I Spent Nearly Two Decades Writing and Editing My Book. Before you start, consider the following. Picking a domain name 2. 6. This model is ideal for unpublished novelists, memoirists, and poets. In the audio and transcript, he outlines tips for blogging and also how to make money from your blog, and why writers have a real advantage as bloggers. Create a blog header . It’s well-supported, continually developed, and runs about 20% of all websites today. You will now see a new heading that reads “Congratulations. If you don’t have an author website, or if you’re doing a multi-contributor blog, then I recommend using WordPress. (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. Since more than half of website visits are made on mobile phones, this is crucial for your blog’s aesthetic. To add contributors, invite them to your site. Click the “click here” hyperlink under the “Dashboard” heading. I don’t recommend your home address for such a public venue. Click the “Dashboard” link on the left side of your screen. I urge you to avoid the temptation to settle for one of the quick and easy website solutions that looks like everyone else’s and has a small-time feel. “.com” is preferred because it’s most common, but “.net” or “.co” work just as well. By an “author” we mean one of the default WordPress user roles as well as user profiles, you can create manually with intuitive tools. The first thing that ought to pop up is your author website. 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. You’ll find that as your list of followers grows, you’ll gain self-confidence. Click the green “select” button under the price. Author – List your name as the post author, even if it’s your website. For instance, highlight “A list of my published works.”. 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. Click “Not now.” You can always come back to this later. Key benefits: For most writers, it feels natural to discuss the things that influence their work, and you will likely uncover and engage your most important fans. After they accept the invitation, their name appears in the drop-down menu. Some writers are successful with informal missives that comment on what’s happening day to day or that reflect on their personal life. Where the difficulty lies: You may run out of material quickly, or not have a very high frequency of posts. 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. See the other bloggers not as competitors, but as community members who may eventually become supporters of your work. An author’s book nears its publication date (or perhaps the author is attempting to secure a traditional book deal). Some blogs have such a minimal design that it’s difficult to see the bigger picture of what the blog offers. Don’t just make your blog about writing. If I learned it, you certainly can. Of course, they don’t own your website. You can click the “no thanks” button. 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). Remember brevity and professionalism, but be sure you include what visitors—including agents and publishers—would want to see. The chain of events goes something like this: My unproven theory: We have many authors blogging poorly because of this series of events. Some people may be able to get by on one post a week, but it’s a struggle to gain traction without volume. 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. (See Joel Friedlander and Elizabeth Craig.) Find out more. Frequently Asked Questions You use WordPress or Squarespace, which are already optimized for search. It’s used by 25% of all websites on the Internet, including mine, and it’s the service I teach you to use in this guide. If people saw only your post headline (e.g., on Twitter), would they feel compelled to click on it? It is so easy to create a new page, a banner or a section to announce your product. Remember: this is your website. How to Make an Author Website 101: Five Essential Tips 1. You make sure each post is categorized and tagged appropriately. See you then!”. She finds (or hears) advice that blogging is a good way to accomplish #1. This is easier than it sounds—just use your name! 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. Tenants decorate their apartments the way they want—but they don’t own that space. 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. 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. Cornerstone content often is a comprehensive, definitive piece that tackles a frequently asked question, issue, or problem—or features a very popular author or thing in popular culture that is searched for often. The next page gives you the option to customize your site. Creating a password If you’re very serious and strategic about this, I recommend reading How to Increase Website Traffic. 