As someone who's getting close to uploading his book to KDP, this post couldn't have been more helpful or timely-- especially when it comes to writing your book description.
Maybe I could paraphrase your point this way(?) => We need to write our book description for people who are SEARCHING for a certain kind of book, rather than for people who (somehow!) have managed to find our Amazon book sales page and are scrolling thru it.
And we need to keep that Search factor in mind anytime we REFERENCE our book: in blog posts, social media posts, answering comments, questions, etc.
And I'm embarrassed to say that before I read your article, I'd never noticed the Follow The Author button on Amazon book pages!! š³
Super helpful post! Thanks, Marcin, and thanks to Jen of Author Gold for cross-posting your post. š
Pardon my pessimism, but this seems truly dystopian. I understand that things are the way they are (because we make them so), and this is a sink or swim scenario (and I'm definitely sinking), but I'm simply not interested in pleasing the algorithm. Case in point: āA gripping sci-fi thriller about a colonist on Mars,ā sounds much more appealing to me than: āA distraction-free sci-fi survival story for fans of engineering puzzles.ā Anyways, AI can get stuffed!!
And you are right, it is a little bit dystopian and it is something you canāt escape - people use Perplexity for search, and you have to be prepared.
But a good blurb and metadata was an art even before AI, so itās not entirely new. You just have to switch to writing blurbs for both humans and the machine.
"A good blurb and metadata..." I agree. "...and it is something you can't escape..." sadly, you are very correct, Marcin.
The main question used to be, "How can I entice the (prospective) reader?" This is, at its core, a question of human psychology; I can relate to this. Now things are all about, "What does the algorithm require?" Which is a question about datasets and how AI processes them; I can not relate to this.
In the end we all have to figure out how we want to spend our limited time and energy, and I, for one, choose to spend it on trying to figure out how to write an emotionally rewarding story, rather than navigate arbitrary AI requirements.
Am I on the losing side? I'm afraid so. Alas, so be it.
At the end of the process is still your reader. They just don't go to Amazon and put "military sci-fi ebook" into search bar. They now ask Perplexity or Google Assistant "what are good new military scifi books that are about first contact that I can read in one afternoon" - this is the answer AI has to find out and your blurb and metadata can either help or not. It's not inherently good or bad. It's just a change :)
You're correct, Marcin. And I actually appreciate your understanding of this topic. I'm sure your knowledge is helpful to many who seek to master the algorithm. Nonetheless, I've never even heard of Perplexity, I don't use Google Assistant, and have not once used ChatGPT, and don't intend to do so anytime soon. I'm no Luddite, but merely an old-school-fool who looks with worry at the "machinification" of the world.
Good article! Even with all these going, or done, itās still hard to get the Amazon Adās to work. And they definitely donāt work like they used to (for me).
In the old days, if you didn't have a "Dragon" or a "Vampire" on the cover, you were basically invisible to the search bar. Non-genre books had no "home." But the new algorithm cares less about the "what" and more about the "who" and "why".
Think of it as a shift from "Category Targeting" to Mood & Utility.
While a genre author targets "Fans of Star Wars," you can target a specific human state. Youāre writing "for the person stuck in a 9-to-5 who needs a sense of wanderlust or a bit of philosophical breathing room". The 2026 algorithm is finally smart enough to find that "wanderlust" crowd, even without a "Travel" tag. Itās no longer about fitting into a box ā it's about being the right answer for a reader's specific mood.
I wonāt ask you to tell me specifics for my own novel, but Iām powerfully curious! How is one good read of no particular genre supposed to stand out? There are millions of āI just want to get lost in something goodā possibilities.
It's hard to answer without specifics, but I would question the "no particular genre". Maybe you are actually first in your own genre? Its a best possible position to be :)
Few years ago genres like cozy horror, litrpg or hopepunk didn't exist. People who were there first make millions today.
@Kristin McTiernan Thanks for restacking! Iām a huge fan of your YT channel :)
As someone who's getting close to uploading his book to KDP, this post couldn't have been more helpful or timely-- especially when it comes to writing your book description.
Maybe I could paraphrase your point this way(?) => We need to write our book description for people who are SEARCHING for a certain kind of book, rather than for people who (somehow!) have managed to find our Amazon book sales page and are scrolling thru it.
