Have you build yourself an author’s website yet? If you didn’t, you certainly should have one. The publishing world is changing fast, and we have to change with it. You have to have an online presence for publishers that you submit to, to see. Believe me, they do this ... this is one thing I found out the hard way.
Find a website host that works for you. It should offer exactly what you want. Including a template that reflects you and what you write. The template should be professional and all your pages should be uncluttered. You should either call or have an online chat (some places offer this) with customer service. Make sure you ask these questions: How many pages do they offer? Do they support audio files, video files, and HTML? Can you decorate your page the way you want, or do you have to put pictures and code where the hosting service says? Do they offer an email service or just email forwarding? These are all very important! I’ve spent many hours talking to customer service people from different sites asking these questions.
Don’t forget to purchase your writer’s email address. Publishers see you as a professional that way. Another way they see you as a professional is your professional email address. It’s important to make your address in your name. I did mine as deb@debhockenberry.com. Does the email program let you send, receive, and (if you need it) download? What a professional email address program offers you is very important. I’ve found this out recently…the hard way.
So, exactly what do you absolutely have to have on your website?
THE HOME PAGE
I’ve also heard this referred to as the landing page. On this page, you describe your site and tell the readers what it has to offer. You can put a welcome video here and describe your website that way. If you have a free newsletter to offer, this is just the place to put it!
THE ABOUT PAGE
This can be called About Me, About, or My Bio. I’ve seen it done all three ways. On this page, you describe yourself. Your readers want to know about you, so on this page you can talk all about yourself here. Here, you can talk about your dog, cat, bird, or whatever your pet might be. You can even post a picture of them here. You can talk about the scenery around you or your hobbies.
This is usually done in the third person, but I have seen it in the first person. First person makes it sound like you’re talking directly to the person, and you want to connect with your readers.
THE MEDIA PAGE
This can also be called the press page. On this page, you list everything you’ve ever written, where, and when it’s been published. You can post your book covers, book trailers, or even a media release here.
YOUR BLOG
This can be called whatever you want. It can be about anything you want too. I’ve seen some written daily. I try to update weekly. How often you blog is completely up to you. I should tell you that not all websites offer blogs. If your new website doesn't offer a blog, you can go elsewhere and set one up. I put mine on Blogger (free on Google).
YOUR APPEARANCES
Have you already published your book? You’ll definitely need this page. This page is exactly what it says. It’s your schedule. I’ve seen this page called My Book Signing Schedule too. Again, what you call it is up to you. If someone comes to your site and wants you to appear or sign books, they can contact you on the contact page.
CONTACT PAGE
This is self-explanatory. If someone wants to contact you, this is the place to do it!
SOCIAL NETWORKING SYMBOLS
These are very important and should be somewhere on your website. Preferably, the homepage. If they aren’t, put them there because they should be. Link up the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, or any other social network you’re in. The idea here is to be social with your readers. If you have a Facebook Author’s Page, you can send them there instead of your wall. This is also up to you!
Here are links to different children’s author’s websites for you to examine:
Deb Hockenberry
Katie Davis
Susanna Hill
Tara Lazar
