An Author Web-site is as important as putting words on paper to write the next great novel – it’s your publicity, your promotion, your showcase.
Most people would not enter an unknown “store” without some kind of descriptive signage or window display to entice. Consider your website to be your window-display to pull a customer in off the street. This site has to introduce you, explain you, feature you. It’s a place to promote and sell your books. It can help you build your platform and may even attract some terrific writing deal for you.
The internet is one of the most versatile, economical and far-reaching marketing tools available today. Just like those newspaper ads that say “Your ad could be here today”, the internet screams “Your website should be here today.”
Published or UN-published (so far), a good author’s web-site should contain multiple pages. It CAN contain a blog which will help to attract readers. You website needs a “home page” which should feature something that says YOU (book covers, you at an event, possibly a graphic of the subject you specialize in). Use your imagination and ask :How do I want my readers to view me?
There should be an “about me” page – remember that your readers are interested in knowing about the AUTHOR so you don’t need to include your life story, only the parts of it that are relevant to your writing. Include a page for each major project (i.e.: each book or genre). Show off the book covers, blurbs, excerpts and acclaim. You will definitely want to include a contact page with a listing of upcoming in-person and virtual events where your fans can “meet” you, buy links, your (author’s) email.
A very important and often overlooked page is your personal media room. This media room literally is for the media. Include a downloadable author pic, jpgs of your book covers, .pdf’s or .doc’s of press releases, industry sales sheets for your books, .pdf’s of publicity (news clippings, etc) and a mock interview of YOU. For your interview get a list of six to twenty questions, include questions about your writing motivations, your preferred style, causes if they are relevant to your writing subjects, where you see yourself in the future, and advice you would give a new and aspiring writer – then answer them; make sure the questions that you absolutely want to be asked are listed first. You can also upload two or three unpublished “guest blogs”.
Your media room should be an easy research stop for any reporter who wants to focus on you – the more work you can do for the reporter, the more probable it will be for them to want to print (or broadcast) news about you. Expect that the info you make available to the media may be used with or without further questions and contact. I include the following clause in my media room at http://chellecordero.com/media/ “Permission is granted by (my “publicist” name) to use this photo for publicity purposes under the following guidelines…” and I list my requirements. As for downloadable documents .pdf is preferred but .doc is acceptable too, just avoid formats that are not easily opened on someone else’s computer. Use your media room link on the bottom of your emails.
This is YOUR forum – use it to your advantage.
Writing exercises: In regards to your writing career, think of the three TOP questions you would want to be asked – write an interesting answer for each. Now question and answer three more about your writing style. Think of a few more interesting questions and upload your INTERVIEW to your media room.
Writing prompt: Do you have a pet? (any kind) Describe what they might dream about when they are sleeping.
