Welcome to the Journey of a Debut Author Blog Tour!
Guest Post by Joan Swan, author of Fever
This is our Fifth week in a behind the scenes look at what’s involved in getting a debut author prepared for publication. My own debut novel, Fever
Today's topic is an author's website. Nowadays Internet is everything. From social media to blogs to email to your website, you, as an author have to be out there, ready and willing to market both yourself and your work. With the dwindling publishing house marketing budget and the growth of Indie and digital publishing, this is more important than ever.
Your author website is the single, largest internet presence you own. It's also the only one you have control over. Social media outlets, your blog, your affiliations with larger portals such as Fresh Fiction or WritersSpace, give you one page for a profile or design and you have to play by their rules. Your website is all about you, every page, as many pages as you want (or can afford). Your website gives you prime internet real estate to tell other’s everything that’s important: your work, your background, your theory, anything you want to highlight.
Everyone who is important will investigate your website: the agent considering signing you, the editor considering buying your work, your readers, fellow authors, your family, your friends, all potential readers. Just as strangers judge others on their appearance, those people will judge your professionalism and possibly even the quality of your writing on the appearance of your website. It may not be right, but it is done.
I have been a website designer for both large corporations and small companies and am currently working with a designer to redesign my own author website. Why am I using a designer instead of doing it myself? Time, for one. Designing a website—right—is incredibly time consuming. Between my day job and my writing, I barely have time to get to the grocery store. Software, for another. While HTML is still HTML, the software that makes coding and designing a website far faster and easier has advanced so fast over the last few years, everything I use is obsolete. The new software is not only expensive, it’s got a pretty steep learning curve, and honestly, I’d rather spend my time writing.
If you want to do it yourself, no problem. But let me give you a few tips.
Keep it clean and simple.
I know you want something fun, pleasing and unique, but unless you know what you’re doing (a.k.a. have taken courses in art and design and computer graphics) keep the fancy stuff to a minimum. It’s far more important to make sure the visitor gets the information they came for than to have their eyes skipping all over the page.
Information.
People hit a website first and foremost for information. Make sure yours is clear, simple and easy to reach. This means understandable, simple, accessible navigation.
Speed.
Are we not all running at warp speed? Do we not all expect everything as fast as our fingers can float over a keyboard? Utilize a high quality hosting service or lose visitors—period. Don’t go with the cheapest host – their servers are typically overloaded, run slower and crash more often. Does $3 a month really matter? Really? Look for a provider with a good long-term reputation. Ask friends who they use. When you find sites that move fast, ask the owners of those sites who they host with.
Upgrade.
At the first available opportunity, upgrade and have a site designed by a professional. If you are published – skip the whole do it yourself thing (unless you’re qualified to do it yourself, and even then, I suggest you have someone do it for you) and hire a designer. Your time is better spent writing, editing or promoting.
I’m going to let Carly Phillips tell you more about how to handle a hired designer for your website. As a New York Times bestselling author who’s been in the business over 13 years with more than 25 published novels, Carly has had more than a few website designs and revisions.
Carly’s most recent release, Serendipity
Kismet is an ebook which takes place in the time between Serendipity
Joan Swan: Carly, What do you suggest a debut author look for in a web designer?
Carly Phillips:
- Decide on a budget and then look around at other websites you love, look at their designers and get an idea of price. If you can't afford them you don't want to even start there!
- Then you should question authors or clients who already work with these designers - Ask if they're easy to work with, make changes without fuss, how quickly they make changes, how quickly they get back to you. If the designer isn't someone who replies to emails quickly, who gives accurate time-line/information about when they'll do the work and stick with it, then it doesn't matter how much you love their designs, they aren't for you.
In essence, make a list of designers in order of your preference and contact a few and see how you like their replies and go with your gut.
Joan: What do you believe are the essentials for a debut author website?
Carly: A PROFESSION LOOKING website. Nothing is worse than a self made site that looks like you don't care. You want to present your work and yourself in the best possible light and this DOESN'T necessarily mean spending a lot of money! There are SO many talented people out there who can do a fantastic website. So professional looking is most important. An appealing website - pleasing to the eye - and one that accurately reflects who you are as a writer. We often hear the words "author branding" and this is a very tough thing to communicate and explain - I write sexy, contemporary romance with a lot of emotion and heart - I like to think my website reflects that. I've had so many incarnations of my website over the years. When I wrote solely for Harlequin Blaze, I had gorgeous red satin background; later on I had a pink header with a heart - and I've kept a version of this ever since.
