The Benefits of an Author's Website

The Benefits of an Author's Website

When I finished and published my first novel, it became apparent to me that an Author’s Website was important. I set about creating mine.

What are the benefits of an Author’s Website?

• It shows professionalism and dedication to prospective agents, publishers, event coordinators, journalists, and your readers. An agent or a publisher is far more likely to become interested in your novel if you demonstrate that you are dedicated to your craft. A website will confirm your dedication.
• You have full control over your brand and the presentation of your work. Even if social media or retail outlets remove or cancel your work, the website ensures your internet presence will persist.
• It serves as a wonderful place to showcase your work. Short stories, blog posts, and planned releases can be centrally located there, allowing a reader a much more immersive experience that demonstrates your writing style, and can entice new readers.
• It can attract new readers. If you optimize your search engine visibility, people who are searching for your type of literature may come across your website.

The quality of your writing must be your cornerstone, but without effective marketing, even the best work will wither on the vine. An Author’s Website is an important component of that marketing strategy.

Note the items I have included:

• On the header. there is a menu bar that allows a user to navigate between the various pages, including the Home page, a page that contains short stories I have written, a biography of myself, a blog page where articles like this will appear, a contact form, and a page for other authors that I know and admire.
• A short entry about myself. This is a much simpler version of my biography.
• A place where my current novel is featured. I’ve included links, to the right, to the best reviews. I made sure to place a button there to allow a user to easily get a copy of the novel.
• A gallery of the novels I have written. Only one exists at this time, but I plan a sequel, and that is represented in the gallery.
• A place to sign up for the newsletter that, while not yet launched, will be coming soon.
• A place to see all my latest blog posts. Only one post exists at this time, and the posts will be geared towards new writers.
• The footer contains a menu copy, a copyright notice, and icons (not yet active) for sharing on social media.

Addendum

There are a few places where I add a little humor. For example, try to submit me a contact without completing the Captcha step. 😂😂😂

I also ensured that this website is ‘responsive’, that is, that it will render both on computers and portable devices (such as an Android phone.An Author’s website is important.

If you intend to be serious about your craft, I highly recommend you invest the time (or the money, if you are not website-design savvy) to create one!

Happy writing!

“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours.”