Why you should have an author website Tenants decorate their apartments the way they want—but they don’t own that space. Novelist Brandilyn Collins uses Seatbelt Suspense®. This could also involve regular posting of specific media, such as photos or videos. How do people find your blog? Launching your site Click the “Select Files” button on the page that opens, and find the photo of yourself you want to use. It should serve you well for years, but if you tire of it or see things you want to change, you can download a new theme or adjust the one you have, using the instructions above. Through search? After that, click “Edit” under “Sample Page.”, Step 1: Change the title of the page to “Writing.”, Step 2: Change the URL extension to “writing.” URL stands for Universal Resource Locator (I had to look that up), and simply means the address you type in to go to any webpage. Creating a tagline Let’s change this so it’s more applicable to an author instead of a business. November 10, 2020 by Nina Amir Leave a Comment. Sometimes, cornerstone content might be a manifesto or download in PDF form. If you’re a novelist, this strategy may take some creative thinking. Only about 10% of your readers (or even fewer) will make themselves known to you or engage with you on your blog, so it takes a while before you reach a tipping point, where there’s a concrete indication of growing activity or interest. People who enjoy a blog like to get in touch with the writer and say … The chain of events goes something like this: My unproven theory: We have many authors blogging poorly because of this series of events. I don’t recommend your home address for such a public venue. Nor should you feel like it’s a burden to come up with ideas; ideally, your problem is too many ideas. You’re looking to include something that immediately identifies what you’re about. For example, the best of my blog content is condensed into a book, Publishing 101. And finally, avoid turning your guest blog into an article directory. Box, etc. You’ve taken a huge step today. Of course, they don’t own your website. Key benefits: If you already teach writing or mentor other writers, you probably have some content you can re-purpose to fuel your early blog posts. The next page asks if you would like WordPress to create a “Contact Us” page. But not rightly so. Through other websites that link to you? People know this is your site, so I think it would be weird to refer to yourself in the third-person. Where the difficulty lies: You may run out of material quickly, or not have a very high frequency of posts. This post will delve into what it means to blog successfully and in a meaningful way for an author’s long-term platform and book marketing efforts. So, you’re convinced of the need and eager to enjoy the advantages of your own author website, but maybe, like me, you’re not a techie. If you look at a month’s worth of your blog headlines, they should convey a strong message about what you cover on your blog and who it’s for. Pick one that suits your taste. The tenants simply rent. An author’s book nears its publication date (or perhaps the author is attempting to secure a traditional book deal). Nonfiction writers and experts have it easy: their subject matter lends itself to blogging, especially if they’re teaching workshops or regularly interacting with their target readers. Original headline: Total Randomness, Mostly Related To Books That Aren’t Mine, Improved headline: My Summer Reading List: Books I’ve Loved (and Books Still Waiting). For unpublished novelists, this approach is challenging since people aren’t familiar with your work and may not care about your process (yet). Yet blogging continues to interest authors, and be discussed, as a way to market and promote. (Example: Mine is “New York Times Bestselling Novelist & Biographer.”) Jean Oram has a great post on creating author taglines. Focus mainly on your writing, but add a little personal information as well. Author blog. The cornerstone content on this blog can be seen right under “Most Popular Posts”—each one points to my 101 posts on how to get published. Guest post about Amazon Author Central pages by the uber talented writer–and my editor for Kindlepreneur –Val Breit from KeepCalmWriteOn.com. So, for example, if you have an author website on SquareSpace, then start your blog there; don’t start one over at WordPress or Blogspot. After that page opens in your web browser, click the green “get started now” button. The average author does not benefit much from blogging. This is where the fun begins. Period. Here is where you can collect email addresses and build a list. Well, if you have to ask, maybe you shouldn’t be blogging. Q&As or interviews with people in the community (usually authors). That takes you to a page where you can select your plan from four options: Note: Bluehost requires at least a one-year payment, which is how they can remain so affordable. You own that and are responsible for everything posted there. It’s where agents, publishers, readers, and fans can learn about your work, put a face to your name, and contact you. Whatever you do, make sure your theme is “responsive,” which means it automatically adjusts to look good on any device. Believe it or not, it’s rare to come across an informed, thoughtful, and careful interviewer and interview series. Your author website lets you host a blog, as I do here. The prices above reflect their standard 12-month plan. Then you have to revise it, workshop it, revise it some more, write a query letter, do query research, … Another complication: “Blogging” has become a somewhat dated term. This is probably a desirable situation for many authors, yet they make the mistake of putting their blog at the center of things when it doesn’t deserve that attention. People who enjoy a blog like to get in touch with the writer and say so. Keep it simple—“TimothyWoodfordWriting.com” is good; “TimothyWoodfordsGreatWritingWebsite.com” is not. So how does this answer the question, “What do I blog about?”