Today what I love about current technology is the ability to put blog-like boxes up on the site - whenever I have news, I use one of those boxes with dates on the bottom of my home page to tell people - so the site is never static and readers don't have to look far for information.
Look at author sites you like and ask yourself why you like them - see what these "good" sites have in common - use what's out there as research! I did. And if I had to redo a site, I'd start over and start looking all over again because times change!
To sum up:
- Professional looking site
- Branded to who you are as a writer
- Book cover front and center
- You want links and things that are visible and easy for readers to find. If they have to look hard, they won't do it - so Contact; Newsletter links, etc. If you have a few books - printable booklist is important; if you have a series of books done or planned, give readers the information on each on their book page.
- BUY links - to ALL available retailers - give readers choices and options
- Where to find you on the web - Facebook, Twitter etc. You want readers to be able to find where you are promoting!
- SEO - you need for your website to be Search Engine Optimized - you don't need to know details about this but your web designer DOES!
Joan: What is the one most important thing on an author's website?
Carly: There is no ONE important thing to put on a site - the site is a culmination of the things I mentioned above - and I truly didn't hit on everything!
Joan: How far in advance of a debut release do you believe a website should be up and ready to go?
Carly: That's a good question. I was published in 1998 - my site went up a few months before release I guess? I don't know what debut authors do today! I've seen unpublished authors with websites ... so I will leave that answer to people more recently published!
Definitely give yourself time to get the site up, to reach out to people and let them know about you. To build a newsletter list. In the days of Facebook and Twitter you want potential readers to be able to find you. On the other hand, you don't want to go up too early (I'd think) so you tease readers about a release and then they forget about when it's out.
Joan: Did you see any differences in your career once your site was established?
Carly: I felt professional and official. The real changes in my career began the day my first book was released. But the website let people know who I am, what I write, and established my brand.
Joan: How/who maintains your website? Has this changed over time?
Carly: I can honestly say I've had phenomenal web people over the years. I've grown/outgrown some designers, in other cases I was just ready for a change. My first web designer's site doesn't appear to be active any longer and I've had many fantastic designers over the years who each had the patience of a saint because I was constantly changing up my website in many ways.
After spending a fortune of money on a large website, I felt like I'd lost control between publicist and designer and I needed to go out on my own. I wanted a Word Press based website and I went looking and fell over ProLink Media - http://www.prolinkmedia.com/ - I emailed Trevor Hatfield, the owner and we spoke on the phone. He was personable and sounded reliable and trustworthy. I went with my gut. He'd never done a writer's site before however he seemed willing to learn (i.e. when a book is out, many things need to be updated that have to become routine - new book page etc.) It was an extensive discussion but it went seamlessly.
I LOVE my site now and I wouldn't change a thing. Everything on the home page is what I want readers to know about up front and news goes up periodically with graphics and text and I'm obsessive about how the graphics look!
Joan: What extra features on a website do you believe are great promotional tools?
Carly: Check out my home page - see the right side - www.carlyphillips.com
- The printable booklist links
- The Carly on the Web: icons for Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, my Blog - any place that you frequent
- Newlsetter link
- Contest link (I run a monthly contest)
- Lastly I have a place for readers to sign up so they get a notice every time my website is updated. I don't update often enough to drive people crazy - but monthly or with big news. During a book release this is more often.
Share your likes and dislikes about websites and you'll be entered to win one of Carly's books, each with a custom handmade bookmark as shown! Contest ends November 18, 2011. Open internationally.
Find Carly online:
Find Joan online:
Online Stores - Wet Site Ornamental Grasses Plants, Seeds & Bulbs Gardening & Plants Yard, Garden & Outdoor Living Nursery
- Back of Book United States Stamps
- Designer Wear Yoga & Pilates Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
- Designer Chandeliers Home Lighting
- Air Mail Back of Book United States Stamps
This post was written by...
Guest Blogger – who has written 250 posts on Love Romance Passion.
Guest Bloggers featured at Love Romance Passion are romance authors, various industry personnel, and readers just like you!
{ 65 comments… read them below or add one }
Love Carly’s books and can’t wait for Fever to come out!!
Thanks, Deborah! And thanks for hosting this blog! I had a massive migraine all day and it wiped me out and kept me offline until now. Sorry!
I don’t like it when the music is automatically blasted as soon as you get on the site. I get frustrated when there are no excerpts for the books or a note about connected books.
I agree! I don’t have/do music on my site. And I have my laptop volume on mute always.
