Support for Indie Authors discussion

Does anyone use Publisher Rocket for choosing the best Amazon categories for your books? I'd like to add more categories/change the ones I have and ran across it. Would love to know your thoughts (it costs $97 for lifetime usage).

Thanks so much for any help!!!
Gail

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On topic: I've heard about it, but I'm not sure how useful it might be. After all, you should choose categories based on what category your book is, or you risk attracting wrong readers and screwing the recommendations attached to your book. A very similar genre might be okay, but the further you go, the greater the risk.

Apologies...I read the rules, yet missed that. Thank you.

Gail wrote: "Does anyone use Publisher Rocket for choosing the best Amazon categories for your books? I'd like to add more categories/change the ones I have and ran across it. Would love to know your thoughts (..."

I have it. I don't know how effective my choices will be since my book is on pre-order on 9/1...but time will tell.

I have used it and it is useful for finding categories and key words along with books like yours. It is worth the life time usage. It is one of the first things I go to when starting my marketing to get what I need for ads, categories and other information. Save me a lot of time in getting the strings for the niche categories.

Thank you Seralynn and B.A., I've been trying to do my own research on Amazon and have spent too much time on it. Sorry, one more ? There are book categories used on Amazon that are NOT listed on the main 'category' list when you're uploading a book. I read that you can ask Amazon to add some? Then I read that feature is no longer. My books (like a lot of others' here) are getting lost and looking for some lesser competitive categories.

Gail wrote: "Thank you Seralynn and B.A., I've been trying to do my own research on Amazon and have spent too much time on it. Sorry, one more ? There are book categories used on Amazon that are NOT listed on t..."

What we, as authors, can choose for categories is vastly different than what is available on the customer side. I've heard - and don't know if this is true or not - is that the categories Amazon uses for an author's selection are what traditional publishers use. The keywords are helpful in finding additional paths for readers to find your book. Others who are more experienced in using Amazon for their sales vehicle may have more advice on it. I wish I could be of more help. :) But I do like the software. :)

I have used Publisher Rocket. Unknown if it works for me.
JB Morris Author

Seralynn, actually, I was looking at Amazon book categories, choosing a book, then looking at what the author chose for book categories. For example, there was one book the author chose Lit & Fiction/Scandinavian (perfect for one of my books), which is not one of the 'generic' choices we are able to choose from initially. I'm curious how they were able to choose that category...hmmm.

I bought it a month ago, and used it to change the wording of the categories of all my 42 novels, based on search numbers for those categories. I checked yesterday, and though there seems to be an increase in pages read, and sales of a couple of books that have not sold a copy in years, I have not seen enough positive results yet to become enamored of the system. I will maybe try different categories as time passes. The blurb said that sales will increase by about a third, but I have not seen that yet. Very interesting content though, and certainly food for thought. Best wishes to all of you out there struggling for sales.

Tony wrote: "I bought it a month ago, and used it to change the wording of the categories of all my 42 novels, based on search numbers for those categories. I checked yesterday, and though there seems to be an ..."

Is a month enough time to give the system a chance? I've heard that playing around with the categories is a good thing. Time will tell.

You can ask for special categories that aren't listed, but you need to give them the full string....ie Romance>Paranormal>shifters>werewolf>female>silly category

If you don't give every last one of the categories, they can't do it. They don't list those strings any mover but you can look at their sales ranking and get a good idea of what categories they are using.

Thank you. Everyone was very helpful!

I think it would be helpful for starting out and for reviewing. If the seller of the app guarantees sales increasing by about a third, that's just hyperbole. It might happen but guarantees like that are a yellow flag. It could be helpful, especially if no real research is done ahead of time. There is also a five star review and it traces to the guy who made the app. Another review says there is no back button which makes it kind of burdensome, and goes on to say while it added some features, it lost prior ones. So, again, worth a try, maybe.

