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MenuCan you control whether a paperback or kindle version of your book appears first in an Amazon search?
When you look for a book at Amazon and it exists in Kindle and Paperback, sometimes the paperback is first, sometimes the kindle. Can we control it?
Answers
Not any way that I can think of. I would trust Amazon's judgement on this one. They want to sell your book just as much as you do.
If you're wondering if you can control what a reader sees, the answer is no. That has everything to do with whether or not the reader has chosen to look at the book category or the kindle category, and often Amazon will pick and choose book or kindle based on a readers' buying preferences if they don't specify the kindle or book category. Either way, they buyer will still see your cover, they will still be taken to your Amazon page, and they can still purchase that book in any format they wish, so it's not something terribly important or impactful when it comes to sales.
Related Questions
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Can I expect book sales if I upload my ebook on Kindle Direct Publishing and do nothing to promote it?
While you might be able to expect initial sales from family and friends who know about it, actual sales from people stumbling upon your book depends on a few factors when you upload it. 1.) Have you chosen the correct keyword phrases and categories? 2.) Are these categories extremely competitive? 3.) Did you incorporate these specific keywords and categories in your title, subtitle, and book blurb?(Note: not everyone can finagle a way into putting the word thriller in their title, but some can do it in their subcategories although at times that may seem too sales pitchy, not that anyone but authors who know what you're doing would notice or even care). 4.) Do you have between one-hundred to three-hundred people ready to buy your book when it is released? (family, friends, subscribers) When you can sell around that many copies the first three days of your release, Amazon's free marketing kicks in. Hot New Releases List, Those Who Bought This Book...etc. That's pretty much awesome sauce if you can manage it. 5.) Does my amazon page look inviting? 6.) Is there too much front matter before the actual sample chapter begins, thus impeding your readers from getting into the book right away? If the answers to these questions are a big fat no,(or a big fat yes to questions 2 and 6) then uploading your book and walking away from it is going to get you nowhere. You essentially need to take your writer's cap off and get serious about marketing. An indie author doesn't get to be complacent in that respect. Becoming a book marketing guru can be daunting and overwhelming when looking at it as a whole, and figuring out where to start has made many authors give up before giving it a chance. Which is why I am super happy to be answering this question for you. Not that you asked how to market your book. I suppose I've basically answered your question, but I'd like to take it a step further and give you a place to start so you aren't flailing around in the deep quagmire of marketing do's and don'ts. Amazon's search engines are designed to find books listed under popular categories and niches so keywords are going to be your best friend. One book that is absolutely stellar at explaining the process behind researching keywords is a book called Making a Killing on Kindle(Without Blogging Facebook Or Twitter) and another book called How to Sell Fiction on Kindle. The Reader's Digest version is this: go to Amazon.com and start typing in your genre in the search tab. The goal is to take your main genre and find subcategories that are popularly searched on Amazon. So when I type in the word Thriller I get "thrillers in books, mysteries and thrillers new releases 2016", etc. Now type in "thrillers a" and you get "thrillers and suspense books" etc. these top key phrases are the ones that are searched the most by people interested in that genre. Now try typing in "thrillers b" and you get "psychological thrillers books" and other key phrases, but this is an important thing to discover. Many people are searching for psychological thrillers. Does your book fall under that category? Is it a psychological thriller, a serial killer thriller, or possibly some other type of thriller that can be narrowed down to a specific niche? This can be a long and arduous way to research keywords and phrases, which is why I think grabbing those books that I mentioned above and memorizing the very dickens out of them is a great beginning for your marketing guru journey. Why? Because most of the research has been done for you, and you get a list of the most highly ranked keyword phrases for your specific genre...all current. You are also given instructions on simple html coding to help make your amazon page sparkle. I hope this information is helpful for you, and good luck with your book. I hope you are able to get it uploaded and visible on kindle as soon as possible. If you’re interested in learning more about the best practices on marketing your books feel free to visit me on my website at The Blond Guerrilla: Guerrilla Marketing, Writing, and Self-Publishing Your Book. http://theblondguerrilla.com Or set up a call and we can work on a plan to help you sell your books. I’m always excited to help fellow authors in their quest to get their books discovered. Happy marketing my author friend!CA
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Are there competitors to Whattpad (besides Amazon)?
Here are some lists I found. Do you think that the competitors listed here are true competitors or just similar? https://datafox.com/competitors/wattpad http://www.startupranking.com/wattpad/competitors https://www.owler.com/iaApp/108863/wattpad-competitorsTC
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Are there ways to line up verified buyers prior to your book launch that can write reviews on Amazon?
Yes; if you do a presale, those buyers will get the book immediately upon release. Include a message in either the front or back matter that encourages them to leave a review once they finish the book. You should also encounter them to join your mailing list, that way you can continue to build a relationship with them.TW
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Is it worth it to hire writers to help me with Kindle Publishing? How much would it cost me to get a quality product?
Basically, the question is this: Are people reading the book for your writing, or for your ideas? If it's for your writing (say, if you're a fiction author) then you should probably write it yourself. It'd be disingenuous not to. If they're interested in your ideas (which is the case with most Kindle non-fiction books), then what's important is that your ideas aren't lost. That doesn't mean ghostwriting is fine, only that you need to find an efficient way to get your ideas out without wasting your time writing. Basically, the process I use is to outline the book myself, sit down with a microphone, and talk through the entire book (basically recording a really rough draft of the audiobook straight from the outline). Then I transcribe it, and then hire a "writer" to work from the transcription to the finished text. That way it's high quality and maintains my ideas, but I don't have to do all the work of typing. I wrote a book that breaks down the process in a bit more detail (especially the process of outlining, how to record effectively, how to find that editor, etc.), but basically what I said above is all you really need to know. Here's the link if you want to check it out: www.amazon.com/Book-Box-Method-Quickly-Easily-ebook/dp/B014EUTYGM/ZO
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Is using Amazon's advertising for a children's ebook effective?
No it is not. Unless you are a big name you place yourself next to strong competitors that are supported by big budgets. Start small with friends, friends of friends, get reviwes, create a blog become known and maybe spend some money with FB ads. If you have the budget print some copies and fight for your space with readers clubs etc. It is a tough business with a lot of competition and therefore you must work in order to be noticed .DG
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