so practical, so
straightforward, for writers to earn a living at their craft and build a
following.
Today book readers are helping decide which books sink or swim.
As an author, you can hope to be swept along with the tide. Or you can
take advantage of this new environment, using the techniques described
in this book.
Riding the big river
In just a few years, Amazon has demolished the barriers to book
sales. No longer are new authors summarily locked out of the bookstore.
Whether your book was trade-published or self-published, Amazon will
not only stock it, but rearrange the whole store when a likely reader
arrives. And if your book sells modestly well, Amazon will do lots more—
like displaying your book right inside the door, at the end of each virtual
aisle, on eight different category shelves, and smack-dab in front of the
cash register. Think your local bookstore might do this? Maybe if you’re
William Shakespeare, but the rest of us are out of luck.
Book sales over the Internet now account for 15 percent of the
average publisher’s business, up dramatically from 1 percent in 1997. But
the real impact is far greater—it’s not just the 65 million readers buying
their books on Amazon, it’s the untold millions more using Amazon’s
catalog and book reviews to inform their buying choices elsewhere.
Amazon is ground zero for your online campaign. It provides free
worldwide exposure—exposure to those readers most likely to buy your
book. Simply having your book properly listed for sale on Amazon can
create demand for it everywhere. Whether you’re a famous author or an
unknown, Amazon is essential because it has a critical mass of buyers
using its search engine, recommendations, and reader reviews.
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