Does anyone know if changing a book's category will impact it's current Amazon placement listing? After publishing I discovered Amazon has a category listing that is closer to what my book is about however I am reluctant to make the change if it causes me to start over in terms of previous sales and listing, based on the current category. Please advise and Thanks !

B.A. wrote: "You can ask for special categories that aren't listed, but you need to give them the full string....ie Romance>Paranormal>shifters>werewolf>female>silly category

If you don't give every last one o..."

This is interesting advice, apart from "silly category" at the end of the string :-) but can you make strings like that other than what is given by Amazon? If so, the next problem is to think of an aspect that readers might use as a search term, which applies also to keywords.

They won't add a new category this way, so you need to use an existing 'string'. Some sources also say it needs to start with the real top category (in our case, Kindle ebooks), not just the genre.
Keywords, however, may be the way to this.

Also, to Mark: you can be in 10 categories total, so if you're not at that cap, just ask the support to add whatever you've found as the next one. As far as I know, Amazon still allows picking only two categories at upload despite allowing 10 per book.

Also, when it comes to keywords, don't waste them on using words that are already in the categories, and don't use the title, series, or your name either - it's a waste, the search takes those into account already.

Mark wrote: "Does anyone know if changing a book's category will impact it's current Amazon placement listing? After publishing I discovered Amazon has a category listing that is closer to what my book is about..."

Changing the category will usually change the ranking, yes. It's also possible to end up as #1, or another number, in 2 or 3 different categories: 1 in paranormal romance, 1 in shape shifter romance. The good part about changing categories yourself is that you can change them back pretty quickly if you don't like the new listing.

The downside of asking Amazon to do it is first they may say no and you need to wait and try again (no guarantee). It also takes longer to get a reply. And then if you don't like the category/result and it's not something you can figure out yourself, then you'd have to ask them again. No guarantee they'll do it, request, repeat, etc.

I think the keywords might be more relevant than the categories to be honest. With the keywords, you can technically have more than one in each box.

So if you're writing a New Adult, Paranormal Shifter Romance that takes place in New York City you can put in the box

"New Adult Paranormal Shifter Romance New York City" and it'll register differently on searches because there's a lot more keywords to choose from. Granted, you have to be careful not just pad out the keywords or throw random words in. Make sure any you use are relevant and try to make sure they relate to each other if they're listed in the same field.

I didn't see a HUGE boost or anything after I switched mine around, but I saw some positive change after shuffling mine a couple times.

You can change categories as much as you want. It doesn't really affect your overall ranking. Also look at your keywords...those also make a difference.

I bought PublisherRocket some months ago, and enjoy it. It gave me several keywords I wouldn't have otherwise found, as well as categories I'd never suspected exist. Turns out there's a "Genetic Engineering Sci-Fi" category; who knew?

Since I have a bunch more novels in the works, I think the purchase is well worth it.

Gail wrote: "Does anyone use Publisher Rocket for choosing the best Amazon categories for your books? I'd like to add more categories/change the ones I have and ran across it. Would love to know your thoughts (..."

Hi Gail! I have had Publisher Rocket since it was known as KDP Rocket. It is an invaluable tool well worth the investment. Especially once you begin AMS ads.

Thanks Eldon!

Gail wrote: "Thanks Eldon!"

Anytime! And Dave Chesson is great at answering any questions you have on the product as well :)

Gail said "For example, there was one book the author chose Lit & Fiction/Scandinavian (perfect for one of my books), which is not one of the 'generic' choices we are able to choose from initially. I'm curious how they were able to choose that category...hmmm."

When you say "...the author chose..." how do you know it was the author who chose this category/keyword? The only place I can see to find the categories or possible keywords being used is in the rankings. These categories are chosen by Amazon, I believe. I know for sure that my books have ended up in categories that I haven't thought to choose.

I alerted a friend to the category showing up on his book as I'd read it and I thought he'd be horrified to find his book in the category showing in the rankings.

Am I missing something or do those rankings categories get there by magic or Amazon? I can't complain, my books have risen because Amazon have found them a niche.

