Professional book editor in the UK lists the top 7 pages you need on your indie author website if you're serious about your career as a novelist!
If you dream about being a great author, whether traditional or indie, you'll need an author website that showcases you and your books.
If you don't, how do you expect people to find you?
Not everyone will automatically know your name unless you get super famous, and not everyone will have social media or know where to find you on Amazon, but an author website can act as your online base for your readers.
However, it can be difficult to figure out what you need on your author website, so here are 7 ideas to help you to get started!
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Related Post: How to be Taken Seriously as an Indie Author
1. A Home Page
You'll need a home page that provides a brief description of who you are, what genre(s) you write, and what your audience will find when they browse through your website.
Remember, your home page isn't your 'About Page', so keep it short and sweet.
Your home page should also include links to your social media profiles so readers can connect with you on a personal level, and you should also display a picture of yourself and your [future] book covers, which will encourage potential readers to investigate further.
2. An About Page
After creating the home page, you'll also need an about page that gives more detail about you as a person and a writer.
It also gives you a place to add another picture of yourself so readers can put a face to your name and bio. You may also wish to share a few facts about yourself, or your journey as a writer, to appear down-to-earth and approachable.
If you want to provide services as well, such as professional book editing, illustration or book cover design, the about page is the place to show off your qualifications and experience.
Related Post: How to Build Your Author Platform
3. A Books Page
A no brainer, but even if you display your book covers on your home page, you'll also need a books page that showcases the novels you have previously published, and the ones you're still writing.
You'll then have the chance to provide a short description about each novel or a gripping pitch to entice your readers.
Even if you haven't yet published anything, it's still a good idea to show potential readers that you're working on something and show them what you're writing. You never know, they may wait to buy your book when it's available!
4. An Excerpt Page
Not essential, but you may want to have an excerpts page that gives readers a free sample of your novels.
Most readers tend to download the free sample on Amazon before they decide to actually buy a new book or not, so it's tremendously helpful to provide a free scene or chapter to give readers an insight into your story and writing style.
Plus, some readers may be encouraged by impulse even if they haven't planned to purchase anything, so make sure you give them a cliffhanger!
5. A Review or Testimonial Page
Having a review or testimonials page on your author website is a great to show off how well your books have been received by other readers.
Positive reviews are the number one thing that sways a consumer's decision - to buy or not to buy - but if they can see that other readers enjoyed your book, they are more likely to believe that your novel is worth buying.
Upon publication, consider giving a few copies away for free in exchange for some positive, but honest, reviews. Ideally, you want these readers to share their reviews on Amazon, and then you can screenshot them for the review page on your website.
6. A Consistent Blog
You don't HAVE to, but maintaining a blog on your author website will help you to reach out to your readers in a personal or educational way.
You may sigh and roll your eyes at the idea of writing a blog, but seriously, building up a consistent one is an amazing way to encourage people to return to your website.
Blogging is also brilliant for your SEO (search engine optimisation), so the more articles you write that provide value to other people whilst using relevant keywords, the higher your author website will rank on Google, which equals more book sales.
For example, because I'm a professional book editor in the UK, I always try to use the term "professional book editing services in the UK" on my blog posts, because that's the main longtail keyword I need to rank for on Google.
If you're a fantasy author who's written a novel about Arthurian Legend, you may want to appear high on Google when people type in "fantasy books about King Arthur".
7. A Contact Page
If you want your readers to get in touch with your about your books, you'll definitely need a contact page so people can either copy and paste your email address or fill out a contact form.
You may not think anyone would care to get in touch with an unknown, unrepresented writer, but anything can happen, and you never know, you may build a fan base of readers who want to get in touch!
Not everyone will have Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, but most readers have internet access, so they'll likely be able to find your website and contact you there instead.
Thank you for reading to the end of this post, it means a lot and I appreciate your time!
If you found it helpful, please like, comment and share so it can reach more writers who can use the advice, and if you're up for exchanging guest posts to help each other and provide valuable information, please get in touch here!
If you're an aspiring author and you're ready to have your manuscript professionally edited, check out my professional book editing services here and feel free to get in touch with me.
- Chelsea x
ABOUT CHELSEA
Hey! I'm Chelsea and I'm a professional book editor at Stand Corrected Editing, my independent editorial business in the UK. If you would like to have your manuscript thoroughly edited by myself, please get in touch!
With my book editing and proofreading services, I hope to spread my knowledge and expertise on how to make your novel a success, and be a mentor to others who desperately want to pursue a fruitful career as an author!