Writers in the Storm

or Just Another Sparring Partner?

by Susan Watts

The name most often invoked in those conversations is the Amazon A11 algorithm, the system Amazon uses to rank, display, and recommend books within its marketplace. It determines which titles appear in search results, category rankings, and recommendation feeds based on customer behavior.

Amazon does not publish a detailed manual explaining exactly how it works yet publishing analysts and retail observers have studied its patterns closely enough to recognize how visibility behaves over time.

One distinction has become clear.

The Amazon A11 algorithm is not a publishing algorithm designed to evaluate art. It is a retail algorithm designed to evaluate buying behavior. That difference shapes everything that follows.

Amazon’s objective is not to reward literary depth or artistic ambition. Its aim is to show customers products they are likely to purchase and enjoy. Once that truth settles in, the system feels less like an invisible adversary and more like a sparring partner, revealing how well your book aligns with shopper expectations.

Let’s examine three persistent myths that continue to circulate around the Amazon A11 algorithm.

Myth #1: There Is a Secret Code Only Insiders Understand

The idea that a hidden formula exists and is accessible only to elite authors is strangely comforting. If the system is mysterious, then visibility problems must be beyond our control. Frustration feels justified.

But long-term observation of Amazon’s retail platform suggests something far more practical. Visibility tends to follow two pillars: relevance and performance. Relevance concerns the alignment between what your book signals and what a reader is searching for. Performance concerns what readers actually do once they encounter your book.

Category accuracy, keyword clarity, genre signals on your cover, and blurb precision all contribute to relevance. Performance is determined by how readers interact after clicking and buying, including their continued engagement, series advancement, and overall satisfaction preventing product returns.

For any author building a long-form series, this becomes immediately tangible. When the first book clearly communicates its tone, its level of danger, its emotional intensity, and the conventions it embraces, the right readers recognize themselves in that promise. They click because it feels familiar. They buy because it matches what they were seeking. They continue because the experience fulfills the expectation that drew them in. When those signals blur, even strong storytelling struggles to overcome the mismatch.

There is no secret code. There is positioning. Your book’s position in the marketplace isn’t random, and it’s not fixed. With deliberate thought and strategy, you can look at how your book is currently presented, make purposeful changes, and improve how clearly it aligns with reader expectations.

Myth #2: Amazon Is Punishing Independent Authors

When rankings decline after a launch spike, the experience can feel personal. You invested time, discipline, and emotional energy. Watching that work drift downward can feel like judgment.

Yet the Amazon A11 algorithm does not measure effort. It measures response.

A launch period gives Amazon concentrated data. If conversion remains strong after the initial surge, visibility stabilizes. If conversion weakens, exposure shifts toward products that are currently showing stronger buyer behavior. This is how retail systems allocate attention.

In martial arts, when a technique fails repeatedly during sparring, the exchange reveals an issue with timing, distance, or structure. This allows for adjustments and corrections to be made to fix the problems.

When visibility declines, the question becomes whether the book is converting the traffic it receives. If readers are arriving but not purchasing, the signals may need refinement. If they purchase but do not continue, the story may need strengthening.

Myth #3: Reviews Are the Primary Ranking Lever

Reviews matter, but not in the exaggerated way many authors assume. Their greatest influence lies in how they affect conversion. A large number of reviews does not automatically guarantee strong visibility if reader behavior does not support it.

What appears to carry greater weight within the Amazon A11 algorithm is what happens after discovery. Do clicks become purchases? Do purchases become completed reads? Do completed reads become continued engagement with the series? That pattern communicates satisfaction far more clearly than review count alone.

For authors writing interconnected stories, this is especially significant. When readers move naturally from one book to the next, they remain immersed in the narrative world. That continuity sends a powerful signal of a fulfilled promise and a worthwhile experience.

What The Amazon A11 Algorithm Actually Reflects

Despite Amazon’s lack of transparency regarding exact weighting, publishing trends suggest the Amazon A11 algorithm consistently reacts to measurable behavior. Conversion rate reveals how well your packaging aligns with expectation. Sales velocity indicates whether demand is steady rather than fleeting. Series read-through demonstrates narrative cohesion. Customer behavior such as returns or follow-on purchases shows satisfaction. Engagement within subscription models reflects the depth of reader commitment.