However, I don't think these niches help much in terms of rising to the top of the overall charts but who knows how the mighty 'zon works!

Hi Anna, when I uploaded my books to Amazon/Kindle ebook, I had to choose 2 categories for them from Kindle's generic list (along with the same 2 or 2 other categories for paperback version). All my books are listed under my chosen categories. Yet, if you look at other books' categories - I can give you a link for an example if you'd like, you will find other categories that are not listed in Kindle's generic list. Then I read, you can 'request' specific categories up to 10....but it's rather difficult and I haven't done that...yet.

Categories are important, I believe, as the top 100 books in a given category are given more exposure. I actually changed a generic category for one of my books and it actually went from #3,000+ to #204, just for changing the category. Not 100 but closer to it. Then again, I'm not sure how important all this really is.

Anna Faversham wrote: "Gail said "For example, there was one book the author chose Lit & Fiction/Scandinavian (perfect for one of my books), which is not one of the 'generic' choices we are able to choose from initially...."

Hey Anna! As Gail has said when you upload to Amazon you chose two categories but by NO means should you stick with just two. The more exposure you have, the better your chances, right? If you send KDP Help an email they can place your book in up to ten categories of your choosing. So, chose wisely :)

I can't believe it. I've just looked at my latest book which is one I have found very difficult to put in a genre - the most accurate I could find was speculative fiction - and Amazon UK have put it in 'metaphysical science fiction ebooks' and 'metaphysical and visionary'.

I've looked up metaphysical and this is what Wikipedia says:

"Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the fundamental nature of reality, including the relationship between mind and matter, between substance and attribute, and between potentiality and actuality.[1] The word "metaphysics" comes from two Greek words that, together, literally mean "after or behind or among [the study of] the natural". It has been suggested that the term might have been coined by a first century AD editor who assembled various small selections of Aristotle’s works into the treatise we now know by the name Metaphysics (ta meta ta phusika, 'after the Physics ', another of Aristotle's works).[2]

Metaphysics studies questions related to what it is for something to exist and what types of existence there are. Metaphysics seeks to answer, in an abstract and fully general manner, the questions:[3]

What is there?
What is it like?
Topics of metaphysical investigation include existence, objects and their properties, space and time, cause and effect, and possibility."

Again, I say, I can't believe it because this captures the essence of the book. How has Amazon done that? Did a brainy staff member read it? Does its algorithm analyse the book?

I'm not going to mess around trying to work my genre out and contacting Amazon - Amazon does it all by itself.

It's only showing this on the UK site and the US site is still playing around with different categories. I'm not going to interfere at the moment as I'll see what else they come up with.

Fun, fun, fun - don't you just love being a writer?

And hi, Eldon, good to see you around.

Anna Faversham wrote: "I can't believe it. I've just looked at my latest book which is one I have found very difficult to put in a genre - the most accurate I could find was speculative fiction - and Amazon UK have put i..."

Nice to see you around too, Anna :)

I haven't done this but this is a tip from Bryan Cohen's challenge webinar. Have a list of 10 good categories you want your book listed besides the two you get. Go to amazon and do a contact on the subject via email. The format they give you is in the email they want you to send them. Copy that and take it to amazon central and contact them. There you can send AC the contact form with your 10 categories and they will do it faster. (per Brian). This is my next step and I hope it works for you.

A. wrote: "I haven't done this but this is a tip from Bryan Cohen's challenge webinar. Have a list of 10 good categories you want your book listed besides the two you get. Go to amazon and do a contact on the..."

Nice tip!

I wish I could think of 10 good categories!

I've been wondering who the heck would be searching for 'metaphysical visionary'.

Anna Faversham wrote: "I wish I could think of 10 good categories!

I've been wondering who the heck would be searching for 'metaphysical visionary'."

