Linking between pages on your own website. Distributes authority, guides readers, and improves SEO and navigation.

A 155-character summary that appears under a page title in Google search results. Influences click-through rate from search results.

A planned schedule of content topics, publication dates, and assigned authors. Keeps publishing consistent and organized.

A recognizable story pattern or character dynamic that readers actively search for and expect. Examples: enemies-to-lovers, second chance romance, chosen one.

Visual or textual cues that instantly communicate what genre a book belongs to. Includes cover design, title style, blurb language, and metadata.

When all book packaging—cover, title, blurb, keywords—consistently and accurately signals the intended genre. Critical for reader satisfaction and ad conversion.

Tropes that generate strong negative reactions in a significant portion of readers. Including them requires careful, explicit signaling.

A blurb section at the end declaring tropes and comp titles for AI engine discoverability. Example: "If you love paranormal romance with enemies-to-lovers and fated mates..."

A published book, author, or show named in your blurb to signal genre, tone, and expected reader experience. Example: "If you love Sylvia Moreno-Garcia..."

The book description used on retailer pages (Amazon, Apple Books, etc.). Functions as a sales copy and trope delivery system.

A brand identifier communicating genre, tone, or trope across all books in a series. Examples: "Immortals After Dark," "Bridgerton Series."

The total royalty earned from a single reader across your entire catalog (all series, all books). Drives ad spend justification.

The maximum cost-per-click at which an ad neither profits nor loses money. Critical for setting ad budgets and evaluating campaign viability.

How much it costs in ad spend to acquire one new reader. Calculated as total ad spend ÷ number of new readers acquired.

An author's total online presence across website, social media, email list, and published works. The foundation for organic growth and reader relationships.

Amazon's subscription service where readers pay ~$11.99/month for unlimited reads. Authors earn royalties from a shared KU fund based on pages read.

Amazon's standardized page count for KU royalty calculation, normalized across all devices. Not the same as word count or print pages.

Amazon's self-publishing platform where authors upload, format, and sell books directly to readers. Handles distribution, payment, and royalty tracking.

The percentage of book 1 readers who continue to book 2 or beyond. 40%+ is healthy; drives series profitability and ad ROI.

The total royalty earned per reader across an entire series or backlist. Includes book 1 sales, book 2 reads, book 3 reads, etc.

The time period Amazon attributes clicks and reads back to an ad (default 14 days). Readers who click an ad but read later than the window won't be tracked.

The delay between a reader clicking an ad and pages being recorded in your KU account. Can be days or weeks, causing attribution delays.

The number of books in a series. Deeper series (4+ books) reduce effective break-even CPC because read-through value multiplies.

An author's previously published books. A large backlist amplifies the profitability of ads because readers discover multiple books.

A combined edition bundling multiple series books (e.g., 3 books in 1). All pages count immediately toward KU royalties; powerful for reader acquisition.

Optimizing content to appear in AI search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. Emerging field with growing importance for author discoverability.

Optimizing website content to rank higher in Google search results. Includes keywords, structure, links, and content quality.

Structured data markup that tells search engines and AI engines what content means. Improves visibility in rich results and AI citations.

JSON-LD markup for question-and-answer content. Makes Q&A content eligible for Google's rich results and increases visibility.

Search engines recognizing your website as the leading expert on a specific topic. Built through comprehensive, high-quality content over time.

The average amount you pay each time someone clicks your Facebook ad. Critical metric for book marketing profitability.

The cost to display your ad 1,000 times on Facebook. Ranges from $2-$15 for book ads depending on audience and placement.

The percentage of people who see your ad and click it. For book ads, 0.5%-1.5% is typical; 2%+ indicates strong creative.

The percentage of people who click your ad and complete the desired action (purchase, add to wishlist, click to retailer). Under 2% signals a creative or funnel problem.

The ratio of revenue earned to ad spend. Calculated as total revenue ÷ ad spend. A ROAS of 3:1 means $3 earned per $1 spent.

Amazon's free tool that tracks clicks from external ads (Facebook, BookBub, etc.) back to book sales and KU page reads. Captures ~33-50% of actual conversions.

Kindle Edition Normalized Pages divided by ad clicks. The primary KU profitability signal: 10+ pages per click = break-even for most ads.

Facebook's algorithm calibration period when an ad first launches or receives major changes. Data is volatile; steady performance emerges after ~50 conversions.

Facebook's budget-setting option where you control spending at the ad set level. Recommended over CBO for most book authors.

Facebook's automated budget allocation system that distributes spend across all ad sets based on performance. The Writing Wives generally recommend against it for book authors.

Facebook's newer audience mode that uses AI to expand beyond your targeting inputs. Treats interests and demographics as suggestions, not constraints.

Facebook's traditional targeting mode using hard constraints on age, gender, interests, and behaviors. Gives you precise control over who sees your ad.

Splitting your ad performance data by age, gender, country, placement, or device to identify expensive or underperforming audience segments.

When an ad's image or copy loses its power to stop the scroll, even with new audiences. Indicated by rising CPC with stable or declining CTR.

When a specific audience pool becomes exhausted from repeated ad exposure. Indicated by rising frequency, rising CPC, and declining CTR to that audience.