There are a special breed of authors who are also illustrators. They create things like graphic novels, or children's and YA fiction, and the beautiful thing about designing their author-illustrator websites is that there is so much visual material to work with! One of the challenges of designing websites for authors of novels or non-fiction is that unless photography or art is part of the Read more...
As an author website designer I'd say that nearly 50% of my author clients are self-publishing, and for a variety of reasons. When I first started doing this over 12 years ago that number was much lower, but as the ease of self-publishing has increased, along with lots of online advice on how to do it successfully, more people have decided to go that route Read more...
You've written a book. Congrats! That's huge! Once you decide on a release date, there's a whole bunch of other things you need to do and plan for, including when to launch your author or book website. There's nothing that makes me sadder (career-wise) than having to turn down an author because they waited until the very last minute to think about their website and Read more...
As an author website designer I've been lucky enough to work with a bunch of memoirists on their author websites. I really enjoy these projects because these authors often bring the powerful combination of an amazing story to tell along with the thrill of finally reaching the point of being able to share it with the world. Bringing this kind of project into being takes Read more...
In addition to making sure your author website is set up for modern browsing on various devices, you want to make sure the content stays relevant as your career progresses. Even if you're not releasing a new book, there are some things you should check on regularly to make sure they're up to date: 1. If you set up preorder links before your book went Read more...
Back in 2012, I wrote an article for this site titled, "Author & Book Websites: What to Include?" Lots of things have changed with the internet with respect to author websites over the last six years, so I thought it was time to revisit the topic! What do you include in an author website these days? And how is it different than what I wrote Read more...
If you're an unpublished author, do you really need a website? Like so many things, the answer is, "It depends." Here are three situations you might find yourself in, and strategies you may be considering: Are you looking for a publisher? If so, having a website will allow you to demonstrate that you understand your audience and that you know how to build a following. At this Read more...
It's a big deal to find the right person to build the best author website design for you! You've worked really hard on your book, and also on getting it to the point of release. And you're all set to work hard marketing it once it's available to the world. If making a living as a writer is a goal, you certainly want to set Read more...
I am an author website designer. And I imagine like dentists notice people's teeth, and cobblers notice people's shoes, I notice people's websites, especially author websites. And something that stands out to me more than it should is that people bury the lead on their sites ALL THE TIME. What do I mean by this? I mean that I visit websites all the time & Read more...
Self-published author websites have different needs than websites for authors with traditional publishers. As a self-published author you might be looking for a traditional publisher, an agent, and/or to create a community of readers interested in your existing & future work. Or, you might just want to go the indie route because it appeals to you. There are lots of reasons for self-publishing your work, Read more...