What is noticeably absent from that behavioral landscape is any subjective evaluation of artistic ambition. Amazon operates as a data-driven retail platform. It favors products that customers repeatedly show they want.

When your book aligns clearly with readers’ expectations and delivers an experience that encourages continued engagement, visibility increases over time. When alignment falters, exposure adjusts accordingly.

So, Is the Amazon A11 Algorithm Fact or Fiction?

The Amazon A11 algorithm is real. The mythology surrounding it is exaggerated.

The Amazon A11 algorithm is not a shadowy gatekeeper deciding which authors deserve success. It is a feedback mechanism that measures readers’ responses to the content presented to them. That feedback can feel uncomfortable, yet it is also actionable.

You cannot control the algorithm directly. You can, however, control the signals you send through genre clarity, promise precision, series consistency, and strong narrative transitions between books. Those are structural decisions which compound over time in the same way disciplined footwork strengthens a martial artist.

When approached with that mindset, The Amazon A11 algorithm stops being a rumor to fear and becomes a system to understand. It highlights where alignment is working and where it needs refinement. For authors willing to examine their positioning with the same scrutiny they bring to craft, that understanding becomes not a threat, but a tool.

What signal is your book currently sending to readers, and does it match the experience you intend to deliver?

About Susan

Under the pen name Michelle Allums, Susan Watts has authored a young adult urban fantasy titled, The Jade Amulet and is currently writing the sequel. Her short stories are also included in the anthologies Christmas Roses and Forever and Always.

Susan has dedicated over four decades to training in multiple martial arts styles and holds the impressive title of a five-time US Karate Alliance world black belt fighting grand champion. Through her karate school, she is able to impart martial arts and life skills. Susan also incorporates her martial arts knowledge into her writing.

An avid triathlete, she keeps in shape by running, biking, and swimming. She lives in the country with her husband, where they raise animals and enjoy being outdoors. Susan also has three grown children and numerous grandchildren. In addition, she is a CPA and VP of finance for a company in her hometown. 

You can connect with Susan on social media or her website.

Feature picture by Pixabay.

by Laurie Schnebly Campbell

Most of us know somebody who’s done deliveries, right? It could be:

• your neighbor who moonlights for Uber, delivering travelers to the airport.
• Or your college-age nephew who’s lined up a pizza delivery gig.
• Or you, who’ve found the best ways to get various friends & family members to/from various events.

Just about ALL those door-to-door people like improving their efficiency.

• Faster pickups mean better driver ratings.
• More pizzas mean more tips.
• A smoother schedule gives you extra time to enjoy reading and/or writing.

And nobody’s gonna quibble about efficiency being a Bad Thing when the Uber driver knows a shortcut past the traffic jam, or the pizza guy arrives with the deep-dish pepperoni still piping hot. But when it comes to creating a book, efficiency sounds a bit...well, suspicious.

After all, truly creative people are more concerned with the quality of their work than with how many pages they can crank out in 48 hours.

And rightfully so.

So thinking of Efficiency as a way to get things done FASTER might sound like a Bad Thing. But what about a different perspective? Suppose Efficiency is

A way to get things done BETTER.

Okay, that’s worth looking at.

Think of all the steps involved in writing a story. Forget the proofreading and paginating and querying; right now we’re only looking at the creative part. Which usually starts with...

Yep. Creating an idea.

Some people have absolutely no trouble coming up with ideas. They’re veritable fountains of potential plots and compelling characters and scintillating settings, and their only problem is choosing which of their two billion ideas to write first.

Writers who find thinking up ideas harder will often envy their prolific friends, while those prolific writers will often envy the friends who aren’t distracted by Bright Shiny Things and can get through an entire story--beginning to end--without being diverted into tons of other exciting possibilities.

That’s why just about every writer can use some efficiency improvement, when it comes to EITHER creating ideas OR sticking with an idea long enough to finish the book.

