AUTHOR GUIDE
7 reasons your book isn’t selling on Amazon (and how to fix each one)
THE SHORT ANSWER
Most books that don’t sell on Amazon have a discovery problem, not a writing problem: readers never see the book (wrong categories or keywords), or they see it and don’t click (cover, title, price), or they click and don’t buy (description, reviews, look inside). Find which of the three stages is failing, then fix that stage first.
1. Your book is in the wrong category
Amazon shows books to readers based largely on category. If a sci-fi novel sits in a romance category, the readers who would love it never see it, and the readers who do see it don’t buy it.
Fix: look at 10 books that are truly similar to yours and note the categories they rank in. Choose the closest, most specific ones you can honestly fit.
2. Your keywords don’t match how readers search
Readers rarely search for your name or title. They type phrases like “cozy mystery with a cat” or “budgeting book for beginners.” If your seven keyword boxes are empty or filled with single words, you lose that traffic.
Fix: fill all seven boxes with real reader phrases. Type the start of a phrase into the Amazon search bar and note the suggestions it gives.
3. The cover doesn’t work at thumbnail size
Most shoppers first see your cover the size of a postage stamp. A title they can’t read, or a design that doesn’t look like its genre, gets skipped.
Fix: shrink your cover to about 100 pixels wide next to bestsellers in your category. If it doesn’t look like it belongs, or the title can’t be read, redesign it.
4. The description opens slowly
The first two lines show before “Read more.” If they talk about background instead of the reader’s problem or the story’s hook, most visitors leave.
Fix: open with a hook, add short paragraphs, and end with who the book is for.
5. There are too few reviews
Shoppers trust books other readers have tried. A page with no reviews can lose sales even when everything else is right.
Fix: ask early readers for honest reviews, use advance copies, and follow Amazon’s review rules. Never pay for or swap reviews.
6. The price doesn’t match the genre
A first ebook priced far above similar books in its genre can put off new readers.
Fix: compare prices of the top books in your category and price in a similar range.
7. No one is sending readers to the page
Amazon rewards books that already get some sales. With no ads, newsletter, or outreach, a new book can stay invisible.
Fix: start small, a low-budget Amazon ad on exact reader phrases, plus outreach to readers and book clubs.
WANT US TO CHECK YOUR BOOK?
MENTOR offers a free Amazon audit of your book page. We look at your cover, description, categories and keywords and tell you what to fix first. Get your free audit.