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Tag Archives: Amazon
Q&A: How long will Amazon take to add my title to Search Inside the Book?
QUESTION: Amazon approved my self-published book for its Search Inside the Book program six weeks ago. They received the package containing my book more than a month ago, according to the tracking. How long does it normally take for Amazon to add a new title to its Search Inside program? ANSWER: It usually takes about [...]
Amazon's negative book reviews and how to counter them
Almost as soon as it began selling books, Amazon decided to allow negative reviews on its site, a policy that infuriated publishers. Chief executive Jeff Bezos recalls: “We had publishers writing to us, saying “Why in the world would you allow negative reviews? Maybe you don’t understand your business–you make money when you sell things. [...]
The growing importance of amateur book reviews
Successful books have lots of positive reviews on Amazon, and it’s no coincidence. It’s another point in the positive feedback loop: Good books garner good reviews, which encourages more sales. Good reviews on Amazon are particularly crucial for books by new authors and niche books. Good reviews on Amazon boost your book sales not only [...]
Amazon takes cue from eBay, asks customers directly for book reviews
One of the biggest strengths of Amazon over its biggest e-commerce rivals like, eBay and BN.com, has always been its automated book recommendations, the vast amount of product information it displays, and customer reviews. Realizing this gap, eBay this year has begun paying people to write book reviews on its site. It looks like Amazon [...]
Increasing your book sales using Amazon's book publicity network
The more your book sells on Amazon, the more frequently it’s shown and recommended to more customers. Books that sell well on Amazon appear higher in search results and category lists. Let’s imagine your book How to Grow Organic Strawberries outsells a competing title, Idiot’s Guide to Growing Organic Strawberries. When Amazon customers search for [...]
Q&A: Am I wasting my time mailing review copies of my self-published novel?
QUESTION: I’m considering mailing review copies of my self-published novel to a mailing list of reviewers. Since this will cost quite a bit of money, I’m concerned whether I’m likely to actually get any reviews, or whether this might backfire. ANSWER: It depends on what kind of reviews you’re trying to get. For self-published books, [...]
Online word of mouth and how Amazon recommendations sell books
In 1988 a first-time author, British mountaineer Joe Simpson, wrote of his disastrous climbing accident in the Peruvian Andes. His book, Touching the Void, got good reviews, but wasn’t too popular outside England. It sold modestly and then, like most books, began fading into obscurity. A decade later, another climbing book was penned by Jon [...]
Problems with Amazon's "Search Inside the Book" submissions
I want to talk about my experience submitting my book to Amazon’s Search Inside the Book program and see if others are having similar problems. In November, I completed the application for Search Inside on Amazon’s Web site. After a few days, I received their OK for my title via e-mail, and airmailed them a [...]
'Amazon Connect' allows authors to post directly to readers
Authors can now post messages about their book on its product page at Amazon.com and even host a blog on Amazon’s site. Signing up for Amazon Connect also enables authors to post a bibliography on their Amazon profile page. Messages show up on the book’s detail page and the author’s profile page. This is a [...]
Amazon relaunches ProductWikis as Amapedia