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. On your Dashboard, scroll down until you see Your Blog… Bluehost has supported WordPress for over 10 years and has in-house WordPress experts, if you ever have a question about it. Creating a “Contact” page Click Add new author. Amazon Author Central allows you to customize your Author Page on Amazon, so readers can see who you are, what kinds of books you write, and — most importantly — why they should buy them! Through your social media presence? Novelist Brandilyn Collins uses Seatbelt Suspense®. Selecting a plan Receive emails that include the full text of each new post, A Writer’s Guide to Fair Use and Permissions + Sample Permissions Letter, Writing With Sharpness: Q&A with Elinor Lipman, How I Landed a Book Deal Via Twitter—Unintentionally, Using Book Promotion Newsletters to Increase Sales. Author blog. This is easier said than done. First, you have to write the story. Now you want to create a tagline. It’s an extra 99¢ per month. This is where the fun begins. Next we’ll edit the “Contact Us” page. There is less and less spoken about the importance of an author website. Many authors have considerable advice and insight for others in the field—and the audience of aspiring writers and established authors is massive. There are two types of consistency: frequency and subject matter. How to Find The Time to Blog … Box, etc. The next page asks if you would like to connect your Jetpack profile to WordPress. People who enjoy a blog like to get in touch with the writer and say so. You could peek at Yahoo’s home page and watch how they create post headlines to get viewers to click. 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. On the next page, create your password, click the checkbox next to “I have read and agree to…,” then click “Next.”. 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. Search engine optimization really requires its own post. 1. That becomes another showcase of your writing, and it also lets others contact you. 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. You’ll find more very effective examples there, which should give you some powerful ideas for your own. After you click the “Update” button, click “Pages” in the sidebar on the left side of the screen. If you’re not familiar with literary citizenship, you can read more about my views on it here. Take it from me: There’s no need to blog … When you’re done, click “Save and Publish.”. If you need a strong introduction to guest posting how-to, visit this excellent Copyblogger post. Your author WordPress website can help you not just with announcements, but also lets you create a page and share exciting details about your next venture. The downside: Connecting with other writers doesn’t necessarily grow your readership; you end up in an echo chamber with other writers. ), and what content on your site is worth your time to continue developing (what content will bring you visitors over the long run?). So identify the notable community players, or the people who you’ll want to build relationships with over time. If your blog is high-quality, and generates conversation, they’ll be likely to recommend you or send you traffic. Click the “Select Files” button on the page that opens, and find the photo of yourself you want to use. When the sub-menu pops up on the right, click “Themes.”, On the next page, scroll down and click “Add New Theme.”. Such writers probably know off the top of their head the questions that get asked most frequently, the topics that are most popular, and the problems that surface again and again. Scroll down to the “Home page” label, and click “Edit.”. Get your growing tribe interacting with you and with each other by posing a simple question or taking a brief survey on their favorite things: books, movies, celebrities, you name it. Focus mainly on your writing, but add a little personal information as well. Tell of your previous projects, and add links (clickable web addresses) to them. Improved headline: What If You’re Dreading the Change of Seasons? Use the toolbar in the middle of the page to filter by category: You can even filter the features you want. Frequency: To gain any kind of momentum, you should commit to 2-4 posts a week. After about two years of consistency, I reached about 60,000 visits per month. This will be that first page visitors see at your site—the welcome or landing page. Start reading and sharing their content, and comment at their blog. Another complication: “Blogging” has become a somewhat dated term. Or not. … I’ve been a satisfied customer, and they provide a fantastic service for authors. Google my name and you’ll be directed to JerryJenkins.com. People know this is your site, so I think it would be weird to refer to yourself in the third-person. (This is also referred to as a permalink in WordPress.). For instance, notice the extension to my webpage URL, which takes you to my How to Write a Book guide: https://jerryjenkins.com/how-to-write-a-book/. Add a personal touch by changing your site’s look. Make sure your bio includes something that is unique about … If you can do this in a helpful way, it’s a win for you, for your readers, and for the sites you send traffic to. But not rightly so. …which I’m about to show you in this guide. 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. It may take people months before they even become aware that your blog exists. This is the best option for anyone writing and publishing nonfiction. If you’d rather skip this step for now and have your first entry be your first complete blog post, that’s fine, too. You can do this by downloading a new theme. What I’ve done is basically create a website where blog posts exist, but they are not the focal point of the site. What pages or posts are most popular on your site. Most people I meet who blog either aren’t committed, or give up too soon, before gaining momentum that builds on itself. Click “Business.”