If you’re reading this, then you found my website. As of this writing, the Sunday before Thanksgiving in 2023, I average about 9 visitors to this site per month. (Hi, Mom!) With my debut novel not set to drop until July of 2024, that type of late-night-on-an-abandoned-country-road volume of site traffic does not really surprise me. I am just one of hundreds–thousands–of first-time authors who are trying to build their online presence before their first book comes out. All of us chasing that elusive “platform” we hear so much about.
We’ll get into social media in a later post, but at least I knew how sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (or X, or whatever) worked.
When it came to creating my own author site, all I knew was that I needed one, and that the sooner I got it up and on the interwebs, the better. I started by browsing the sites of other authors in my genre, and reached out to a few of them via their contact forms, asking if they would be willing to share the name of the person who created their site. Yasmin Angoe–whom I interviewed in an earlier post for her freelance editing skills–was the first to respond. She put me in touch with former web developer and current author, Sierra Godfrey. Though Sierra had stepped away from creating websites for other authors to focus on her own burgeoning career as a writer, she agreed to do one last job for me.
Sierra was born in Santa Cruz, California but has lived in many places, including Santorini, Greece, when she was a kid. By day, she’s a technical writer and has also been a graphic designer and a credentialed sports writer covering Spanish football for several online sports sites. She lives in the San Francisco Bay area with her husband and two sons, as well as a lot of animals that include a dog, two cats, and a turtle, which seems like a lot, and is. Sierra’s novels include A Very Typical Family and The Second Chance Hotel, both of which are available now from Sourcebooks.
Sierra was kind enough to take a short break from writing her third novel to answer some questions about the amazing job she did on my website, as well as shed some light onto the purpose and benefits of an author site in general.
I knew nothing about author websites when I first contacted you two years ago to design mine, and I assume that doesn’t make me unique among debut authors. How did you get into designing author websites, and what did you do to learn what works and what doesn’t?
I began as a document designer and then got into website design with
fellow author Mike Chen. Together, we ran a business for a few years,
focusing mostly on creatives. I designed and he coded. We worked with some amazing people including designing the original MSWL (Manuscript Wish List) site. Eventually, we disbanded because we both had our publishing careers taking off!
To learn what worked and what didn’t, I studied. Hard. I looked at tons
of author sites. But author sites are no different than any business
site–the site exists to tell the world that you are who you say you
are. In other words, it confirms that you’re an author, and that you
have books. It offers other aspects of business, if applicable, like
editing services. But really, what I knew was that readers come to
author websites to learn more. They almost always come to you after
reading your book or hearing your name; it’s more rare that they come to your site and see you and go “great! I’ll read your book!” Obviously,
there are more scenarios than those two, but in general, that’s how
readers/site visitors operate.
the years as to what people come to author websites looking for. Readers almost always go to your About page first because they want to see who’s behind the site and the books, then they’ll look at your books. Sometimes books first, then About. (Therefore, make sure you have these pages set up. Avoid calling “About” something weird like
“Autobiographical Utterings” because that is not what visitors are
looking for.) Visitors almost never click on a News page unless you’re
an established author. (But you should still have that information on
your site.) They also almost never click on your blog unless you’ve
built a dedicated following and community, and work at it.
Once published, a site definitely helps readers who have read one book to find that you have more books. It helps sell your backlist.
Another thing your site does is aid people by offering bookclub guides
and additional supporting material. However, this is hit or miss as many authors don’t offer this information, for a variety of reasons. For
kidlit, there might be a teaching guide for teachers, but again, this is
not something people know to come look for. It’s a nice-to-have.
I obviously support having an author website, but I know a published
author who feels her site does nothing for her except cost money. I can
certainly understand that. Social media takes the place of news and
community for her. That said, I always see tons of traffic on my website
that I don’t expect. I get a lot of email from people outside the United
States who have read my books and found me and reached out because they came to my site.