Hi Jane,
Yes, that’s annoying, the auto music. Really anything above and beyond design wise, should be at the viewers choice, a sort of opt-in, otherwise the site owner is forcing their design wishes on the viewer and runs a high risk of pushing their audience away.
Excerpts and clear association of linked books/series is a huge selling point — authors should make sure connections like this are very clear cut on their websites. Anything that makes buying easier for the visitor, makes life better for everyone.
Thanks for coming by Jane.
Joan Swan and Carly Phillips are two authors whose books I have on my wishlist and look forward to reading. I agree that information and upgrade are important when I visit an author’s webpage. Before I even discovered the world of blogging (this summer) my go to for information is their webage and I like ones that are easy to read and routinely updated with information about latest releases, events and contests etc. I like ones where the authors come off personable and active.
I’m a follower of Plot Monkeys and One Word at a Time and there’s a ton of fun at both spots! 
Hi Na! I think you’ve got some good taste darlin’!
That easy to read part seems so simple, but it’s actually one of the things that amateurs do wrong.
It’s hard to read white on black/dark – hard on the eyes very quickly, and while a lot of people may not consciously notice, they won’t stay on a site with a black background as long as a white background. There are useability studies to show so many aspects of how users interact with sites it’s crazy! So many subconscious aspects. That’s another reason it’s important to use a professional — they should know about these things.
And your info on updating those particular elements on a website are key — b/c those would also be the ones that should be easy to find and reach!
Thanks for contributing!
I agree with Joan. And hi, Na! What seems simple is usually the hardest and we often have to rely on the designer to know what we don’t!
I don’t care for websites that are cluttered and hard to navigate. I agree that updating is a must.
I, too, follow Plotmonkeys and enjoy the blog immensely.
Hi Estella,
There is so much information everywhere nowadays that I think we’re all interested in simplicity. The internet has always first and formost been about getting information. Yes, the fun stuff, the pretty stuff, the cool stuff developed along the way, but none of that can exist without the simplicity of the underlying structure.
So you’re right on, Estella — uncluttered and easy to navigate. Then build from there.
Thanks, Estella. Good to see you here! Streamlined is important … and yet I always find myself ADDING things to the home page. For example I didn’t have the printable booklists obvious. There was a link under books. I received so many emails asking for a printable booklist I had my webmaster add links to the home page!
I’m on dial-up, so an easy loading page without all the fancy stuff is a god-send. If a site is too hard to load, unfortunately I have to close the window and I don’t visit the author’s site again. Sad, but true.
Maggie,
This is seriously a wake up call. When I started designing websites, dial-up was, while not common, a reality we had to deal with and account for in our designs. Now, I don’t even consider it. But you have just knocked me upside the head and made me realize that it is still alive and kicking, because you are obviously not the only one who has it. And there are vast areas of our country that don’t have cable access — but Amazon sure as heck still delivers there — so there’s another reason to keep it simple and clean — faster loading time for Maggie and the thousands out there like Maggie!
Ok same here. I did not realize how important that was. I realize my site is probably too graphic heavy for you, Maggie. I hadn’t known that before. I thought we’d all been dragged kicking and screaming into the DSL or cable age!
It’s fine, Carly. Or I wouldn’t have commented. I would have hit the back button. It’s got a nice simple header, some nice pics, but not a million things to load. With dial-up, there’s also something called speed-dial which is a big help with getting pages to load faster. Oh, how I wish for cable or DSL. But it’s not available where I live LOL.
You got a great web site.
I like to see a backlist if possible since I have a tendency of printing them. Makes it simple to check off novels as I acquire them. It’s also great to see the current and upcoming releases. And love when an author gives a heads-up re: WIP.
Susan,
Great tip for readers and authors! You guys wasn to read, we want you to read
. The easier we make it for you to find our books — in different forms, because remember, not everyone researches and stores information in the same way — the better our sales will be and the happier our readers will stay.
Yes! Exactly what I said above about adding the printable booklist to the home page in addition to the link under books b/c people just didn’t seem to find it easily before!
Hugw fan of Carly Phillips and new to Joan Swan but I can’t wait! I love to be able to see backlists, chronological order of books in a series and to be able to read excerpts
Yep! I loved designing my printable booklists w/that info. I did one in TEXT (Word) in all b/w for ease of printing; and one w/most recent covers in PDF for those who wanted it and didn’t mind printing color/covers!
Hey, Julie!! Thanks for coming out!
