Aiming at Amazon: The NEW Business of Self Publishing, or How to Publish Your Books with Print on Demand and Book Marketing on Amazon

by Aaron Shepard

This 2009 version of the book is the last version available. For partial updates, please visit Aaron Shepard's Publishing Page. Please note also that this book describes Amazon publishing BEFORE the introduction of Kindle books, which are discussed in later books of Aaron's.

There has never been a self publishing manual like this.

"Aiming at Amazon" is NOT about getting your book into bookstores. Instead, it lays out an innovative approach that targets sales on Amazon.com. It reveals how to make a book sell well online, with tips never before offered. And it shows you how Amazon REALLY works -- not how self-proclaimed experts wish it did!

You will learn

-- Why Amazon sales offer your best chance of success in self publishing.

-- Why letting Amazon order books directly from you is the least profitable approach.

-- How to make your book most visible on Amazon.

-- How to make your cover image most prominent.

-- How to optimize content on Amazon's page for your book.

-- How to increase Customer Reviews without violating Amazon's terms and conditions, as well as professional ethics.

-- Why many Amazon marketing techniques highly recommended by other authors are nearly useless.

-- Why it takes a full year for Amazon sales of your book to reach their peak.

-- Where to go on Amazon to get the help you need.

Avoid publishing plans that handicap you almost before you begin, and marketing plans that waste your time and money. Let "Aiming at Amazon" introduce you to the NEW business of self publishing.

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction, Business

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Aaron Shepard is the author of many books, stories, and scripts for young people, as well as professional books and resources for writers and educators. He has also worked professionally in both storytelling and reader's theater, as a performer, director, and teacher trainer. Aaron's lively and meticulous retellings of folktales and other traditional literature have found homes with more than a dozen children's book publishers, large and small, and with the world's top children's literary magazines, winning him honors from the American Library Association, the New York Public Library, the Bank Street College of Education, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the American Folklore Society. His extensive Web site, visited by thousands of teachers and librarians each week, is known internationally as a prime resource for folktales, storytelling, and reader's theater, while his stories and scripts have been featured in textbooks from publishers worldwide, including Scholastic, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, SRA, The College Board, Pearson Education, National Geographic, Oxford University Press, Barron's, Hodder Education, and McGraw-Hill.

Reviews

[Dana Lynn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look past the poor cover of this book and you'll find a wealth of information about how to sell profitably on Amazon, using Lightning Source as your printer. This is a great companion to Shepard's other book, POD for Profit.

[Peggy Dekay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in 2008, while I was doing research for my book, Self-Publishing for Virgins: the first-time authors guide to self-publishing. I think Aaron Shepard did his homework and delivered a straightforward, useful book filled with relevant information about marketing your book on Amazon. Over the years the book has been outdated somewhat, but hopefully Aaron will release an updated version soon, if he hasn't already. For those of you who are looking for solid information on self-publishing and particularly on the in's and out's of Amazon's "back of the house" website, this is a useful purchase.

[Karl · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the title says, this book is specifically aimed at anyone who is self-publishing and wants to have their book sold by Amazon.

The information that the author shares is invaluable and will certainly save any aspiring author a great deal of time, and probably money, as they navigate the ever changing currents of the POD industry and the world of Amazon.

This book, along with Dan Poynyer's guides, M.A. Demer's book, "The Global Indie Author", and "How to Make, Market and Sell Ebooks: All for Free" are all must have resources. Do yourself a favour, get these books.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed book for self-publishers. The Table of Contents utilizes the suggestion of expanding a table of contents to include many details. Helpful tips on how to utilize search engine optimization to determine titles and subtitles. Very helpful.

[Sandra Yearman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well organized and informative book for beginners in the industry. Shephard's writing is crisp and detailed. I would highly recommend it for anyone considering self publishing.

[Michael Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book may be the victim of being the 10th book or so I've read on Amazon marketing. I didn't learn a whole lot that I hadn't learned from the previous nine. That being said, I think that if I had read this one first, I'd have given it 4 stars, so that's what I'm giving it.

Shepard writes in a casual easy to read style that's as easy going as the face on the front of the book, which I suppose is his own. The book doesn't give any advice on Kindle, and some of the advice opposes what I've read elsewhere. For example, Shepard recommends only having one format for the book so that ever sale pushes up one sales ranking. Others recommend having as many formats as possible.

There's some good information on tags, and he promotes his website "sales rank express" throughout the book, but honestly and as a helpful resource.

If you haven't read a book on Amazon marketing, this is a good starter. If you've read two or three, you can pass, I think, on this one. I am interested in reading, Perfect Pages by Shepard to learn how better to format and design the interior of my next book since I had to outsource that for Moments with Malachi (my first book).

[Conrad Zero · Rating 3 out of 5]

The feel of this book was 'hastily written' as if Aaron was worried someone else was going to beat him to it. The book would have been very useful a year ago, but since Amazon has changed its business strategy, and now only accepts POD through it's own service, "Booksurge", it's already outdated. There's still good info here, for indie publisher/authors who want to sell on Amazon, Aaron makes a good point; 'why bother trying to sell in bookstores?' Focus your efforts solely on Amazon, where sales not only make you money, but advance your popularity on the charts.

Surprisingly, Aaron goes into detail about cover design, but his cover is hands down the Worst I've ever seen. Ever. Times infinity. So you might wanna skip that section.

[Reading Harbor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aaron Shepherd practices what he preaches. He offers a variety of advice on how to self-publish. The book was practical and fairly easy to read. There were a few tips in there that I did think were useful that I didn't think of elsewhere. In short, this is a good intro book for those who are completely new to self-publishing. It can be a handy resource and may help substitute the trial and error method that most people take when figuring things out for the first time.

[Mike Aragona · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book could be an excellent resource for someone coming in completely fresh/ blind to the world of Self Publishing. Especially if they need/ want to understand how amazon "works". However, for anyone who's had some hands-on experience with putting a book out there and/ or marketing... there's not much new that they will learn.

[Melissa Avery-Weir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written with nuggets of good stuff for even those of us who've been researching already. I appreciated the insight into some of the more esoteric Amazon programs, but could have done without the lengthy lists of URLs. That's a minor point, though; it's a worthwhile read for those of us dipping into self-pubbing.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was ok, but mostly seemed like a reference of links that one could dig through and find themselves. However, the trouble and time saved by reading this book was great. If you are thinking POD through Amazon I would say this book is a great starting place.

[Paul Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book as I needed help understanding the Amazon process. I was not let down. Though much has changed on Amazon since this book was first published it still offers an incredible amount of valuable information. If you're a writer new to e-publishing this is a must read.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information was quite dated but given that it came out a few years ago I'm sure the information was groundbreaking then. Thus 3 stars. I didn't really get any new info that I hadn't already read elsewhere.

[Ann Addley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron Shepard's books continue to be comprehensive and well set out. While not containing anything incredibly revolutionary, this book walks you through publishing in Amazon steep by step insuring that you have covered all your basis. Great for those self publish for the first time.

[Andi Boediman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A how to guide to publish your own books on the net using Lightning Source and Amazon. Written by a savvy do-it-yourself publisher.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dreadful cover (like what not to do for cover art) but fantastic content.

[Antuan Simmons]

It was a pretty good for an old book on self publishing. It took my self publishing mind to a new level.

[Valerie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and packed with useful information, and as a result of reading this book I revised the cover of my book, The Logical Magic of Change, and made it available via Lightning Source.

[L.M. Elm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A no-nonsense look at how to self-publish using Amazon.com