What gets in our way?

Finding the right concept is problematic for writers who don’t have oodles of ideas bursting from their brain, same as for those who do. Luckily, though, anyone can spend ten minutes jotting down random answers to questions like “What’d be a cool opening? Who’d make a great character? What would I like to explore?”

It only gets hard when thinking, “Whoa, after jotting down the idea I’ve gotta write the book!”

So don’t think of it that way. Think of this as a practice exercise, which it actually IS when we look at creating a book. Coming up with some random ideas is even easier when there’s a limit: if your answer is limited to 15 words max, you don’t need to worry about broader ramifications. Like:

• “Wait, is such a thing even possible?”
• “It’d need to be a whole series, not a single story.”
• “Would Chris be offended that I used our shared experience?”
• “Somebody’s probably already written this.”

When you’re working with only up to 15 words, you don’t need to worry about such concerns. This is Just. For. Practice. And that takes a lot of the pressure off.

All right, you’ve got an idea or two or five. Now what?

Now it’s time for the next step in improving your efficiency, which <ahem> is NOT sitting down to write.

• “But I have to write for the story to take shape in my brain!”
• “It's the only way I can develop a feeling for these characters.”
• “How can I get to know them before I start writing about ‘em?”

Same as you’d get to know someone you’re thinking about asking to join your decorating committee. Or your cookie-swap brigade. Or your critique group.

You don’t need to issue the invitation right off the bat. You can take some time to observe this person in action. See how they react to things. Find out what matters to them.

And the same is true for your characters.

What matters most.

For a character to be worth writing about, you need to have a handle on their motivation. Motivation is what drives them through the plot (not to mention their entire life), influencing what they do and say and think and feel. Which makes it the next aspect of improving your efficiency--knowing their motivation BEFORE writing Chapter One.

There are steps for that, too, but none of those steps matters without the first idea of “hmm, I think I’d like to see a story about ___.”

And filling in such a blank is all kinds of fun!

You can make it extra entertaining or challenging or non-threatening by answering for a book you already know you’d never do. Say, a romantasy in ancient Egypt when you’re contracted for three more Western thrillers. Or a kids’ story when your favorite kind of book is women’s fiction. Feel free to pick ANY idea, for ANY kind of story, and use that for your answer to this:

Prize-drawing question:

What's some 15-words-or-less idea for a book you’d enjoy reading or writing?

Someone who answers will win free registration to Plotting Via Motivation, my March 2-27 email class on that very thing. On Wednesday evening I’ll have random-org draw a name and post it at the end of the comments, so check back shortly because class will start on Monday!

About Laurie:

After winning Romantic Times’ “Best Special Edition of the Year” over Nora Roberts, Laurie Schnebly Campbell discovered she loved teaching every bit as much as writing...if not more. Since then she’s taught in-person and online workshops including the upcoming Plotting Via Motivation, and keeps a special section of her bookshelves for people who’ve developed that particular novel in her classes. With 60+ titles there so far, she’s always hoping for more.

Feature picture by Unsplash

By Sarah (Sally) Hamer

How often do you get lost during a scene change in a book? You’re reading along, minding your own business, enjoying the story. Check. You come to the conclusion of a great chapter and/or scene. Check. Good ending, with a cliffhanger that leaves you panting to turn the page and start the next section. Check.

Then the books goes off to Oz. Or to Mars. Or to somewhere with someone with something going on that has NOTHING to do with what we just read.

Great. Lost. Close book. Turn off light. Go to sleep.

Not what we writers want to happen!

So, how do we fix the problem? By orienting our reader with what’s going on.

Setting the Scene

You turn the page to a fresh chapter and confusion immediately ensues. Who is speaking? Where are we? What’s going on and why are we in a completely different place and/or time? Readers rely on clear orientation when entering new chapters and scenes to avoid feeling like they’ve stumbled into chaos. But orienting a reader doesn’t mean dumping a dry block of exposition—it’s an art, a balancing act, and a perfect opportunity to sprinkle in some narrative magic. How can you pull it off? With flair, humor, and just the right dose of intrigue.

