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Usually ships in 1 business days | | | | | | 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 doesn't stop there -- it gives you a way to publish your book with print on demand that can double your profit per copy. Avoid publishing plans that handicap you almost before you begin. Let "Aiming at Amazon" introduce you to the NEW business of self publishing. **********BECAUSE OF CHANGES AT AMAZON, READERS OF THIS BOOK SHOULD BE SURE TO VISIT THE AUTHOR'S WEB SITE FOR UPDATES********** ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Aaron Shepard is a foremost proponent of the new business of profitable self publishing through print on demand, which he has practiced and helped develop since 1999. Unlike most authorities on self publishing, he makes the bulk of his living from his self-published books, not from consulting, speaking, freelance writing, or selling publishing services. In a parallel life, Aaron is an award-winning children's author with numerous picture books from major publishers. He lives in Friday Harbor, Washington, in the San Juan Islands, with his wife and fellow author, Anne L. Watson.
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Aaron Shepard | | Paperback: | 208 pages | | Publisher: | Shepard Publications | | Publication Date: | January 01, 2007 | | Language: | English | | ISBN: | 093849743X | | Product Length: | 5.98 inches | | Product Width: | 9.01 inches | | Product Height: | 0.48 inches | | Product Weight: | 0.75 pounds | | Package Length: | 8.9 inches | | Package Width: | 5.9 inches | | Package Height: | 0.7 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 146 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review: ( 146 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
160 of 164 found the following review helpful:
Mayra Calvani--Midwest Book Review Feb 16, 2007
By Mayra Calvani
"Multi-genre author and reviewer."
In his latest book, Aiming at Amazon, Aaron Shepard proposes a revolutionary way to easily self publish your non-fiction work and market it successfully.
No, this is not one of those books that will teach you how to become an instant Amazon Bestseller. What Shepard suggests is much more ingenious. While becoming an instant bestseller may appear glamorous, the effect of this marketing trick lasts little compared to a real bestseller with good steady sales over a long period of time. Furthermore, the author's innovative technique includes ignoring--yes, totally disregarding--bookstores. With this plan, your aim will be selling your book via Amazon only. While this method may appear a little extreme, there's a beautiful simplicity to it.
Shepard demystifies distributors and wholesalers and offers you a practical, step-by-step plan on how to become your own small press, print your book, and sell it to the public via Amazon. He explains why it's important to stay away from subsidy companies that use print on demand, and he takes you right to the POD printer itself--Lightning Source--saving you an infinite amount of money in the process.
Some of the topics discussed include: choosing POD for printing your books, researching the market, designing and layout, cover design, setting up accounts with Lightning Source and Amazon, Amazon marketing tactics, and getting reviews, among others. In sum, everything you need to know to become your own press and start selling your book online.
Whether you live in the US or in another part of the world, this is an important book to read if you plan on self publishing a non-fiction book, as Shepard also offers valuable information for those living abroad. Written in Shepard's friendly style, Aiming at Amazon is a must read for anybody who is considering self publishing without too much hassle or expenses.
55 of 57 found the following review helpful:
A story about the whole new world of print on demand and online bookselling which is an alternative to traditional publishing. Mar 25, 2007
By Jeff Lippincott
"JLIPPIN"
What a story! What a book! It used to be that a consultant or coach would seek out a publisher to put his "credibility piece" before the masses to see and read. Now a consultant or coach can still do that, but they would be foolish to do it often after reading the instant book. By reading this book you will hear the author's story regarding how he became successful (and what he did) as a self publisher using print on demand resources and focusing his efforts at using Amazon's Web site as a key marketing tool. He recommends that bricks and mortar bookstores should not be sought as distribution channels for his (or your) texts. And after reading the book I understand why.
The instant book is an example of what a print on demand (POD) book looks like since it was written, produced and sold using the very techniques described in it. It's not like the reader of the book is reading about theory - he is holding an example of what he is reading about.
The book is divided into four parts:
1. Publishing for Profit
2. Building Your Book
3. Meeting the Market
4. Finessing the Future
I cannot say I had a favorite part. I liked them all equally because I am not well-versed on the publishing industry. Therefore, I learned a great deal about putting together a book not intended to be sold in digital format. I also learned that it is not all that hard to put together a great self published book and have it be successful. The author seems to want to publish his works in order to profit primarily from them. I think that is great, but I highly recommend anyone who wants to publish their works to boost their consulting or coaching practice get a copy of this book and study it. In many ways it is easier to create and market a book for a consulting practice than to market the practice itself. And a successful book or books tied to a consulting practice can make that practice very lucrative. I'm going to have to read it at least one more time for it all to sink in. The book was packed full of content. 5 stars!
34 of 35 found the following review helpful:
 Good advice on selling books on Amazon Nov 29, 2007
By Kara D. Lane
"Author, Wake Up to Powerful Living"
Additional comments added 1-2-08 (*****)
I am leaving in my original comments (see below) because I do still feel the same about Search Inside and the cover, but now that I've had a chance to apply some of Aaron Shepard's other suggestions, I would rate the book higher.
