Now that Warden 4 is done, I’m currently working on the Smokescreen novel. I think it’s coming along fine, but I took a break from writing a few days ago to tackle something that I’ve been considering lately: adding “A+ Content” to my books’ Amazon pages.
By way of explanation, A+ Content is how Amazon describes the additional information that’s provided by the manufacturer on a product page. For instance, a comparison chart that shows the features of the product you’re viewing vs. a competitor is something that would be considered A+ Content. For those who want to see an actual example, you can check out the product page for the Roku Streaming Stick.
If you click on the link and scroll down, you’ll see a section that’s entitled “From the Manufacturer” and it will have the picture that’s included to the left, as well as other pics and info about the Roku Streaming Stick.
All of that info – including the nice chart and the images – is what Amazon refers to as A+ Content.
Recently, Amazon gave authors the ability to add A+ Content to our book pages. Initially, I passed on it, as it basically required me to master a new skill using time that would probably be better utilized putting words on paper. Plus, I wasn’t sure that it would be worthwhile in terms of getting potential readers interested in my work. That said, as you can probably guess, I eventually decided to take the plunge.
First, I shoud probably state that I wasn’t very happy with the process of creating A+ Content. I won’t go into all the details, but it essentially involves selecting modules that define the layout of the information you’re going to provide. I didn’t pick anything that was particularly complicated, but it took all day – and I mean all day – to create the requisite content for my books, mostly because the setup was unbelievably buggy.
For example, I would select a couple of modules and go through the process of creating my content. When I finished, I had to submit it to Amazon (because naturally, there’s an approval process), and that’s when I’d find that my modules had been reconfigured, or something that I had deleted had somehow found it’s way back into the final layout, or some other issue had occurred. At that point, I’d have to go back, edit (which sometimes required doing everything all over again), save, and give it another try. This happened many, many times, but – as my wife is fond of telling people – I’m a stubborn SOB and refused to give up.
Long story short, I finally got everything done, but it cost me an entire day of writing. At the end of the process I was pretty frustrated, but in retrospect I’m glad I did it. I’m not sure whether it will tip the scales in my favor if a prospective reader is trying to decide whether to give my books a try, but – in my opinion – it does give the book pages a more polished appearance.
For those interested, you can check out my handiwork on the Amazon pages for Sensation, Terminus and Warden (Book 1: Wendigo Fever). (Actually, it should be on the pages of all my books.) Simply scroll down to the section entitled “From the Publisher.” Again, it may not be anything that sways a potential reader, but I think it was a worthwhile endeavor.
*Just FYI: Anyone who sees it will probably say to themselves, incredulously, “This took all day???” The answer to that is a resounding “Yes,” and is a testament to just how many glitches I had to deal with in creating the content.