Hey, Wit!
We talk a lot about writing the next book, but today I want to talk about the books you've already written.
Because somewhere in your backlist there may be a perfectly good book quietly sitting on a digital shelf, wearing metadata you chose five years ago, sporting a blurb you wrote when you were exhausted from launching it, and wondering why no one ever comes to visit.
So, because we have a bonus fifth Sunday this month, let's do something a little different.
Welcome to the Wit Tech Check.
Today we're giving one backlist book a 30-minute visibility tune-up.
And I really do mean one book. Please don't open your entire catalog and create a seventeen-tab publishing crisis for yourself. 😆
In fact, I suggest you leave only TWO tabs open—this email and your KDP dashboard. Then spend a few minutes each day this week—just five days!—giving that book a little attention.
Not published yet? Stick with me. Use your current manuscript for these exercises instead. You'll be making some of these decisions before you hit Publish—which, as you're about to see, is sometimes the better time to make them anyway.
First: Know what NOT to change
Your title and subtitle aren't really optimization fields.
Once a print book has been published for more than 72 hours through KDP, changing the title, subtitle, or primary author generally means creating a new edition.
Which is a bummer for those of us who occasionally look at Past Us and think:
That was the title you went with? Really?
But this is also why it's worth thinking carefully before we hit publish. Lessons learned, I guess?
And if you're not published yet? Consider this a friendly postcard from Future You: take your time with the metadata you can't easily change later.
Here's what we can update:
1. MONDAY: Refresh your keywords
KDP currently gives you seven keyword fields, and you can update them after publication.
For this task, dramatically throw your Writer Hat across the room, and don your Reader Hat.
What might someone actually type into Amazon if they were looking for a book like yours?
Not just:
But perhaps:
- small town romance
- second chance romance
- single dad romance
Not just:
But perhaps:
- Egyptian mythology urban fantasy
- female supernatural detective
- modern gods fantasy
Use accurate words and phrases that describe the reading experience you're actually selling.
2. TUESDAY: Re-read your book description
You can change this!
And chances are, you're better at writing sales copy now than you were when you first published the book.
Look especially at the opening.
Does it immediately give the reader a reason to keep reading?
Does the description communicate the character, conflict, stakes, and genre promise?
Does it sound like books that are selling in your genre now?
- If you're not sure, return to some of the comparable books you found during Monday's keyword research and read their descriptions. Don't copy them—look for patterns. How quickly do they establish genre, character, conflict, and stakes?
If not, give it another pass.
One caution: Amazon doesn't allow reviews or testimonials, pricing or promotional information, or strings of keywords/book tags in the KDP description.
Here's Your Prize!
Just copy everything inside the box below and paste it into your favorite AI software, and voila! Your very own expert book-description-writer-and-assistant. Enjoy!
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I want you to act as an experienced fiction book marketer and copywriter.
Help me create or improve the sales description for my book. The goal is to accurately represent the story and make the book appealing to the readers most likely to love it.
Here’s my book information:
Title: [TITLE]
Genre: [GENRE]
Subgenre: [SUBGENRE]
Audience: [e.g., adult, YA, middle grade]
Tone/Vibe: [e.g., funny and cozy, dark and atmospheric, swoony and emotional, fast-paced and suspenseful]
Comparable books/authors (optional): [COMPS]
Current book description (if I have one): [PASTE IT HERE]
Story summary or key details: [PASTE A SHORT SUMMARY, SYNOPSIS, OR IMPORTANT STORY DETAILS]
First, consider what readers of this specific genre and subgenre typically expect from a strong book description, including its tone, emphasis, pacing, length, and the kinds of story elements that should be highlighted.
Then:
- Identify the strongest selling points of my book for those readers.
- If I provided an existing description, briefly tell me what is working and what could be stronger.
- Write a compelling new book description appropriate to my genre, subgenre, audience, and tone.
- Focus on the protagonist, central desire or problem, stakes, conflict, and the irresistible question or tension that makes a reader want to know what happens next.
- Preserve the actual promise of the book. Don't invent plot points, tropes, character traits, stakes, or themes I haven't provided.
- Use natural, engaging sales copy rather than summarizing the entire plot.
- End with tension or intrigue rather than resolving the story.
After the description, briefly explain the choices you made and why they fit this book's particular readership.
If you don't have enough information to write an accurate and effective description, ask me for the missing information before drafting.
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3. WEDNESDAY: Check your categories
Amazon's categories change over time, so categories that made sense when you published may not be the best choices today.
KDP currently lets you select up to three categories based on your primary marketplace and audience.
Go look at books similar to yours. What categories are they appearing in? Where would a reader naturally browse for a book like yours?
Then go into KDP and check the categories available for your book.
Then check your own categories.
If you distribute wide through IngramSpark, check your BISAC and Thema codes, too.
The simplest way to remember the alphabet soup:
KDP categories help Amazon decide where to shelve your book.
BISAC codes classify your book for the North American book trade.
Thema codes classify your book for international markets.
You don't need to become a metadata scholar. You just want to make sure your book is accurately telling retailers, This is what I am, and these are the readers who might want me.
4. THURSDAY: Refresh your editorial reviews
Have you collected a fabulous endorsement or professional review since the book launched?
Make sure you're using it.
For books on Amazon US, Author Central currently allows authors to add Editorial Reviews to their books.
If you distribute through IngramSpark, review quotes are also part of the metadata you can provide; Ingram recommends two to eight strong quotes.
Just remember: don't paste those reviews into your KDP book description. Amazon specifically prohibits reviews and testimonials there.
And don't worry if you don't have a Kirkus review or some other Official Fancy-Pants Endorsement. A strong quote from another author, publication, industry professional, or reputable reviewer can still be useful.
If you don't have any? Just move along. Editorial reviews are nice-to-have, not must-haves.
5. FRIDAY: Check your price against the books beside you
Pricing isn't a set-it-and-forget-it decision either.
Search for 5–10 books genuinely comparable to yours:
- same genre/subgenre
- similar length
- similar audience
- ideally a similar publishing model
What are their ebooks selling for?
Their paperbacks?
Their hardcovers, if applicable?
You don't have to match the cheapest book. You're asking:
If a reader saw my book sitting beside these books, would my price feel normal?
And if you're looking at the first book in an established series, there's one more pricing question you may want to ask:
Should Book 1 be FREE?
That's a bigger question than I can answer in a paragraph, because free first-in-series can be a fantastic reader-acquisition strategy—or a great way to give away a whole lot of books without selling anything else.
So I went deeper on the blog:
→ Should Your First-in-Series Book Be Free?
We'll talk about when FREE makes sense, when 99¢ might be smarter, why the number of books behind Book 1 matters, and the number you really need to watch: read-through.
🛠️ Your Backlist Tune-Up
Choose ONE book this week.
I'd start with:
- the first book in a series
- a strong standalone that's stopped selling
- or a book you'd really like to put back in front of readers.
Give it a few minutes each day:
Monday: Keywords
Tuesday: Description
Wednesday: Categories
Thursday: Editorial reviews
Friday: Price
Then, as your final Friday check, pull up the actual retail page.
- Are all your formats linked correctly?
- Is it connected to the right series?
- Is the cover still competitive?
- Does the sample look good?
- Does the page make you want to buy the book?
You do not have to fix everything today.
→ Find the weakest link and improve that.
Because sometimes moving your writing career forward doesn't mean creating something new.
Sometimes it means dusting off something wonderful you've already made—and removing one more obstacle between that book and the reader who might love it.
You've already done the hardest part.
You wrote the book!
Let's make sure it isn't hiding.