That might be the single best point of having a website: giving people a chance to find you and your books on their own time.
This is funny for me to say since I have a design background, but I
don’t think you need to stand out. As mentioned, people want to know who you are. It doesn’t matter how simple your site is. That said, if your
site is too simple, it suggests your book might be, too. I know, I
know– that’s not nice or true, but it’s an impression readers will get.
And we know that, which is why we hire designers to make our sites!
And I also think that a site that matches your book cover or theme
(genre you write in) is great. It’s another part of your marketing
toolkit. And if you can make yourself look consistent across all
platforms, that’s preferred. For example, it’s jarring for readers to
encounter you on social media but then go to blooddrippinginyourface.com and find a shrine to vampires when you’re writing kidlit. That is not serving your audience.
But for people who cannot afford a designed and hosted site, it’s okay.
Your domain name is actually more important, in my opinion. Use your
name (greggpodolski.com; sierragodfrey.com). If your name is taken, use yournamebooks.com or yournameauthor.com. Keep it as simple as possible.
For debut authors, a website isn’t as important until after you publish.
But set one up, anyway. And above all, do not forget to update your site when your book is published!
Neither are necessary, but they provide more content (and thus, more SEO opportunities). And if you enjoy writing supporting material around you or your books, they’re both great options.
With a newsletter, you’re delivering content to a captive audience rather than waiting for the audience to find you.
With a blog, you can delve into wonderfully supporting topics for your book. For example, historical author Dianne Freeman (https://difreeman.com/blog/) does a fantastic, highly-read blog that explores different aspects of historical importance that support her books. And her readers, who are fans of historical mystery, love it! Your blog here dives into different aspects of publishing, with interviews, and it’s enormously helpful for other writers.
A lot of authors don’t have time for either. Please don’t feel pressured to do either. I used to love blogging and posted frequently, but my energy for it faded and now I do a monthly newsletter (sierragodfrey.com/signup) instead. I really enjoy writing it and I get consistently good feedback on it.
I know authors who regularly tell me they dread writing their newsletter. So do what you enjoy doing most. If it’s forced for you, readers will pick up on that.
I don’t have any specific recommendations but as you look at other
author websites, look at the bottom and see if it says who designed
their site. Look at their work. See if it gels with what you want.
That’s the best way to find a designer.
Be wary of the control different designers offer. For example, if you
have to contact the designer and pay them each time you want an update to your site, that’s great business for them, but not for you. Will the designer enable you to run your own website once it’s finished? Ask for that clarity. I was always amazed when I did websites by how many clients came to us and said “my previous designer won’t give me any of the graphics on my site, or let me in.” That should never be the case.
Educate yourself on the difference between buying a domain name and web hosting space. Don’t feel bad if it’s confusing. Web hosts don’t make it easy to understand this. If you use a web server like WordPress.com (or Wix or Squarespace), you can get a domain name and a website, but with minimal customization. You won’t be able to do a unique design. For some, that’s fine! But if you want total control over your site and things like email (full disclosure: I want total control over my website so I went this route), you can buy web hosting and have a designer install WordPress in that space, which gives you complete control over the look and feel. The scary part is you have to pay a professional to give you that control.
Know how much you’re willing to spend ($500 vs $5000 for example), and be clear about your costs going forward (including paying for web
hosting space or domains). As an author, these expenses are tax
deductible, but they’re still an expense!
Thanks, Gregg! I am the author of two novels: A Very Typical Family
(2022) and The Second Chance Hotel, which came out in
September 2023 and is set on a Greek island. As for my favorite soccer
team, I am sure absolutely no one cares, but it will always be Atletico
Madrid (aupa Atleti!), but I have a soft spot for Hibernian FC in
Edinburgh, Scotland (mon the Hibs!).
You can find me on Instagram @sierragodfrey or at sierragodfrey.com. I’m happy to answer questions about author websites.
Looking forward to the novel and hopefully to the movie. Best of luck in both cases.