Last reviewed by Robert Prime — May 2026
Introduction
Amazon Author Central is the free author profile Amazon gives every published author. It's the page that appears when readers click your name on a book listing.
Most indie authors set it up half-finished and never look at it again. That's a mistake. A properly-configured Author Central page:
- Shows your bio next to your books
- Lists all your titles in one place (cross-promotion)
- Has a "Follow" button — when followed, Amazon emails the reader when you release a new book
- Surfaces editorial reviews on book pages
- Connects your blog feed
- Drives discoverability across your catalogue
This guide covers the UK setup specifically.
The UK vs US confusion
Amazon Author Central is region-specific. There are separate sites:
- author.amazon.co.uk — UK marketplace
- author.amazon.com — US marketplace
- Also separate Author Central pages for Germany, France, Japan, etc.
You need to set up each one separately. Same author, same name, same books — but separate logins and separate profiles per marketplace.
For UK self-published authors selling on both UK and US: set up Author Central UK first (where most of your UK readers are), then US.
The good news: claims and book links carry over once a book is associated with your name on Amazon.
Step 1 — Create your account
Go to author.amazon.co.uk and sign in with your existing Amazon UK account credentials.
If you've never set up Author Central before, you'll be prompted to:
- Confirm your author name (exactly as it appears on book covers)
- Add yourself as the author of at least one book
Step 2 — Claim your books
Add each book you've published. Search by title or ISBN/ASIN.
When you find your book, click "This is my book". Amazon verifies (usually instant for KDP-published books since they're already linked to your account). If you have a pen name, you'll need to confirm.
Books should appear on your profile within 24 hours.
Step 3 — Write your bio (the part most authors fumble)
Your Author Central bio appears on your author page and below each of your books' descriptions.
A bio that converts has four components:
- One sentence that places you. "[Name] writes [genre] from [location]."
- Credibility signal. Books published, awards, professional background relevant to the books.
- Personality glimpse. Something memorable — not a list of pets, but a character detail readers remember.
- Where to find you. Newsletter signup, website, social links.
Example (cosy mystery author):
Sarah Marsh writes cosy mysteries set in the Yorkshire dales. Her first novel, The Vicar's Garden, became an Amazon UK Hot New Release in 2024. Before she wrote fiction, Sarah was a cathedral organist — which explains why so many of her detectives end up in churches at midnight. She lives in North Yorkshire with a deaf labrador called Reverend.
Free novella when you join Sarah's reader club: sarahmarshbooks.co.uk/free
Avoid:
- "I am a passionate writer who loves to tell stories" — generic, every author says this
- Lists of unrelated personal facts
- Self-deprecation ("just a hobby writer")
- A wall of text with no breaks
Bio length: 150-300 words. Too short feels thin; too long doesn't get read.
Step 4 — Add your photo
Author Central lets you add a photo (or multiple — readers see one main). Photo recommendations:
- High-quality professional headshot if you have one. £100-£300 for a decent local photographer.
- A clean, well-lit selfie if you don't. Plain background, smile, eye contact with camera.
- An illustrated avatar or pen-name image if you write anonymously.
Most authors use a photo so old or so casual it hurts conversion. Spend 30 minutes on this.
Specs (2026):
- JPG or PNG
- At least 300 × 300 pixels (1200 × 1200 ideal)
- Square or portrait orientation
- File size under 5MB
Step 5 — Enable the Follow button
The "Follow" button on your Author Central page lets readers subscribe to be notified when you release a new book.
Amazon emails everyone who has followed you when you publish a new title — for free. This is the single most valuable feature of Author Central.
The Follow button is enabled by default — but you need to actively encourage followers. Tell every reader on your newsletter, every reviewer, every social-media follower: "Follow me on Amazon — they'll email you when book 4 launches."
Authors with 5,000+ Amazon followers get a noticeable launch boost from Amazon's email to those followers alone.
