Amazon Author Central: The Complete Guide to Your Author Page

Your book can sell on Amazon for years without an author page. Readers who click your name may find little more than a list of titles, with no face, no story, and no reason to follow you. Amazon Author Central fixes that, and it’s free.

This guide covers what Author Central does, how to join, how to set up each part of your author page, and how to fix the problems that trip authors up. We checked the key facts against Amazon’s own KDP help pages in October 2026.

What is Amazon Author Central?

Amazon Author Central is where you manage your Amazon author page. The author page is what readers see. Author Central is the dashboard behind it.

You see

Author Central

• Photo and bio
• Your books
• Editorial reviews
• Rank, reviews, followers

shows on

Readers see

Your author page

ME

Maya Ellison

+ Follow

and on

Readers see

Your book pages

• Your bio (often shown)
• Editorial reviews (US)
• A link to your author page

• It’s free. Joining is free, and Amazon doesn’t list a charge for any Author Central feature.
• It’s separate from KDP. KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing, Amazon’s publishing platform) is where you publish and price your book. An author page isn’t included with KDP; you set it up in Author Central.
• Your book must be published first. Amazon’s KDP help says you can prepare your page in advance, but you can only create it once a book is live.
• It’s for any author with a book on Amazon, whether you self-published on KDP or your book came out through a traditional publisher.

Building an author presence beyond Amazon? Your Amazon author page is one piece of your wider author platform.

What you can do in Author Central

Amazon’s KDP help describes these features, as of October 2026. Some you edit, some you only view, and two work only in the US store.

Older guides also describe a blog feed, videos, and a custom author page web address. Amazon’s current KDP help list doesn’t mention them, so check your own dashboard before planning around them.

How to join Amazon Author Central

If you publish with KDP, you join from your KDP account in a few steps. These are Amazon’s steps, as of October 2026:

An ISBN is your book’s ID number; an ASIN is Amazon’s own product number. See ASIN vs ISBN if you’re not sure which you have. Not on KDP yet? Start with how to self-publish on Amazon, then come back once your book is live.

How to set up your Amazon author page

Once you’ve joined, set up each part of the page. This is what each part does on a typical author page:

1

Maya Ellison

+ Follow2

3

Books by Maya Ellison 4

Maya recommends 5

1. Author photoThe first thing readers see.
2. Follow buttonLets Amazon email readers about your new books.
3. BioWho you are and what you write.
4. Your booksEvery book you claim, with formats linked.
5. RecommendationsBooks you suggest to your followers.

Add your author photo

Use a clear, recent photo of you, the same one you use on your website and other author profiles, so readers recognize you anywhere. The upload screen shows Amazon’s current size and file rules.

Add your bio

Your bio appears on your author page and can appear on your books’ detail pages. You can add it in more than one language, which matters if you sell in Germany, France, Japan, or Brazil. Need a first draft? Our free author bio generator writes one in three lengths.

Claim every book and every edition

Add each book you’ve published under this author name, including every format: ebook, paperback, and hardcover, plus your audiobook if it’s listed. Claiming your books also helps Amazon link your formats on one page when their details match (see Fix common Author Central problems).

Add editorial reviews (US only)

Editorial reviews are quotes from reviewers, publications, or other authors, shown on your book’s detail page. In Author Central they’re a US-only feature. Customer reviews work differently and follow stricter rules; see customer reviews vs editorial reviews.

Add book recommendations

You can recommend books to your followers, your own or other authors’. Amazon may notify your followers when you submit at least three new recommendations, so this is a way to reach them between releases.

Is your author page complete?

Author Central vs KDP: what you change where

Authors often look for a setting in the wrong place. Here’s where each one lives, as of October 2026.

Amazon followers: how readers hear about your books

Readers can follow you from your author page or from any of your books’ detail pages, and Author Central shows you how many followers you have. Amazon may email them in two situations:

Author Central shows your follower count but doesn’t give you followers’ names or emails, and Amazon, not you, sends these emails. To reach readers directly, build your own author newsletter.

Reports: Best Sellers Rank, BookScan and reviews

Author Central’s reports help you see what’s selling, without leaving your dashboard.

• Best Sellers RankView

  Your books’ overall rank and category ranks. Amazon compares your book’s customer activity with other books’ and weights recent activity most. Ranks update at least once a day; changes can take up to two days to show.

• BookScanUS only

  Print sales data from Nielsen BookScan. At its 2010 launch, Amazon said it covers print sales at many US retailers, not only Amazon, and no ebooks.

• Customer reviewsView

  ★★★★☆

  The reviews readers leave on your books, collected in one place.

