In my travels through various online ebook outlets and Goodreads, I have noticed more and more instances of some potential sales losing tendencies.
Author name inconsistency when publishing or listing books.
When uploading your books and details, please ensure that your authors name is always EXACTLY the same across ALL your books, unless you intended to reinvent yourself.
If you don’t, not all your books will show up under your name!
In the case of Goodreads, you may find some of your books listed on another author(s) page(s).
In the case of Amazon, they will appear under a general list, with a seemingly different authors name, and will not be included with your authors page(s) – if you have these on Amazon UK & USA (recommended)
Let me give you some examples using my own name:
C. GRAHAM
C GRAHAM (Note – only the period is missing)
CHRIS GRAHAM
CHRISTOPHER GRAHAM
So if there are four books published, each with my name recorded differently as above, you can see what will happen.
Take a few minutes out of your busy schedule and check that you have been consistent, not only on Goodreads and Amazon, but also any other online outlet you have used.
Another trend I’ve noted (with despair):
When authors are promoting their books on their blogs, or sending them to me for promoting, they give only the Amazon UK or USA links, forgetting that the internet is literally World Wide.
Give ALL the relevant links, or the universal link that will take the interested reader to their local Amazon Store.
If you don’t know where else your books are being displayed, go to the bottom of the Amazon page, see all the areas listed, then go to those sites and check.
Finally – someone throw that heckler out please – thank you.
If your book(s) are not being shown in an Amazon area you feel it should be, e.g., Australia, then contact Amazon and request it be displayed there.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
The issue I have is that I started publishing under my real name (Dianne Gray) and then an American writer started publishing under her real name (Dianne Gray) and now our books get confused. I don’t want to change my name because the awards I’ve won are all under my name and I can’t expect her to change her name. She is Dianne E Gray and I’m Dianne F Gray – but that’s still too close. ARGHHH ….. Any thoughts, because I’ve got no idea how to manage it (the only good thing about it is that she is a very good writer) 😉
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Now THAT is a good point Di. Hopefully the sales cheques go to the correct Dianne Gray 😀
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I wonder about folk who are crossing genres, or deliberately change their names for marketing purposes. Can you set more than one Amazon author page or is it best to stay with one?
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It’s OK if you are deliberately reinventing yourself or using different names for different genre, Stephen King writes under a different name for some books, as do several other authors I know.
In these cases the author needs to check that all the names are consistent – even a missing period with initials can throw your books away from your authors page.
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I always publish under Lorinda J. Taylor. While Lorinda is an uncommon name these days, Taylor is almost as common as Jones or Smith, so I thought the J. (it’s Jeanne, btw) would differentiate it. But no – there is another author who wrote a book on religion under the name of Lorinda Taylor, and Amazon invariably puts her book at the end of my listings. Get the example here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=lorinda%20j.%20taylor&sprefix=Lorinda%2Cstripbooks%2C235 It really irks me because that is not me – that is NOT my book!
I admit to being somewhat lax in citing all the branches of Amazon. I’ll try to do better! 😦
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I’d noticed that other book Lorinda 😀
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Reblogged this on theowlladyblog.
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Good point. Thank you for the warning.
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Thanks Kylie 😀
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Hi – Recently I spent ages trying to find a description of the universal link. Please help!
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Hi Frank, they are supposed to take people to the Amazon store local to, or serving, their country.
I think it’s best you ask Amazon themselves – let me know when you discover the secret, so I can let everyone else know 😀
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Do you have an example of such a link? You say some authors have provided them. I know there are some 3rd party redirection services.
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I’ll have a look and see what I can find Frank – Now that you mention it, I seem to recall it looking like a third party link link smallURL or some such 🙂
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Universal link? Whassat then?!!
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Hi Ali – As I said to Sean, some of the authors send them with their articles and they are supposed to take people to the Amazon store local to their country (although I endeavour to put the four big ones for english language books on anyway as a precaution LOL)
I think it’s best you ask Amazon themselves – let me know when you discover the secret, so I can let everyone else know 😀
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Nice one Chris. I’d never ever thought of that Amazon listing point before. Though I guess I just didn’t want to put five/six links up. Forgive my ignorance. But where would one find this universal link?
Thanks
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I honestly don’t know Sean, but some of the authors send them with their articles (although I endeavour to put the four big ones for english language books on anyway as a precaution LOL
I think it’s best you ask Amazon themselves – let me know when you discover the secret, so I can let everyone else know 😀
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Good point Chris. I included my middle name when publishing my historical fiction novella as I also have a young adult trilogy on Amazon. Someone pointed out to me that my books should all come up together on Amazon but because of the name difference they didn’t. I made the change and there has been an increase in their sales.
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Good for you Jean and I’m glad sales increased as a result of your efforts 😀
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