Website design for authors and writers - hints and tips
This article is about website design for writers and authors. It presents hints and tips for writers and authors who are considering setting up a website.
As a writer or author, already have ideas about how you are going to use your website:
- To publicise your work
- To advertise any service you offer such as talks on writing, editorial services
- To offer manuscript critiques
- To publicise yourself as an author
- To sell your book online
How to publicise your book on a website
You need to give some thought about how you are going to organise the information on your book and the navigation system you are going to use. (Navigation is the term used to describe the buttons your visitor has to click the various pages on your site.)
If you've only written one or two books, you may want one page devoted to each book. If you've written a number of books, you may want to subdivide them. For example, you could divide them into:
- Fiction, Non fiction
- Latest titles, Other titles
- Adults books, Books for children
- Books, Other publications
- Best sellers, Other titles
What should I say about my book on my website?
Obviously you need to give the title of your book and a photograph of the front cover (your publisher can usually provide an electron version of the cover). You also need a short description of your book. You can also include extracts and any good reviews. For non-fiction books, it is a good idea to include a content list. You might also want to include the IBSN, publisher details and the price.
Including book extracts on your website
If you want to include an extract, you will need your publisher's permission for this unless the rights have reverted to you. Extracts can be included on the page that describes your book, or you can have a separate page. You can also include downloadable chapters – or even the whole book. You can also have a payment system associated with downloads so that you can earn money from your book without having it published in the traditional sense.
Book reviews
If you are already a published author, you may already have book reviews from credible sources to include on your website. However, a problem facing new authors, or self-published authors is that no reviews exist. A way round this is to include a ‘Readers’ comments’ section where you can display positive comments from people you know who have read and liked the book. You can replace these with more weighty reviews as and when you get them.
Author biographical information
This is a very important section as your readers, prospective publishers and editors will want to know a bit about your background and how you got into writing. Many author also include a photograph of themselves. If you are looking to sell your writing services, you could also consider including a downloadable CV.
Selling your book online
You may want to use your website to sell your book online. There are a number of ways you can do this – you can use some or all of these methods:
1. Linking each title to the appropriate page on Amazon , another online bookseller or your publisher’s website
2. Asking your visitors to contact you by email if they want to buy your book
3. Setting up an online payment system on your site. For example, it is quick and easy to set up a PayPal account. You can then include a ‘Buy Now’ button links to the PayPal site and allows visitors to buy your book using credit or debit cards.
4. If you have the rights to sell your book in digital format, you can sell your book from your website as a downloadable PDF file.
Websites for writers: non-fiction writers, journalists and magazine article writers
If you are a non-fiction writer such as a freelance journalist or magazine writer, it is a good idea present sample articles on your site so editors can see the quality of your work. You also include scanned photographs of your articles as they originally appeared in a publication. If your writing has been published online, you can also consider having links to your published articles.
If you are a non-fiction author, the guidelines for fiction writers apply. In addition, it is important to include a content list.
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Attracting visitors to your website
In the world of website design, there is a saying that ‘content is king’ when it comes to attracting visitors to your website. The more relevant information you can display, the more chance there is that someone will find your website when searching on the internet. Perhaps that is how you found this article? Here are a few ideas:
Information about any writers' groups you belong to
Information about how you prefer to work when writing
Where to you get your inspiration?
A diary page which shows the dates of public appearances, book signings and school visits
A hints and tips page for writers
A links page containing links to your favourite writing resource website
Further information on each of the characters in your books
From first idea to publication – describe your book’s progress!
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