This 2009 version of the book is the last version available. For partial updates, please visit Aaron Shepard's Publishing Page. Please note also that this book describes Amazon publishing BEFORE the introduction of Kindle books, which are discussed in later books of Aaron's. There has never been a self publishing manual like this. "Aiming at Amazon" is NOT about getting your book into bookstores. Instead, it lays out an innovative approach that targets sales on Amazon.com. It reveals how to make a book sell well online, with tips never before offered. And it shows you how Amazon REALLY works -- not how self-proclaimed experts wish it did! You will learn -- Why Amazon sales offer your best chance of success in self publishing. -- Why letting Amazon order books directly from you is the least profitable approach. -- How to make your book most visible on Amazon. -- How to make your cover image most prominent. -- How to optimize content on Amazon's page for your book. -- How to increase Customer Reviews without violating Amazon's terms and conditions, as well as professional ethics. -- Why many Amazon marketing techniques highly recommended by other authors are nearly useless. -- Why it takes a full year for Amazon sales of your book to reach their peak. -- Where to go on Amazon to get the help you need. Avoid publishing plans that handicap you almost before you begin, and marketing plans that waste your time and money. Let "Aiming at Amazon" introduce you to the NEW business of self publishing. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// Aaron Shepard is a foremost proponent of the new business of profitable self publishing through print on demand, which he has practiced and helped develop since 1998. Unlike most authorities on self publishing, he makes the bulk of his living from his self-published books -- not from consulting, speaking, freelance writing, or selling publishing services. In a parallel life, Aaron is an award-winning children's author with numerous books from publishers large and small. ///////////////////////////////////////////////// "Aaron Shepard has been more successful selling through Amazon than any other self publisher I know. If you want to self publish and get the most from it, this book is for you." -- Morris Rosenthal, author, "Print-on-Demand Book Publishing" "Solid gold advice. . . . Aiming At Amazon will dramatically increase your odds of success. A few hours with this book will give you the benefit of years worth of hard-earned experience." -- Steve Weber, author, "The Home-Based Bookstore" "If you want to learn how to sell more books on Amazon, this is the best book I've read on the subject. . . . Thanks to books like this, self-published authors have a chance to succeed against traditionally-published competitors." -- Stacie Vander Pol, author, "Top Self Publishing Firms" "Shepard is considered one of the pioneers of marketing print-on-demand (POD) books through Amazon. . . . I highly recommend Aiming At Amazon to self-publishers and authors who want to publish a book at little cost. The model pioneered by Shepard, Rosenthal, and others is probably the best way for a newcomer to enter the world of self-publishing." -- Peter Hupalo, Midwest Book Review