. You think about how readers would search for your content, and incorporate those search keywords into your post headline, post subheads, and more. If you have a strong avocational pursuit (or past profession) that influences your novels, create FAQs or guides for the curious. This is invaluable starting fodder for a successful blog: knowledge of one’s audience. The longer the term, the lower the monthly price. Creating a Page Menu If that’s beyond your capabilities right now, trust me, someone in your orbit will be able to show you how to do this. So, the longer your first term, the longer you receive the discounted price. Your author website becomes your home base, as if you had a corporate headquarters. The prices above reflect their standard 12-month plan. Blogs … “Destined to become a staple reference book for writers.” —Publishers Weekly. She knows she needs to market and promote the book and/or build a platform. I talk about the basics of author websites here. Click “Select All,” and then click “Add to Menu.”. The tenants simply rent. Step 2: Change the URL extension to “contact” or “contactme,” your choice. Key benefits: It can be a good creative outlet or practice, especially if you’re committed to blogging on a schedule. (Right click on that and you’ll see the URL it would take you to.). I recommend capitalizing each of your names for easier readability, but that’s not mandatory. If you need a strong introduction to guest posting how-to, visit this excellent Copyblogger post. You want it—and you—to appear as engaging and professional as possible. After this, you’ll be taken to a log in page. If your domain name is already in use, you’ll get a message that says your choice is “not available for registration” or something similar. 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. Step 1: Type “Main Menu” in the “Menu Name” box. For Writers & Readers 01-07-2021 | The Author Chronicles. 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. Think about themes, hooks, or angles for an interview series on your site, and run them on a regular basis—but only as frequently as you have time to invest in a well-researched and quality interview. You’ve heard and read of your need for a platform—a following, a tribe, visibility. Nor should you feel like it’s a burden to come up with ideas; ideally, your problem is too many ideas. Every author loves to get attention (or find a new fan) for their work. The author website can even let you interact with your readers through blogs. For example, if you’re writing a memoir about addiction or caring for aging parents, your blog can offer information and advice (and stories) for people going through the same thing. It not only proves your legitimacy as an author … Creating a “Writing” page Imagine enjoying your very own great-looking site, bearing the .com name you choose (Hint: it should always be your name). Step 2: Click the chain link icon (circled in red below). 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. So how does this answer the question, “What do I blog about?”. Exclusive audio: Blogging for Authors with Joanna Penn. Submitting payment information (Example: Mine is “New York Times Bestselling Novelist & Biographer.”) Jean Oram has a great post on creating author taglines. WordPress is a simple tool that helps you easily create a good-looking website. For writers who aren’t yet known, it will be hard (if not impossible) to interest other people in the details of your personal life, unless you’re a superlative writer. A good author blog works in a similar way – writers give their readers a small, delicious free sample of their work in order to entice them to buy the book. window.intercomSettings = { With the following simple instructions, you should be able to build yours from scratch in the next hour. Blogging as discussed here is best described as online writing you do for free, or—better yet—an online content strategy where you create interesting articles, columns, interviews, etc. How do people find your blog? If you haven’t got an author blog or website yet, here are the most popular free blog sites for you. Here are a few considerations: Here are some actual blog post headlines that I helped an author improve, to be more specific and attuned to keyword search. Add contributors - Depending on their permissions, contributors can add and publish their own content. After you finish your bio, click the blue “Update” button. Visit other author sites for ideas and to be sure you don’t duplicate (unless you choose to). In addition to being a columnist for Publishers Weekly, Jane is a professor with The Great Courses, which released her 24-lecture series, How to Publish Your Book. Jane Friedman has written a great article on the importance of still keeping an independent author website, outside of social media. Pick one that suits your taste. It establishes you as a serious professional. This is not an exhaustive list of what you could blog about, but it gives you an idea of the most common options. As a full novel takes a long time to write, blogs … Step 2: Click the blue “Create Menu” button. Click "Start Building. This makes it easier to attract attention and build a community around common interests or perspectives. Your author website lets you host a blog, as I do here. Remember, this is where you show a good photo of yourself and tell a bit about yourself. Click “Visit Site” to see your new theme! I like to give people as many avenues of access to me as possible: a URL, an email address, a P.O. Keep your domain name simple, professional, and clear—not quirky or extravagant. 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. 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. Create a landing page for contributor information- like this one. To gain serious credibility with publishers and agents, I recommend creating your own great-looking custom domain site…. If not, get started today—it’s a free service and easy to set up. 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