-
Should new authors have websites?
Hi,
I’m at the stage of sending out query letters to agents. I’ve noticed on my latest submission there was the option to enter my website. Do many first time authors have websites? Do you think this is something that helps with submissions by making you seem more professional?
Does anyone know of a webservice that allows authors to create professional looking, quick 1 page bio’s that they can link to their own domain name?
Thanks,
Tom
-
5 Replies
-
I noticed that same thing too and late last year I built my own site/blog on WordPress. I don’t know whether it helps or not but I did have fun doing it. It’s a little extra context around my manuscript if an agent bothers to check it out.
-
Building a community of people interested in you and what you have to say is ultimately important to book sales. However, that community should be built around content; building a website that does nothing but attempt to sell books doesn’t really work.
There are so many platforms out there: websites, FB, X, Threads, Patreon, YouTube, etc. Attempting to use them all, IMO, is overwhelming and time consuming. I think the key is to find the platform that works for you, one that you enjoy, and begin by offering content that readers will discover and opt-in. Check out wegrowmedia.com. Dan Blank specializes in book launches/sales. His newsletter might be worth subscribing to.
-
Thanks for the replies. I’ll take a look at wegrowmedia.com. I actually make websites for a living, so when friends asked how they could read my book I couldn’t help but make a quick website that let’s people view a bit of information about me and read the first few chapters of my book by leaving their email address. That way I can build up a bit of a list of people to send book updates to in the future as well.
Then if anyone wants to read the whole manuscript they can contact me for details.
Being very new to this I hope this doesn’t qualify as ‘self publishing’ but I presume that would involve putting my book on a proper platform of some kind?
-
This reply was modified 1 year ago by Tom Freeman.
-
This reply was modified 1 year ago by
-
In answer to the main question, I’d say it’s useful to have a web site if you have other work to display and if you want to extend your biographical information beyond the few lines that you’d typically include in a query letter.
I use mine – http://www.robmcivor.com – to republish short stories that I have had published elsewhere, including some competition winners. Hopefully, that way, any prospective agent or publisher can see that I can write – and be published – in a number of styles and across a range of themes. There are also some non-fiction pieces, mainly about cycling. I would like to add some of my as yet unpublished stories at some point, but the underlying platform is a bit clunky, so I plan to migrate everything to a new site when I have time.
Every now and again, if there’s a topical hook, I’ll promote one of the stories on social media and I always seem to pick up new followers or elicit some positive comments from that.
My advice would be to build it yourself, if you can, and keep it simple. Mine was built by my godson as a favour and, much as I love him, it’s not his primary skill and there are numerous elements that don’t work as they should, hence the need to re-do it myself!
-
Hi,
I had to chip in here, because I had exactly the same dilemma – and I think I gleaned useful advice from this thread a few months ago. Building genuine community – that’s a sentiment I agree with.
I held off putting up any kind of web-presence until I had something genuine to talk about (which was my short story, Munch’s Piano – published in Fictive Dream some weeks ago). I decided to go with Substack, partly because it’s a real writers environment (a lot of friends and heroes are already there) but also because it’s provides a slick content management environment – meaning, the web site looks good, without having to wear blue-tinted glasses or grow a pony tail. (You don’t need to be a web developer, in other words.)
Have a look for yourself to see what you think of the result (and please subscribe!):
https://replaceableme.substack.com/
Cheers,
Stuart.
PS: A like and a comment either on Substack or FD would be *really* appreciated!