Anchor Your Reader in Time and Place

First things first—don’t leave your reader floating. Instead, weave your setting into the action or dialogue. Establish the where and when of your scene as soon as possible (read: in the first paragraph and even in the first sentence). Did the setting change from the last chapter? If so, where is the new one? If it’s in a different place, we need to know it immediately. You do NOT have to give a huge amount of information. In fact, it’s okay to simply use a tag with “Paris, 1935” to show us both where and when. You can also use dialog or a quick description. I recommend this come from your point of view character, SHOWING us what happened instead of TELLING us. A line like, “The neon sign above the bar flickered as Rosie poured herself another whiskey,” immediately sets up us to know where we are.

WHEN can be done the same way. “Two weeks later” or “She ached from head to toe. The horse the soldiers had chosen for her trip from Braemer to Dunsbury must have one leg shorter than the other three.” The latter one gives you an opportunity to add a tiny bit of characterization, a bonus!

Reintroduce Characters: The WHO of it

If you’re writing a sprawling cast of characters, chances are your reader isn’t going to remember every detail about a character and their situation, especially in a long book. Help them out. This doesn’t mean regurgitating their entire biography at the start of each chapter. Instead, offer light reminders through context or action. For example: “Damia tugged at the cloak, attempting to make it large enough to tuck under her legs. But the shaking of her body wasn’t just about the cold. Instead, her nemesis, her master, waited for her on the other side of the door. This reminds us who she is and why she is there —and hints at the coming conflict/tension, too.

Set the Tone

Tone is your secret weapon for orienting readers and creating emotional impact. Is the scene tragic, suspenseful, or laugh-out-loud funny? Readers should feel the mood shift as soon as they step into the narrative. So, since you’ve left them on a cliff-hanger for one section of the story, now is the time to change over to another puzzle piece. Some of us remember the Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. It’s the second movie in the original trilogy. Luke goes off on his own to work with Yoda and Han, Leia, Chewbacca, and C3PO take off in a different direction. The Luke/Yoda side of the story is internalization, character growth, and, bluntly, boring. So, Lucas brilliantly leaves us with poor Luke trying to figure himself out and jumps us to the worm in the asteroid planning on eating the other heroes. One side’s tone is slow and riddled with deep introspection, while the other is the rousing adventure we expect from a Star Wars movie. The tones are so vastly different, it’s almost as if they are in different movies but, because Lucas plans them out so well – AND ORIENTS THE READER on both sides – it keeps us engrossed.

Trust Your Reader’s Imagination

Here’s the caveat. Some writers can get away without setting a scene. But, except in movies, which has a completely different set of rules, most of us cannot. Movies are able to use the camera to set a scene so, simply by watching, the audience can orient themselves. But, since our tools don’t include video, writers MUST make sure the reader, no matter how great their imagination, don’t get lost.

This doesn’t happen as much in shorter books set in a familiar place (American writers reading contemporary books in an American setting) but in a high fantasy, with dozens of characters and many complex locations, orientation may mean the difference between a book being read or put down without it being finished.

Orienting your readers at the start of each chapter or scene isn’t just a necessity—it’s an opportunity to enchant, surprise, and pull them deeper into your narrative world. Paint the scene with precision, guide them gently, and then let their imaginations run wild.

How will you paint your scene?

About Sarah (Sally) Hamer

Sarah (Sally) Hamer, B.S., MLA, is a lover of books, a teacher of writers, and a believer in a good story. Most of all, she is eternally fascinated by people and how they 'tick'. She’s passionate about helping people tell their own stories and has won awards at both local and national levels, including two Golden Heart finals.

A teacher of memoir, beginning and advanced creative fiction writing, and screenwriting at Louisiana State University in Shreveport for over twenty years, she also teaches online for Margie Lawson at www.margielawson.com and for the No Stress Writing Academy at https://www.worldanvil.com/w/classes-deleyna/a/no-stress-writing-academy.  Sally is a free-lance editor and book coach, with many of her students and clients becoming successful, award-winning authors.

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Feature Image by Pixabay