How to Set up Your Author Central Account in 5 Minutes

An Amazon Author Central Account is a great way for authors to post an Author Bio, group all their books together on an Author Page, set up a Series and include images, videos, blog posts, editorial reviews and more.

Readers will easily be able to find all the books you’ve written and YOU will be able to see all your books in one place which makes them easier to manage.

Author Lee Child is one of the world’s leading thriller writers. On his Author Page his readers can access ALL of the books in his Jack Reacher series including editions in Spanish, German, Hindi and more.

You may be starting with only one book but one book may lead to another!

In this article I will walk you through how to set up an author central account in less than 5 minutes!

Let’s Go …

Step ONE:

Go to https://authorcentral.amazon.com and click on the JOIN FOR FREE button.

Step TWO:

Step THREE:

Enter your author name.

This should be the exact name that appears on your book(s). If you write under a pen name then use THAT name.

If you plan on writing books under several pen names, you can add additional names from the the BOOKS tab on the dashboard. You can set your books up using up to SEVEN different names.

NOTE: One of the big mistakes I’ve seen authors make is not using their author name consistently. On book one, the author may use the name Linda Smith. Then on book two the same author uses the name Linda B. Smith. What Amazon SEES is two different authors … and YOU lose the ability to group your books together.

Step FOUR:

Claim the books under your author name.

If your book(s) don’t show up, you will have to contact Amazon directly.

Step FIVE:

Finalize your Author Central Account. You will not be able to finalize your account setup until you’ve claimed at least one book.

Amazon will send you an email confirming your account. This normally happens in hours … but could take a day or two.

IF your book is published by a “third party publisher” Amazon may contact your publisher to confirm your identity. This may take up to seven days.

Your Author Central Account is now set up and ready to go.

Don’t stop now! While you are waiting for your confirmation email, keep on going and add your BIO and a photo. If you are in a hurry, you can do this in under 20 minutes.

This is what you are aiming for …

S.P. Somtow is not only a famous and prolific author, he is a world renowned opera composer. The first horror book he wrote in the 80’s is STILL on the “must read” curriculum list of many universities. Read his Biography and weep. You may never get there but you will get great ideas and inspiration for your Bio and a boat load of motivation to keep on writing. His book “Nirvana Express” is totally enchanting!