How to Write an "Also By" Page (and Show Your Series Reading Order)
What to put on your ebook's Also By page, how to list a series in reading order, where the page belongs, and how to keep store links right for Kindle, Kobo and Apple Books.
The moment a reader finishes your book is the best moment to tell them about your next one. They’ve just spent hours with your writing and, if you’ve done your job, they want more.
An “Also By” page is how you catch that moment. It’s a simple list of your other books, but done well, it’s one of the most effective sales tools an indie author has, and it costs nothing.
What an Also By page is
It’s a page listing your other books, usually titled “Also by [Your Name]”. It can be as simple as a list of titles, or include a line about each book and links to buy it.
For series authors, it does a second job: it shows readers the reading order. Few things put a reader off a series faster than not knowing which book comes next.
Where it goes: front or back?
You’ll see it in both places, and both work, but for different reasons.
At the front, straight after the title page, it shows a new reader that you’re an established author with more books to enjoy. In an ebook, though, the front pages are part of the free sample, and every page before chapter one is a page the reader has to skip.
At the back, it appears exactly when the reader has finished and wants more. That’s when a link to your next book is most likely to be tapped.
Many indie authors now put it at the back, often straight after the last chapter or after an “About the Author” page. If you do keep a list at the front, keep it short.
What to include
Your titles, grouped clearly. Put series books together under the series name, then your standalone books.
The reading order. List series books in order, and number them if the numbers aren’t in the titles.
A short line about each book (optional). One sentence that makes the reader curious. This is especially worth doing for the book you most want them to read next.
Links to buy each book. In an ebook, readers can tap straight through to the store. This is where the page earns its keep, and also where it’s easiest to go wrong (see below).
A link to your author page. Each store has a page listing all your books. One link to it saves readers searching, and stays useful as you publish more.
Showing reading order clearly
A good series layout looks something like this:
The Hollyford Mysteries
- Murder at Marigold Bakery
- Death by Shortbread
- A Slice of Suspicion
Standalone Novels The Lighthouse Keeper’s Daughter
A few tips:
- Put the next book first in the reader’s eye. If someone has just finished book one, book two is what matters. Some authors add a short line right after the last chapter, such as “The story continues in Death by Shortbread”, before the full list.
- Keep the order the same in every book. Readers who read several of your books will appreciate the consistency.
- Mark books that aren’t out yet with “coming soon”, but only if you’re confident about it. Avoid specific dates, which age badly.
The store link trap
This is the part that catches authors out. Retailers don’t like books that send readers to their competitors.
Amazon rejects books with links to competing stores like Apple Books or Kobo, and other stores can object to links to Amazon. So an Also By page full of Amazon links can cause problems in your Kobo edition, and the reverse.
There are two ways to handle it:
- A separate edition for each store, each containing only that store’s links. It’s the cleanest result, but tedious to do by hand, because you need to edit a separate file for every store, every time you publish a new book.
- A universal link from a service that sends each reader to their preferred store. It’s simpler, but some authors find stores treat these links with suspicion too.
For more on store links and wide publishing, see Format Once, Publish to Kindle, Kobo, and Apple Books.
Keeping it up to date
The biggest weakness of an Also By page is that it goes out of date. Every time you publish a new book, every older book’s list is missing it.
Updating it across a backlist means opening every book, editing the page, and uploading a new version to every store. That’s why many authors’ older books still list only the books that existed when they were published. If you have a growing backlist, it’s worth a routine: each time a new book comes out, update the Also By page in your last few books, especially the ones in the same series. See How to Update Back Matter Across Your Entire Backlist.
Doing it in Libba
Libba builds your Also By page from the books already in your library. Add the page from the back matter templates, tick the books you want to include, and Libba lays them out for you, with series grouped under their series name and standalone books listed separately. Books appear in the order you tick them, so you control the reading order.
If you’ve added a short description and store links to each book, Libba includes those too, and adds links to your author pages from your author profile. Each book’s link sits next to its title.
When you export, choose the stores you’re publishing to and Libba produces a separate edition for each one, keeping only that store’s links. Your Kindle edition gets Amazon links, your Kobo edition gets Kobo links, and you only maintain one book.
When you publish a new book, open an older one and use Refresh page on its Also By page. Libba shows you the updated page before anything changes, so nothing is overwritten by surprise.
Common questions
Should I include books in other genres or under other pen names? Usually not. Readers of your cozy mysteries may not want your dark thrillers. Keep each pen name’s Also By page to that pen name’s books.
How many books should I list? All the relevant ones. If you have a long backlist, group them by series so the page stays easy to scan.
Do I need an Also By page if I’ve only written one book? Not yet. Instead, a short “Stay in touch” page inviting readers to your newsletter or website is a good way to reach them when your next book comes out.
Should the Also By page have links in the free sample? If it’s at the front, yes, but most readers won’t tap them before they’ve read the book. The links at the back matter far more.
For more ideas on what belongs after the last chapter, see What is Back Matter in an Ebook.