For your exact royalties and units, use your KDP reports. Author Central’s figures help with trends, not payments.

Amazon author pages outside the US

You don’t get one worldwide author page. Amazon runs pages by marketplace, and you can edit only some of them. As of October 2026:

Your US page also shows in the six read-only stores, so get it right first. Then set up the other editable stores where you sell, with the bio in that store’s language.

Pen names, co-authors and traditionally published books

Author pages are tied to the author name on your books.

• Books under a pen name usually show on that name’s author page. Use the same pen name, spelled the same way, on every book, and claim its books in Author Central. Your real name stays in your KDP account, so payments and tax forms are correct. Choosing a name? Try our pen name generator.
• Co-authors can usually each claim a shared book in their own Author Central account, so it shows on each author’s page.
• Books from a traditional publisher can be claimed too. If one doesn’t show up, contact Author Central support or your publisher.

Fix common Author Central problems

Many problems come from names or details that don’t match. A common one is an ebook and paperback that show as separate books. Amazon links formats published through the same KDP account only when these details match:

• My book isn’t on my author page

  Fix: Claim it in Author Central by searching its ISBN or ASIN. If the author name on the book differs even slightly, claim it under the name it shows, and use one spelling on future books.

• My ebook and paperback aren’t linked

  Fix: Fix any difference in the details above in KDP, then allow up to a week after each edition is live. Editions in different languages never link. Still not linked? Contact KDP with the ebook’s ASIN and the print book’s 10-digit ISBN.

• Someone else’s book is on my page

  Fix: Remove it from your books list in Author Central if that option shows; if not, contact Author Central support.

• My author name has a typo

  Fix: The primary author name can’t be changed after publishing. You can publish a new edition with the correct name. Other contributors can be updated.

• My page doesn’t show in another country

  Fix: Check the marketplace map above. Pages in India, Italy, Spain, Australia, Canada, and Mexico copy your US page and currently can’t be edited.

For how long each step takes after publishing, see KDP timelines after your book goes live.

Your other author pages

Amazon isn’t the only place readers look you up. Use the same photo and bio everywhere, so readers recognize you.

• AmazonYour author page, managed in Author Central. This guide.
• GoodreadsReaders shelve and review books there. See Goodreads for authors.
• BookBubFollowers get new release alerts. See what BookBub is.

When to get help

Setting up Author Central takes an afternoon if your books and names are in order. If they aren’t, or you’d rather not do it at all, we can help.

• Publishing with us? Every publishing tier sets up your Amazon author page in Author Central. See our publishing tiers.
• Already published? Our Amazon page and author profiles service costs $399 (Standard) or $649 (Plus). Standard writes your book description, keywords, and categories, and prepares profile kits for Amazon Author Central, Goodreads, and BookBub, which we complete with you on a 30-minute call. Plus adds A+ Content, linked formats, a series page, and an Editorial Reviews section. Accounts are created and owned by you.
• Still writing? Our self-publishing packages take a finished manuscript to a live book, with every account in your name.

Amazon Author Central questions

Is Amazon Author Central free?

Yes. Joining Amazon Author Central is free, and Amazon doesn’t list a charge for any of its features, including your author page, editorial reviews, follower counts, and BookScan print sales data in the US. You only need a book that’s already published on Amazon, and you can sign up with the same account you use for KDP.

Can I create an Amazon author page before my book is published?

No. Amazon’s KDP help says your book must be published before you can create an author page. You can prepare in the meantime: choose your author name carefully, because it can’t be changed after publishing, and get your photo and bio ready so you can set up the page the day your book goes live.

Can I add editorial reviews outside the US?

Not through Author Central. As of October 2026, Amazon’s KDP help lists editorial reviews as a US-only feature, along with BookScan sales data. You can still add a bio, a photo, and your books to your pages in the UK, Germany, France, Japan, and Brazil, and those pages help readers there find and follow you.

Can I have more than one Amazon author page?

Usually, yes, if you publish under more than one name. Author pages are tied to the author name on your books, so books under a pen name usually show on that name’s page, separate from your real name. Keep each name spelled the same way on every book, claim each name’s books in Author Central, and use a photo and bio that fit that name.

Do I need Author Central if I already publish on KDP?

Yes, if you want an author page. KDP publishes and sells your book, but an author page isn’t included. Without Author Central, readers who click your name may find little more than a list of titles. You join in a few steps from the Marketing page in KDP, with the same account.

Related reading

• Goodreads for authors: set up your author page
• What is BookBub, and is it worth it for authors?
• What is an author platform?