. On your Dashboard, scroll down until you see Your Blog… However, you’ll be doing a good job with your SEO if: If your site is self-hosted, then you should have Google Analytics installed. You may have to do some work in coming up with an angle or voice that stands out. Imagine enjoying your very own great-looking site, bearing the .com name you choose (Hint: it should always be your name). Fans of your work may enjoy the intimacy (though some authors prefer to have an air of mystery). The best bloggers have rarely been told to go do it. Write in the first-person, but remember that less is more. Give me about half an hour, and you—and anyone you tell about it—could be admiring a gorgeous new site all your own. Create a landing page for contributor information- like this one. Next, click the “Save Menu” button on the right side of your screen. Meanwhile, I’ll list the steps if you’d like to try it on your own. app_id: "l71g1wjl" Jane Friedman has written a great article on the importance of still keeping an independent author website, outside of social media. However, I don’t want to be totally defeatist here! See you then!”. This is invaluable starting fodder for a successful blog: knowledge of one’s audience. Exciting, right? Creating a password Because of the realities of publishing today. Your author website becomes your home base, as if you had a corporate headquarters. Unfortunately, authors have trouble staying focused and disciplined on one topic or subject matter, often because they get bored or they think readers will get bored. To get a large readership will require a unique angle or spin—although this is true of any blogging effort. Create a blog header . Step 5 Write compelling content to create a blog that your readers love. Choosing a hosting company By an “author” we mean one of the default WordPress user roles as well as user profiles, you can create manually with intuitive tools. If your blog is high-quality, and generates conversation, they’ll be likely to recommend you or send you traffic. Click the “click here” hyperlink under the “Dashboard” heading. Scroll down to the “Home page” label, and click “Edit.”. You’ve heard and read of your need for a platform—a following, a tribe, visibility. Jane speaks regularly at conferences and industry events such as BookExpo America, Digital Book World, and the AWP Conference, and has served on panels with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund. window.intercomSettings = { In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to Google any published author’s name and not find their website with a custom domain name (usually, like mine, their own name). Blogs … Add contributors - Depending on their permissions, contributors can add and publish their own content. (function(){var w=window;var ic=w.Intercom;if(typeof ic==="function"){ic('reattach_activator');ic('update',intercomSettings);}else{var d=document;var i=function(){i.c(arguments)};i.q=[];i.c=function(args){i.q.push(args)};w.Intercom=i;function l(){var s=d.createElement('script');s.type='text/javascript';s.async=true;s.src='https://widget.intercom.io/widget/l71g1wjl';var x=d.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];x.parentNode.insertBefore(s,x);}if(w.attachEvent){w.attachEvent('onload',l);}else{w.addEventListener('load',l,false);}}})(), © 2021 - Jerry Jenkins | Proven Writing Tips | All rights reserved |, How to Create an Author Website in the Next Hour…And Why You Need To. My author bio certainly does. Some people may be able to get by on one post a week, but it’s a struggle to gain traction without volume. It works beautifully with how-to or prescriptive nonfiction categories, and it can also work with memoir as well. Whenever you guest or appear on other websites, that’s an opportunity to have multiple links back to your own site and social network accounts. You’ll find that as your list of followers grows, you’ll gain self-confidence. New Users and Authors to Your WordPress Blog is kinda boring. Take it from me: There’s no need to blog … The next page gives you the option to customize your site. If you’re like me, this will quickly become one of your favorite features. … that get shared on social and discovered through search. I talk about the basics of author websites here. Display your best writing skills. See the other bloggers not as competitors, but as community members who may eventually become supporters of your work. Maybe you’ve already done this, unaware of a vastly superior option. A potential reader should be able to easily tell if they’re going to benefit from or enjoy reading your posts on an ongoing basis. Scroll down to “Appearance,” and hover your mouse over the link. If your book is strongly regional, create an insider’s guide or travel guide to that particular region. I’ll get to those specifics a bit later. Bluehost tries to upsell a few things here. Subject matter: Think about this in terms of your headlines for your blog posts. This is easier said than done. There are two types of consistency: frequency and subject matter. Until you start reaching hundreds of thousands of readers, Bluehost should be perfect for you. Step 1: Type “Main Menu” in the “Menu Name” box. This will take you to another page where Bluehost may offer specials you can choose to add to your purchase. This is why advice about blogging can be so contradictory and confusing: much depends on what genre you’re writing in and who you’re writing for. If it does its job, the cornerstone piece will bring a steady stream of new readers over a period of weeks and months, some of whom will become loyal followers. How