If you haven’t launched a book in the last month or so, you may not be aware that Amazon has made some changes. I am no expert on these. In fact, I am only now digging into them and their meaning for authors.

I am talking about the changes for Amazon Advertising, KDP, and Author Central.

I will begin with what I am reading about Amazon Advertising. Then, for the next two weeks, I will cover KDP and Author Central changes.

Most authors know about sponsored ads—that expensive real estate at the top of Amazon search results. The change here is that the playing field between publishing houses and Indie authors has just been leveled for those who have three or more books on Amazon. Those Indie authors who do—and can pay the hefty price for the ad—may now buy a sponsored ad.

Next, the addition of Negative Product Targeting gives greater control to limit losses from Amazon’s automatic targeting algorithms. This feature improves profitability for author ad campaigns. (I am still in the dark on this one, but you can bet I’ll be looking into it.)

Amazon has a new ad capability in which authors can buy international ads in 8 countries. The example that is given is the BUY NOW button. So, if you advertise in markets other than the US, you’ll really appreciate this.

Finally, if an author is enrolled in KDP-Select, they get compensation for pages read. With the new changes, Amazon will now measure the performance of Amazon ads on e-book page reads and royalties.

Again, it sounds like Amazon is opening the door for the success of its Indie authors like never before!