Step 6 — Add editorial reviews
If your book has earned reviews from publications (Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, The Times, The Guardian, indie review sites) or blurbs from other authors — add them via Author Central → Books → Edit.
These appear in a special "Editorial Reviews" section on the book's Amazon page, separate from customer reviews. They're trust signals.
For indie authors without trade-press reviews: blurbs from other indie authors in your genre work. "A page-turner that kept me up till 3am" — Author X, Book Y. Get 3-5 of these and add them.
Step 7 — Connect your blog (optional)
Author Central lets you connect an RSS feed. New blog posts appear on your author page automatically.
Useful if you blog regularly. Skip if you don't — an old blog feed with the last post from 2022 looks worse than no feed.
Step 8 — Set up Amazon Customer Reviews follow
This is a less-known Author Central feature. Under your Author Central profile, set notification preferences so you get emailed when readers post new reviews to your books. Useful for:
- Responding gratefully (where appropriate)
- Spotting bad-faith reviews to report
- Knowing when to ask reviewers if you can quote them
Maintaining Author Central
Set a quarterly reminder to check:
- All books listed? New releases sometimes don't auto-link.
- Bio still current? Update if you've hit new milestones.
- Follower count growing? If not, audit your "follow me on Amazon" outreach.
- Photo current? A 2018 photo on a 2026 profile looks lazy.
- Editorial reviews up to date?
Author Central UK and US — keep them in sync
Manually sync these between UK and US (and any other marketplace you publish in):
- Bio (may need slight rewording — e.g. £ vs $)
- Photo
- Editorial reviews
- Blog feed
The Follow button is per-marketplace — UK followers don't carry over to US.
What Author Central doesn't do
- It doesn't sell ads.
- It doesn't run promotions.
- It doesn't replace a mailing list (Amazon owns the follower relationship, not you).
- It doesn't change your book's content or metadata — that's KDP.
- It doesn't let you respond publicly to reviews (Amazon removed that feature years ago).
Common mistakes
- Half-filled profile. Empty bio, no photo, no editorial reviews. Looks unprofessional.
- Old photo. Generic-looking 2017 selfie on a profile for a 2026 launch.
- Bio in third person but reads like first person. Pick one — most authors use third person.
- Not promoting the Follow button. Best free marketing tool on Amazon; most authors never mention it.
- Not updating after milestones. New book? New best seller list? Update the bio.
- Treating UK and US Author Central as the same. They're separate; both need attention.
UK considerations
- author.amazon.co.uk is the only path for UK Author Central setup.
- Royalty income is taxed in UK regardless of where Author Central followers live. Your Author Central setup doesn't affect tax.
- UK readers prefer "novelist" or "author" in bios over the US-favoured "storyteller". Subtle but worth knowing.
- British location specifics in bios travel well — "lives in Bath" or "based in Edinburgh" anchors you for UK readers.
The bottom line
Two hours setting up Author Central UK pays back forever. Bio that converts, professional photo, editorial reviews on book pages, Follow button promoted everywhere you mention your books. Then repeat the setup on author.amazon.com.
Most authors do half of this and wonder why their launches feel quiet. Do it properly once, refresh quarterly, and you'll see the difference in launch-day sales.
Frequently asked questions
Can I have multiple Author Central profiles for different pen names?
Yes — claim each pen name's books to a separate Author Central profile. All from the same Amazon login.
Do I need a separate KDP account for Author Central?
No. Author Central uses your existing Amazon login.
Can I respond to customer reviews?
No — Amazon removed author replies to customer reviews. You can only respond via your own social media.
How many followers should I aim for?
By the end of book 3: 1,000+ is good, 5,000+ is great. Top indies have 25,000+.
What if my book isn't appearing on my profile?
Use the "Add a book" feature in Author Central → Books. Search by title or ASIN. If it still doesn't link, contact Author Central support — usually a 24-hour fix.