Having books listed in chronological order in a series is so very close to my heart. I’m ocd … well about a lot of things … but definitely about reading books in order, so it drives me batty when I can’t figure out what order they go in (and have been known not to read them at all if I have to work to hard to figure it out.)
I just discovered Carly Phillips’ books with Serendipity. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.
I like authors to periodically update their websites. Some authors still have no website nor information about upcoming books or potential release dates. I also like easy access to a writer’s backlist and if any of the books are connected. Finally, a FAQ page can be interesting. Some authors use it too chart their journey to publishing or use it to answer the most frequently asked questions from readers.
Hi Kim,
Great points! It amazes me how many authors still either have lousy websites or websites with old information (yes, you may see me slinking away here — but I’m in the middle of a total redesign…I SWEAR!).
Also, the more personal information that goes on an authors site, like you say, the more engaged you become with the author, which then creates a connection. This is a very good thing.
Thanks for you tips!
Kim, thank you!!!!!!!!! I’m so glad you found me
I did my FAQ as the “Ask Buddy and Bailey and Brady” page – on the website and a cute version on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/CarlyPhillipsFanPage?sk=app_181519891930257
and website:
http://www.carlyphillips.com/about/ask-buddy-bailey/
You know – I’d almost prefer a quick list of the absolute (but non-plot giveaway) selling points the author had for pitching the book – kinda of like the categories we use here to review – quick plot tropes/character types/hobbies/etc. I tend to scan book blurbs for those keywords that would sell me on a book. We’ve been talking favorite tropes here at LRP and I know for a fact many readers gravitate toward the same type of story again and again – loving them for the familiarity but also for the new slant and twist each author puts on it.
Interesting points, Keira! Have you seen that anywhere in particular?
Nope – nowhere (at least nowhere that I know of). It’s just something that makes sense to me.
That is a fresh idea! I’m liking it!
Oh and speaking of site design – I recently redid my two book blogs (LRP and LYAF) for two reasons:
1) I wanted cleaner, happier, easier to use site functionality. Basically everything you and Carly mentioned in the blog post.
2) I want to enjoy my site more. I figure I’m on it the most tweaking posts, chatting in comments, etc. I should make myself the most happy with its appearance. It’s like those Selling Your House shows on HGTV. You’ll fix up XYZ for selling the house, but not for yourself to live in the house? What?! That makes no sense! Fix up for you and enjoy – everything else is just gravy.
Good thinking Keira!
(Oh, I just have to mention that Keira — spelled just this way — is the name of my heroine in Blaze, releasing October 2012. Must be Seredipity or Destiny or Karma…maybe Kismet???)
Thanks! lol
I love seeing my name in romances. I wonder if others do too? This is a good blog post idea!
Nice idea…mind if I steal it for my upcoming blog tour? I’ll give you a credit
Oh, I meant BORROW. I’ll give it back.
lol Go for it.
LOL. Works for me and totally makes sense!
It does, doesn’t it?
I figured the longer I waited to change the site to fit the growth I was seeing in it and myself, the more unhappy I’d be with it. The more I thought about it the clearer it was that change was good and the sooner the better!
Great post! Websites can be tricky business. When I was working on mine, I looked at a lot of author sites and took notes on what I liked, what I didn’t, ease of use and navigation, etc. Readers love to peruse websites, but if the sites have music and animation, or are hard to navigate, chances are that reader will close your window before she’s even had a look around.
YES!! THIS!! You so get it, Amanda!
Hey, wait…I think you just summed up everything I was trying to say in, like, 40 words? Are you a closet editor?
I like an uncluttered website. where it’s easy to find what you are looking for, so good organization is also important. And I like the colors & theme to reflect the author & their books. This looks like a very nice site. I’m going to poke around more now.
LOL, Diane…poke around some more. You definitely sound like an investigator! You’ve got a good head on your shoulders too, and you hit it dead on when you mentioned “orgainization”. The organization of a website is the foundation for a clean navigation system. Even when there is a ton of information on a site, if you’ve got good navigation and strong organization, you get get to and through anything!
Thanks for the great info. I’m another who dislikes music on a site. I’m not a fan of flash or sparkly cursors either.
Clear numbering of series is a big help, since there’s nothing worse than scratching my head and trying to work it out. A site that loads quickly and is simple to navigate is also a plus. Also it’s surprising how many authors don’t have a website. Please make it easy for me to check out your books!
Great points, Shelley! And I think if all those things are in order, a little bit of pretty is a nice thing, as long as it doesn’t take away, but those are the main pieces that have to be there — the work, fast load, easy navigation.
