Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought…

Today I noticed that for the first time a big name writer’s book has appeared on the ‘Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought‘ list for my short story on Amazon.

It’s pretty self-explanatory, but the ‘Customers Who Bought…’ feature is a list of up to twenty books that have been bought by customers alongside the item you are currently viewing. In this instance, I was browsing the list that accompanies my short story which is on sale on Kindle – Unfamiliar Country.

Apologies to the authors and titles I didn’t recognise, but the writer I was pleased to see there was David Baldacci, author of 24 crime novels and is a crime writing household name. Baldacci’s No Time Left (Short Reads) is the third book in on a list of twenty books bought by people who also bought my book. I’m not sure why I think this is noteworthy, but still…

What does this mean for me, in terms of sales and recognition? Probably nothing, but it’s nice to be seen alongside a recognised writer with big a publishing company.

From a brief look at the rest of the titles in the ‘Also Bought’ list, the majority look like self-published/indie books in the crime genre, which would make sense given that’s what Unfamiliar Country is about. There are also some suprising titles in the mix too. Notably, two books about chicken recipes, a cheesecake recipe book, a rapid weight loss programme, a user guide for slow-cookers, and a book about ways to make $100.

The purpose of the ‘Also Bought’ list is to cross-pollinate books from customer to customer. My book will appear on the ‘Also Bought’ feed on some of the books that appear in my feed. I looked at Baldacci’s ‘Also Bought’ list. I don’t make the grade. But that’s understandable, he sells thousands of books. So while I maye have featured on there at some point, it would have been very brief given the turn-over of books sold.

On the other hand, Baldacci’s book on my ‘Also Bought’ list received 11 1-star reviews and doesn’t have a single review above 3 stars. So it’s not always greener on the other side!

Have a book available on Kindle? Which other writers have you been listed alongside? Any surprising titles?