to Find The Time to Blog … After Google Analytics has collected at least 1 month of data, take a look at the following: By knowing the answers to these questions, you can better decide which social media networks are worth your investment of time and energy (at least as far as blog promotion is concerned), who else on the web might be a good partner for you (who is sending you traffic and why? You might add … Step 4: Click the blue Apply icon. If your website platform does not support blogging, then it may be time to switch platforms. If you can approach blogging because it kind of does sound like fun, then let’s spark your imagination as to what you might blog about. And remember, when you’re pitching you work, your website is the first place an agent or editor will look for to learn more about you. Furthermore, to stick with blogging long enough for it to pay off, you have to actually enjoy what it means to blog, and how online writing can be different from print. If I learned it, you certainly can. Author – List your name as the post author, even if it’s your website. That becomes another showcase of your writing, and it also lets others contact you. But if you make a continual series of impressions over a long period of time on the same topic, then it starts to click: “Oh, this person is blogging, and they’re regularly covering this topic.” Some writers assume, “Oh, everybody knows I’m blogging because I posted about it,” but no. Her reasoning includes keeping your i… After completing this form, scroll down and complete the “package information” section. After you type in your new domain name, click “Next” and you will be taken to the “create your account” page. Remember, the headline is often the only thing people see when they’re surfing online and looking at search results, so it’s one of the biggest factors in whether your post gets read. Remember: this is your website. The longer the term, the lower the monthly price. Using Amazon Author Central and creating an Author page can make a big difference in your book sales. I’ve been a satisfied customer, and they provide a fantastic service for authors. Many authors have considerable advice and insight for others in the field—and the audience of aspiring writers and established authors is massive. But I’d recommend Bluehost regardless. Regardless what you say about yourself and your work when pitching agents and publishers, one of the first things they do—sometimes even before reading the rest of your proposal—is to conduct an Internet search for your name. Don’t get wordy. Here are several models to consider, based on how challenging I think they are (assuming you want your blog to “pay off”). Creating a “Writing” page Search this expansive list for a theme that feels just right to you. It took me 18 months to find the right angle—to realize I do best when I focus on business advice and digital media topics for authors. However, some writers should give up, because they don’t have the time or commitment to produce the right content or the best content for an online readership. Next we’ll edit the “Contact Us” page. Or you may despise the idea of involving readers in your work. A handsome, compelling site can put you ahead of the pack by giving you: Just like dressing your best for a job interview, your professional-looking website puts your best foot forward. Click “Pages” on the left sidebar. Through your social media presence? You can also eliminate the blog … Frequency: To gain any kind of momentum, you should commit to 2-4 posts a week. If you’re not familiar with literary citizenship, you can read more about my views on it here. The best platform to use is whatever you use for your author website—do not be tempted to build your blog somewhere else. (My most visited resource on this site is Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published.). The problem is that few authors meet those conditions. This isn’t necessarily through any fault of your own; there’s an incredible amount of noise around us, and enormous demands on everybody’s attention. Creating a Page Menu Novelist DiAnn Mills uses Expect an adventure. Her book for creative writers, The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), received a starred review from Library Journal. On the left sidebar menu, Click Authors. This is the main reason the phenomenon of blogging came to be so popular. Creating an “About” page Cover template – Make additional changes to the page template such as the … Note from Jane: This post was first published in 2012. It’s well-supported, continually developed, and runs about 20% of all websites today. Video: Author Branding (28 mins) How to decide on and create your author … Such series also offer you an excellent way to build your network and community relationships, which has a way of paying off in the long run. Now that you have your own blog, you get to make … Visit site.”. Bluehost has supported WordPress for over 10 years and has in-house WordPress experts, if you ever have a question about it. Now you want to create a tagline. “Destined to become a staple reference book for writers.” —Publishers Weekly. Presumably, readers will enjoy knowing more about the context and ideas that affect your writing and being involved in your future work. How to Make an Author Website 101: Five Essential Tips 1. Does your About Me on your blog need a makeover? Share links – Make it easy for people to share your blog … Congratulations! Your author website lets you host a blog, as I do here. A meaningful guest post means pitching sites that have a bigger audience than you, but they should also have a readership that’s a good match for your work. Click the blue “Log In” button and enter your email and password on the next screen. That becomes another showcase of your writing, and it also lets others contact you. For instance, highlight “A list of my published works.”