And we need to keep that Search factor in mind anytime we REFERENCE our book: in blog posts, social media posts, answering comments, questions, etc.
And I'm embarrassed to say that before I read your article, I'd never noticed the Follow The Author button on Amazon book pages!! š³
Super helpful post! Thanks, Marcin, and thanks to Jen of Author Gold for cross-posting your post. š
Another great post, Marcin. Thank you! Very helpful and informative.
Pardon my pessimism, but this seems truly dystopian. I understand that things are the way they are (because we make them so), and this is a sink or swim scenario (and I'm definitely sinking), but I'm simply not interested in pleasing the algorithm. Case in point: āA gripping sci-fi thriller about a colonist on Mars,ā sounds much more appealing to me than: āA distraction-free sci-fi survival story for fans of engineering puzzles.ā Anyways, AI can get stuffed!!
And you are right, it is a little bit dystopian and it is something you canāt escape - people use Perplexity for search, and you have to be prepared.
But a good blurb and metadata was an art even before AI, so itās not entirely new. You just have to switch to writing blurbs for both humans and the machine.
"A good blurb and metadata..." I agree. "...and it is something you can't escape..." sadly, you are very correct, Marcin.
The main question used to be, "How can I entice the (prospective) reader?" This is, at its core, a question of human psychology; I can relate to this. Now things are all about, "What does the algorithm require?" Which is a question about datasets and how AI processes them; I can not relate to this.
In the end we all have to figure out how we want to spend our limited time and energy, and I, for one, choose to spend it on trying to figure out how to write an emotionally rewarding story, rather than navigate arbitrary AI requirements.
Am I on the losing side? I'm afraid so. Alas, so be it.
You are looking at it wrong :)
At the end of the process is still your reader. They just don't go to Amazon and put "military sci-fi ebook" into search bar. They now ask Perplexity or Google Assistant "what are good new military scifi books that are about first contact that I can read in one afternoon" - this is the answer AI has to find out and your blurb and metadata can either help or not. It's not inherently good or bad. It's just a change :)
You're correct, Marcin. And I actually appreciate your understanding of this topic. I'm sure your knowledge is helpful to many who seek to master the algorithm. Nonetheless, I've never even heard of Perplexity, I don't use Google Assistant, and have not once used ChatGPT, and don't intend to do so anytime soon. I'm no Luddite, but merely an old-school-fool who looks with worry at the "machinification" of the world.
I believe there is place for you too. The explosion of photography didn't erase traditional painters - it made them more rare and more precious :)
I hope so... Hey, I much appreciate the friendly conversation, Marcin.
Good article! Even with all these going, or done, itās still hard to get the Amazon Adās to work. And they definitely donāt work like they used to (for me).
Wow, this is revelatory to me? I'll have to start redefining my books. Thanks...š
Great info!! Thanks for sharing
Unfortunately this is why all the covers in a given genre all look the same. The end result is that nothing stands out.
Question: Iāve largely stopped writing genre fiction. How does this apply to non-genre books? Or does it?
It applies more than you might think.
In the old days, if you didn't have a "Dragon" or a "Vampire" on the cover, you were basically invisible to the search bar. Non-genre books had no "home." But the new algorithm cares less about the "what" and more about the "who" and "why".
Think of it as a shift from "Category Targeting" to Mood & Utility.
While a genre author targets "Fans of Star Wars," you can target a specific human state. Youāre writing "for the person stuck in a 9-to-5 who needs a sense of wanderlust or a bit of philosophical breathing room". The 2026 algorithm is finally smart enough to find that "wanderlust" crowd, even without a "Travel" tag. Itās no longer about fitting into a box ā it's about being the right answer for a reader's specific mood.
I wonāt ask you to tell me specifics for my own novel, but Iām powerfully curious! How is one good read of no particular genre supposed to stand out? There are millions of āI just want to get lost in something goodā possibilities.
It's hard to answer without specifics, but I would question the "no particular genre". Maybe you are actually first in your own genre? Its a best possible position to be :)
Few years ago genres like cozy horror, litrpg or hopepunk didn't exist. People who were there first make millions today.
Helpful, thank you! Any author who wants to understand Amazon and KDP, this is gold.
Some very good points raised, thank you.