While social media is king, and a writer’s aesthetic there will catch the eyes of Bookstagrammers and Booktokkers, the author’s website is still a vital resource many readers, writers, and media members use to research and connect with a book author.
Creating a webpage can seem overwhelming, but it’s actually easy to create a simple website thanks to resources like WordPress (which Debutiful hosts our website on), Squarespace, and Wix.
Trust me when I say simple is better.
Regardless of what source you use to create your website, here are up to five pages you need to make the lives of readers, writers, and media members easier.
The Landing Page
You can use this page in various ways. It could be your About Page (see below), but I am always a fan of it being a catch-all page that looks similar to your current book’s page on your publisher’s website. Olufunke Grace Bankole’s website does a good job of this. She combines a basic overview of her debut book with an updated list of praise for that book.
It’s clean and tells me what her book is about. It also includes a link to buy the book directly from her publisher. Links to Bookshop.org, Barnes and Noble, your local independent bookstore, and even Amazon are also good to have on this page.
If you make this your landing page, you don’t need a separate “Book Title” Page, though you may want a separate Books Page like Emma Copley Eisenberg once you have multiple releases under your belt.
The About Page
Your official 3rd-person bio is always helpful (though media can grab this from your publicist and/or book listing). That and a high-res author photo are all we need. Don’t make it part of the webpage and make it a downloadable image. Back in the day, these images needed to be given by your publicist to the media person to use. In the day-and-age of Google, this photo will be everywhere, and we might as well get it from your site.
Including links to your social media here and/or a contact you form is always a sharp idea. But you can always have that on a separate Contact Page as well.
Check out Karissa Chen keeps her page simple and clean.
The Writing Page
If you’ve written short stories or essays, or have conducted interviews as the interviewer, a simple list will help readers discover more of your work. You can get as extensive as you want, but a simple list like Alejandro Heredia is all you need.
The Events Page
Debut writer events are more rare than ever. Still, if you have events coming up a simple page listing when and where with links to RSVP goes a long way. If your website has a calendar feature like Denne Michelle Norris’s page, that’s great, but listing your events like Lena Valencia does goes a long way.
The Contact Page
This is where you should list your social media (even if you had it on your About Page). You should also list your agent, publicist, speaking engagement coordinator, and whoever else media/libraries/universities/etc should reach out to to work with you. Jon Hickey’s is a simple and clean way to do this that also includes a contact form.
You can also forgo the contact form and simply include your email, which writers like Maria Zocolla choose to do.
The One-Page Wonder
Maybe you just want a simple one-page website. In that case, it should have a high-res author photo with your bio, a blurb about your book and a link to buy it, links to your social media, and a link to at least one person we can contact to get ahold of you.
Colette Shade’s site is a very stylized one-page website that has everything needed to contact her and buy her book.
The Checklist
- Author Bio
- Author Headshot, High Resolution
- Book Blurb
- Book Cover Image, High Resolution
- Book Purchasing Links
- Publisher
- Bookshop.org
- Your Local Independent Bookstore (Good for Signed Copies)
- Amazon
- Social Media Links (static and on multiple pages)
- Contact Email Information
- Publicist/Publisher
- Literary Agent
- Speaking Engagement Agent
- Personal Contact (Form)
- Upcoming Events, with Links to RSVP and/or Event Space
- Past/Upcoming Writing Links