. The downside: Connecting with other writers doesn’t necessarily grow your readership; you end up in an echo chamber with other writers. These landlords are called hosting companies, so you rent your online space from them. Eventually, if possible, you should guest blog for them. A very popular way to make people aware of your blog is to link to others’ blogs. You started a blog, and now it’s time to start blogging. Filed Under: Create Your Blog Tagged With: blog, blog a book, blog theme, blogging, blogging a book, create a blog, how to create a blog, theme, Wordpress, WordPress Themes. You use WordPress or Squarespace, which are already optimized for search. Step 2: Click the blue “Create Menu” button. Your hosting company sees to it that your website is broadcast onto the internet. }; Where the difficulty lies: Some categories are fiercely competitive, such as travel and cooking. Scroll down to “Appearance,” and hover your mouse over the link. The last section on this page is “payment information.” Enter yours, click the checkbox next to “I have read and agree to…,” and click the green “submit” button. If people saw only your post headline (e.g., on Twitter), would they feel compelled to click on it? After a few years, it’s tough to keep things fresh and interesting. Where the difficulty lies: In my experience, burn out. Tell of your previous projects, and add links (clickable web addresses) to them. What pages or posts are most popular on your site. Why am I so forthright about this? After this, you’ll be taken to a log in page. If you’re not the type to write guest posts, then consider proactively offering yourself up to be interviewed as part of other bloggers’ interview series. It is no secret that authors write some of the very best blogs. All of them are free and easy to set up and use and take next to no time at all to get you into blogging. After you pick your theme, you'll be taken to the page below. Step 2: Change the URL extension to “contact” or “contactme,” your choice. This is the best option for anyone writing and publishing nonfiction. Cornerstone content refers to any article, post, or page at your site that draws new readers to your blog consistently, usually through search or by referral from other sites. You can determine later if it’s  something you want to pursue. Or think about other themes in your work that could inspire something fun: a collection of recipes; a character’s favorite books, movies, or music; or what research and resources were essential for completing your work. Next, give your visitors access to a welcome page (some call this the landing page) where they can get  acquainted with you and your site, even before you start blogging consistently. For most budding authors and bloggers, I recommend Bluehost as your hosting company. When you create a post, your name appears as the default option in the Author drop-down menu in blog post settings.There are two ways to add an author: 1. This is not an exhaustive list of what you could blog about, but it gives you an idea of the most common options. Now it’s time to create a menu so visitors can access all the pages you have created. Frequently Asked Questions Click the blue “Log In” button and enter your email and password on the next screen. Pretty much anyone under 30 will be computer literate and can help you quickly master this. If you’re a nonfiction writer, then this probably comes naturally: Put together a 101 guide, FAQ, or tutorial related to your topic or expertise—something people often ask you about. People will be interested in your family and where you live, but lean toward, “We’re the proud parents of…” rather than, “...where we’re raising the three most adorable kids in the history of the universe.” ???? Step 4: Write briefly the reasons someone might contact you (“I’d love to hear your thoughts on…” or “If you’re looking for a speaker on…” or “If you’re looking for writer who…” And then, of course, your contact information. Click the green “select” button under the price. While blogging can be less formal, less researched, and more geared for online skim-reading or social sharing, to do it well requires the same kind of practice and skill as crafting a novel. The longer you blog, and the more of an audience you build up, the more you can ease back on frequency. Some people use it to describe a practice that isn’t all that common now: keeping a rather personal “log” or diary of one’s thoughts and experiences. But again, it’s hard to gain traction if you’re switching it up all the time and not consistent in what you offer. Chris Guillebeau is well-known for 279 Days to Overnight Success that drew thousands (if not millions) to learn about his blog and his message. Click “Visit Site” to see your new theme! The essential publishing industry newsletter for authors. I think it’s always worth getting a custom header for a new blog. (Right click on that and you’ll see the URL it would take you to.). Imagine a publisher trying to decide between you and another writer trying to break into the business or pitch a book. Click “Business.”. For Writers & Readers 01-07-2021 | The Author Chronicles. After that, you’ll be taken to a page where you can pick your website’s theme. Send you traffic in page keep your domain name simple, professional, and books—the things you presumably love others! Domain site… plan to blog … Goodreads authors are the one worth buying domain. An email address, a tribe—a platform is so important with an angle or voice that out... Established authors is massive they provide a fantastic service for authors or “.co ” work just well. An informed, thoughtful, and now it ’ s Indecision agents and publishers—would to. 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