When I first started publishing short fiction, I found it frustrating that so much of the writing advice out there was geared toward novelists. This still seems to be true, although nowadays, advice for fiction writers is apt to focus on publicizing their work as much as creating it, or even more so. What’s a writer of short stories, novelettes and novellas to do to help those who’ve read a few of their shorter works find more of them?
Well, one answer-by no means the only one-is to set up an Author Page on Amazon.com. You can set up your free Author Page in under an hour, usually in considerably less time than that if you are at all technologically savvy. Here’s how. First, search on Amazon.com for your name and whatever pseudonyms you’ve used. Amazon should spit out a list of magazines, anthologies, collections, singles, and other publications in which your work has appeared. You will want to make sure that it’s complete, particularly as to stories that may be a few years old. If items are missing, it’s pretty easy to fill out the form to alert Amazon to what needs to be added. In fact, when I’ve done so, they made my requested additions overnight. Also, don’t be surprised if your search turns up some items that aren’t yours.
Next, you want to hop over to Amazon’s Author Central and start adding your published work to your Author Page:
https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/home
Why should you take the time to do this? Well, here are a few advantages of having an Amazon Author Page:
- Readers can click “Follow” to get automatic updates as to your latest stories
- You can include a photo and brief bio for those interested in finding out more about you
- You can add links to your Twitter feed, Facebook page, website, and blog posts to let readers know what’s new
- You’ll be better positioned to help your readers find your novel-length work or stand-alone shorter works as they come out
- You’ll generate publicity for the books and magazines that feature your stories, never a bad thing
Given that this blog post is all about publicity, here’s my Amazon author’s page. I hope you’ll click on my Follow button. Thanks!