There are a number of tools available to help you with categories. i can't drop links here, but PM me if you're interested :)

You can get more categories from Publisher Rocket or a neat free tool called BKlink.com. Choose catfinder and enter your ASIN in the slot. Lots and lots of categories are there you can copy and download.

A. wrote: "You can get more categories from Publisher Rocket or a neat free tool called BKlink.com. Choose catfinder and enter your ASIN in the slot. Lots and lots of categories are there you can copy and dow..."

Publisher Rocket is my go to :)

A. wrote: "You can get more categories from Publisher Rocket or a neat free tool called BKlink.com. Choose catfinder and enter your ASIN in the slot. Lots and lots of categories are there you can copy and dow..."

BKlink.com has sent me to a French bank :o( Am I doing something wrong?

If you look at the categories some people use, notice the string they have...use that for Amazon Central support. You can't get them into those categories without their help. Over all, it is a cumbersome way of getting your books into the correct niche, but then again, Amazon does things their way. You can have up to 10 specific genre for each book, but you must do the work on having the string to get there correct.

Anna Faversham wrote: "A. wrote: "You can get more categories from Publisher Rocket or a neat free tool called BKlink.com. Choose catfinder and enter your ASIN in the slot. Lots and lots of categories are there you can c..."

Though the site is called BKLINK, Anna, I believe the address is actually bklnk (no letter i in it).

Valerie wrote: "Anna Faversham wrote: "A. wrote: "You can get more categories from Publisher Rocket or a neat free tool called BKlink.com. Choose catfinder and enter your ASIN in the slot. Lots and lots of categor..."

That is correct Valerie :)

Sorry, it's BKlnk dot com no i

Gail wrote: "Hi Anna, when I uploaded my books to Amazon/Kindle ebook, I had to choose 2 categories for them from Kindle's generic list (along with the same 2 or 2 other categories for paperback version). All m..."

Where and how do you request. I am not good at this sort of thing and it worries me because the categories don't make sense for my books.

Barbara wrote: "Gail wrote: "Hi Anna, when I uploaded my books to Amazon/Kindle ebook, I had to choose 2 categories for them from Kindle's generic list (along with the same 2 or 2 other categories for paperback ve..."

Hi Barbara! You log into your KDP account then click on Help. After that there will be a Contact us Button near the bottom left. Click that. Then select the first option "Amazon Product Page" and the top item on the list is what you want "Update Amazon Categories".

They even provide you with the format to use :)

Thank you, Eldon...I haven't gotten that far yet:)

Here to help :D

Valerie, thanks. How wonderful to come across a geek. Such treasures, these folks. When I have a couple of hours to spare (huh!) I'll take even more time to study the site, it was fascinating.

Anna Faversham wrote: "Valerie, thanks. How wonderful to come across a geek. Such treasures, these folks. When I have a couple of hours to spare (huh!) I'll take even more time to study the site, it was fascinating."

Nerdybookgirl.com is another good site Anna

Thanks, Eldon, I've just taken a look. My children have asked me what I want for Christmas, so I took a look on Nerdybookgirl's 'gifts for writers page'. I had to laugh at the temperature control smart mug as I'm always letting my cuppa get cold when I'm writing. I rather fancy the meal delivery subscription too! More time to tap.

Oh there's so much for us budding authors to play with.

Eldon wrote: "Barbara wrote: "Gail wrote: "Hi Anna, when I uploaded my books to Amazon/Kindle ebook, I had to choose 2 categories for them from Kindle's generic list (along with the same 2 or 2 other categories ..."

Bryan Cohen said to take that format and copy it into Author Central. They will do it faster than kdp.

Anna Faversham wrote: "Thanks, Eldon, I've just taken a look. My children have asked me what I want for Christmas, so I took a look on Nerdybookgirl's 'gifts for writers page'. I had to laugh at the temperature control s..."

It`s the golden age of distraction lol

In the KDP category list, (where you get to select two), can you use different categories for your eBook and Paperback, for a total of four and does this help you?

Or, do you need to select the same two categories for both book formats? Thanks !