Thank you so much for the invite to the fun today. What an incredible joy in putting together this post. As a reader and blog stalker, I mean follower, the worst bugaboos for me are being unable to find the Wordpress buttons for following or when the site is so critique that you are not even sure if it is open to follow, which would be silly, why would someone make an un-follow-able blog LOL Another is that ocean sound that seems to blare out on a lot of blogs every time you try to comment or check a different page of the site.
dz59001[at]gmail[dot]com
LOL Denise. I could envision myself suddenly feeling as if I’m sitting at the beach with this WTH feeling.
My biggest dislike right now is the trend for black or dark backgrounds. It’s like trying to read in the dark, especially if the script is dark – red or purple. It may look dramatic , but it’s terrible.
I like sites that are easy to navigate & everything is labeled clearly. Don’t make up pet phrases or names for things.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Hi Mary,
I wholeheartedly agree. That said *grins sheepishly* I think I’m going to end up with a darkish background on my new site. I tried really hard (like uber hard) to avoid it, but the design just kept leading me back that way.
I do have to say there are way to make a dark background site work, and I have a great example in my critique partner’s site here: Elisabeth Naughton (http://www.elisabethnaughton.com). Her designer (who also happens to be my designer…imagine that!) used a soft gradiant, which has a really nice effect — making it easy to read while giving the darker affect.
Thanks for all the great comments. I’m here with my new Gravatar, I hope!
OK I give up! I set up everything in Gravatar.
YAY! Love the Gravitar!
Pretty!!! Great Gravatars ladies!
Aha! I’m alive. Sorry
Many of what is mentioned above. Sound clips and video clips that instanteously play when you get on a web site really lags and has me scrambling to turn down the volumen.
Light, flashing neon colors. They tend to be an eye soar and momentarily blind you.
I like a simple site that is fools proof to navigate without having to jump through hoops to view the contents.
You are a smart on Rachel! But I knew that!
I like a website that is easy to navigate and that loads pretty fast. No music, a list of books that the author has, preferably in the order they were written and if they are part of a series. Definitely want to know what’s coming in the future. I’d love to be entered to win. Thanks for the giveaway.
Hi Martha, You are entered! That loading fast is key, Martha. I have to admit, if a page doesn’t load within a few seconds (gah, I’m so bad!) I move on.
I look at lots of author websites each week and there are some great ones out there. I love a clear, concise home with easy to understand links. I really hate links that are cutesy or tucked away and hard to find. I love clear booklists offered in a variety of formats. The printable booklists are a must. Pictures of the books covers are great and if the books have multiple covers, a picutre of all the different options. I love blog links. I love contests. But, above all the it to be quick and easy to use. There are a few authors out there that have too much going on on their sites and I just loose interest.
jepebATverizonDOTnet
Great stuff Jen!! Thanks for coming out!!
I love Carly’s books. I hope your feeling better Carly. One problem is dark or overly bright colored backgrounds making it hard to read. If you use a dark background do the writing in white. It is helpful if the book your promoting is a part of a series that you make it clear where it falls in line for new followers. I hate to read a book only to realize it was third in a series. We all have times when we make mistakes in spelling but it shouldn’t be constant.
Wow, you packed a ton of good stuff into a tight space Tammy! Nicely done!
One thing I really like is an excerpt from books– that’s not just the first chapter!
Hi Chelsea! First chapters are great, but it is fun to see something from other areas of the book to get a different taste as well. Good point!
I love author websites. Love to learn about authors, love to hear about their wirting process, love to see all of their books.
I like web sites that are visually inviting (read: bare-chested, muscular men) but are laid out simplistically – not a lot of links and go-here-no-go-there. The most common thing I go to an author’s site for is a book list, and I like to see those ordered in two ways – by date published (I like to read books in order, whether they’re related or not – I just like to see how a writer progresses with each book) and by series (so I can make sure I catch all the books in a series I like). And, of course, contest pages are always a plus.
Definitely agree on most points made about the websites being professional looking, visually appealing but also very simple and easy to navigate, lots of book information and if there’s a blog, it should be fairly up to date. I also really enjoy some ‘behind-the-scenes’ and ‘extras’ sections of author sites too where there can be extra goodies like how the idea of the books came about, deleted scenes, extra scenes, bonus short stories to revisit old characters in a series for example.
chibipooh(at)gmail(dot)com
Update: Happy Thanksgiving and Some Winners!