His suggestion on using TitleZ for long-term analysis is very useful. Also, I was also able to come up with additional suggestions to give Amazon for BISAC codes by using the website he referenced. Additionally, I have now done So You'd Like to guides and Listmania lists and they do attract a surprising number of viewers, as he notes. I am working on adding search suggestions, so I don't know the impact of that recommendation yet, but it looks promising.
It should be noted that Aaron comments that it takes about a year for your book to reach its full potential on Amazon...so I guess I'll have to wait until then to give all his suggestions a shot. But, if I were rating the book for the first time today, I would give it 5 stars.
Original comments (***)
I bought this book hoping it would show me how to gain greater exposure for my book on Amazon. I'm a first-time author; I'm not a celebrity; and I didn't go the traditional publishing route. So finding a way to reach the people who might benefit from my book despite these obstacles is key.
So I was surprised that some of the advice in the book, like skip Search Inside because the Search Inside logo degrades the thumbnail cover images, didn't make sense to me. For one thing, I've seen books with Search Inside and the cover images look fine. Also, I would think that Search Inside was a good strategy, because (a) Amazon says books with Search Inside sell better than books without it, (b) I know I like it when I'm buying books on Amazon (and I've bought hundreds of books) because it's like browsing in a bookstore, and (c) It gives Amazon more information on the book which would theoretically increase the chances of the book showing up in Search Results.
Also, the author emphasizes the importance of the cover, but his are rather plain. And he says "Avoid using a white background," but I bought the book and his cover is white (though it looks pink on the book page).
Anyway, I did find some good tips in the book (like how to effectively use subtitles to aid in search results), but I didn't find this book as helpful as Brent Sampson's book, Sell Your Book on Amazon.
33 of 34 found the following review helpful:
What? Only five stars? Nov 28, 2006
By Lupa
My husband originally bought this book for me via Amazon, so the author must be doing something right ;) We got it because we're always looking for resources to improve the small publisher we write and work for, and Amazon is an excellent venue for small press books.
"Aiming at Amazon" advocates putting all your eggs in one basket--in this case, Amazon sales. And it is true that Amazon is a bookselling powerhouse. This book shows how to tailor publishing books, using Lightning source as a POD printer, specifically towards maximizing Amazon's potential.
However, even if you want to work within more traditional methods of bookselling, there's still plenty of valuable material here. And it's also an invaluable guide to self-publishers, too, for whom Amazon may be a key point of sales.
The writing style is easy to read and conveys the information with little confusion. And, contrary to POD stereotypes, it's pretty well free of typos. Additionally, the author has obviously put his own advice into use, and in the very few cases where he has deviated from it he explains why.
Overall, this book is quite worthy of the confident air with which it's written. Whether you're small press or self-published, if you utilize POD and you want to amp up your Amazon sales, you need this book!
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
Finally, The Missing Link Between Dead Tree Books and E-Books Jun 22, 2008
By James R. Holland
"Author of Boston's Notable Addresses"
Using the number of dog-eared pages scale, this book should rank much higher than five stars. As soon as the UPS truck delivered the book, I started reading it. Unable to tear myself away from it, I then took it to my favorite reading room--the gym. There I spent two hours riding the exercise bike while I read the first two-thirds of the volume. After I left the gym I spent another hour finishing the 164 page main text. This book is long overdue. It fills in the gaps left by other publishing books such as the classic guides by Fern Reiss, Dan Poynter, Tom and Marilyn Ross and others.
Like any book on "a moving target" like Amazon.com, this volume will be in constant need of updating, but right at this moment, it's just what the doctor ordered for wannabe authors. It's full of surprises such as the title of one early chapter "Forget Bookstores." Other surprises include coming up with titles for books that reflect the exact nature of the subject plus one or two subtitles that while long, expand the list of areas covered in the book so that people searching for those subjects can easily find the title. The more key words and subject areas listed in the book's titles and subtitles, the more likely search engines are to locate the book and direct the potential buyer to it. When the same book comes up in several search areas, it will be higher up on the "final result list' of books the search engine compiles.
Other surprises include the different techniques for cover design. The Amazon listings are postage-stamp sized and have to be designed like a postage stamp, not like a book that will be sold in a bookstore. Much of this guidebook stresses the material that needs to be included in the book that may be different than that of regular books. It compares Print on Demand publishers and supplies numerous websites for further detailed research. Just the comparison of POD publishers is worth the price of the book.
During my first read of this tome I dog-eared at least every other page so that I could come back to it for further study and consideration. Some times I dog-eared both the bottom and top of a page.
Since I don't usually bother to write a review of a book that already has 72 reader's reviews, the fact that I'm doing that, should provide the reader a clue as to how important I found the information contained therein. I can't recommend this short book enough. (The author points out that shorter books are best for marketing on Amazon and why that is so). I've already ordered another book by the same author and will keep an eye on his website for updates. This book will show you how marketing on Amazon is entirely different than what publishers have traditionally done. It will give the writer step-by-step directions on how to successfully promote and sell your books on Amazon and it will provide the secrets for doing all this at dirt-cheap costs.
Be prepared to read and re-read this Hitchhikers Guide to the Amazon Galaxy.
See all 146 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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