A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: What is really going on with Amazon's new algorithm and the ability for readers to find your book?

 

It is Tuesday. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.

This week, the topic is one that that has been the buzz among publishers and authors these days. What is going on with Amazon's new A10 algorithm? 

Here are the things we have been able to determine (with approximate certainty, at least).

  • No Magic Number: There’s no confirmed rule that books need 100+ reviews to appear in search. That idea is definitely floating around and likely stems from marketing lore or newsletter eligibility requirements, not Amazon policy.
  • Relevance Over Quantity: A10 prioritizes reader engagement, natural metadata, and off-Amazon credibility (like author websites or social media presence) over sheer volume of reviews.
  • Metadata Sensitivity: Books with outdated or overly keyword-stuffed descriptions may be deprioritized. A10 favors clear, human-sounding copy and penalizes robotic or repetitive phrasing.
  • External Signals Matter: Amazon now weighs off-site signals—like traffic from newsletters, blogs, or author platforms—more heavily in ranking decisions.
  • Older Titles at Risk: Books published several years ago with minimal recent activity (sales, reviews, or metadata updates) may be quietly deprioritized unless they show signs of ongoing relevance.

Herea are some things you or your publisher can do to help your book be more highly prioritized to show up in searches sorted by the new A10 algorithm.

  • Refresh Metadata: Even if nothing has changed, try re-saving or lightly updating the book’s description or keywords to re-trigger indexing.
  • Drive External Traffic: Link to the book from your blog, newsletter, or social media. Amazon’s algorithm notices that kind of engagement.
  • Audit for Suppression: Use the ASIN to check if the book is still live but unsearchable. If so, it’s likely an indexing issue, not a takedown.
  • Contact KDP Support: Especially for Kindle titles, they can manually re-index or flag any backend issues.
  • Get Help from Your Distributor. If Amazon appears to be suppressing your title, then your distributor may need to get involved.

Bottom line: Understand how the new A10 Amazon works, and you will understand better how to situate your book for greater discoverability.

The Tuesday talks reflect real discussions between the management of MSI Press LLC and our own authors or those would-be authors who come through our doors but don't make the cut--yet. If you have a topic that you would like addressed, leave the question in the comment section. Chances are, in our 22 years of publishing first-time and experiences authors, we have had a conversation with one of our authors that we can share with you.

 See more Publisher Conversations with Authors HERE.



 Learn more about publishing from an acquisitions editor -- how to get your book proposal accepted, why proposals are turned down/accepted, and how to find the right publisher for your book. On special sale for $5 while inventory lasts at MSI Press webstore. Also available as an e-book and an audiobook.



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Julia Aziz, signing her book, Lessons of Labor, at an event at Book People in Austin, Texas.






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Steven Greenebaum, author of award-winning books, An Afternoon's Discussion and One Family: Indivisible, talking to a reader at Barnes & Noble in Gilroy, California.






   
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