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News, Fiction Updates & General MusingsFive Things Every Author Website Needs
I’ve had a few people ask me what ‘makes’ a good author website. Granted, I’ve talked about what I believe constitutes a good author blog in the past, but the blog is only one part of the package.
Without further ado, here are five things I believe every author website needs. It isn’t necessarily a complete list, but these should be the five things you think about before anything else, in my opinion.
1. A blog
Okay, a little bit of an obvious one to start off, but I’ll forever sing the praises of blogging. Take a look around at the best author websites: Joanna Penn has a blog. Jeff Goins has a blog. Joe Konrath has a blog. Getting the picture?
A blog is a great way to reach a new audience. I’ve made loads of new friends and built my audience through blogging, so I really am not exaggerating its impact. You can set one up for free over at wordpress.com, or self-host one through wordpress.org if you’re feeling a little more ambitious.
Whichever option you pick doesn’t really matter; what matters is content, and regularity. I post three times per week on the topics of marketing, writing, and publishing, so my readers know what to expect. You don’t have to start with a niche – you can grow into it naturally – but it can help to have a sense of direction.
Be patient, and keep blogging. If you’re interesting, your readership will grow. Promise.
August Progress Report: The Month Where Things Started Happening…
It’s that time of month again.
Well, August was the month where things actually started to happen, in terms of getting material of my own out there.
At the start of the month, I launched Something in the Cellar, a collection of two short stories, to test the water and to try out different marketing methods in the build up to my debut novel launch. You can purchase that from Amazon.com and Amazon UK, all for cheaper than an ice-cream, albeit slightly less delicious. It’s good to be honest, right?
I pulled the book from Smashwords and tried out KDP Select, to generally positive results, as you can see from the attached image. Number 2 in the free charts!
Paid Book Reviews: Where Do You Stand?
It was my intention to write the second part of my ‘Self-Publishing Myths’ series today, but a recent development in the publishing world has forced me to push that back to Monday. John Locke, poster boy of indie success, has admitted that he paid for book reviews, in a move that is becoming increasingly common in the self-publishing world.
I won’t go into the technicalities, as several other bloggers have already done a pretty damn good job of that, but basically, there are websites out there that allow you to purchase paid book reviews for Amazon, or around the web. You can often buy in bulk of twenty or fifty, and these reviews vary in legitimacy and positivity.
While I disagree with purchasing book reviews from a moral standpoint, am I surprised? Not at all.
Writing Schedule: Three Ways to Develop Your Own
I was recently rather impressed, albeit envious, of Jeff Goins’ writing schedule outlined over at his blog. ‘He gets up really early,’ I thought. Why couldn’t I get up as early as him, and start my writing as the sun rises?
Well, I like my bed.
That’s the hard, honest truth. Call me lazy, but it’s the summer break, and boy do I do enough during the day and evening to make up for a little lie in. Yes, I tried to implement Jeff Goins’ morning routine into a writing schedule of my own. Yes, it felt good. And yes, I only stuck with it for two days.
This got me thinking about a writing schedule of my own, and finding something that worked for me. As Jeff states, you should ‘find a system that helps you get the work done, and use it.’ How does one discover their own schedule, and play to their strengths? We can start by asking a few simple questions.
Is Social Media Really That Effective a Sales Tool?
Some people seemingly spend far too much time on social media. I am probably one of those people.
I get stressed if I don’t have useful links scheduled to go out on Twitter a day in advance, and worry about whether I’m updating my Facebook page too much/not enough. Yes, social media is a pain in the ass, but it’s worth it for the rewards, right?
Well, it depends how you define those ‘rewards’. If you’re looking for an instant sales boost, then probably not.
Self-Publishing Myth #1 – Self-Published Means Inferior Quality
There are a whole host of myths surrounding self-publishing that, even in this digital age, still seem to have lived on from the days of expensive vanity publishing.
Whether quality related, or more to do with legitimacy, I’ll be covering each of the five main myths in a series of weekly posts, and why each myth is nothing more than just that: a myth.
I considered covering all five in one post, but really, each area is so sprawling that they deserve a post to themselves. The general formula will be to state the reasons why this myth exists, and then follow-up with a breakdown of why it simply is not true. You know me, though – I like change. So yeah, just enjoy the ride! read more…