The past two weeks I’ve described how to determine your author name, purchasing your domain name, finding an internet service provider, determining who will host your site, and what web-site building software you will use. You may recall I strongly recommended WordPress to build your site. One of the reasons I like WordPress for author sites is because it IS possible to Do-It-Yourself with their excellent tutorials and online forums. Even if you have never built a website before, WordPress provides a novice with the tools to create a professional site. If your goal is to keep your expenses low, then the DIY option is best though it is a trade-off between your time and the bottom line. If you would prefer help building your website, most designers today are familiar with WordPress and can quickly set up a site that will be easy for you to administer and manage yourself. Now let’s talk about design. But before picking out tiles and swatches for your new electronic home, look at your neighbors’ houses. Do some window shopping. Compare yourself to the Joneses by scouting out other authors’ websites. And get to know your author-neighbors. First, make a list of the authors who have written books in your subject area or genre. Add to this list some authors whose work you enjoy. Then search online for their websites and click through every page. Look. Read. Browse. Pay attention to where your eyes wander. Find at least three examples of author sites…
Design and Content Development for Your Author Website Before you get lost in the design details of a WordPress website, it’s important for authors to keep in mind the type of site they want to build. For most of our clients, we recommend a site that says “successful, professional author.” But beyond this general aesthetic, what will your site actually look like? What will it… [Read More]
Filed Under: authors DIY, Creative Commons, Design, Strategic Marketing, WordPress
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Author Melissa Fay Greene I had the pleasure of meeting Melissa Faye Greene at the Austin Jewish Book Fair in November. She was there to sign No Biking in the House Without a Helmet (Sarah Crichton Books, 2011) and to provide the opening address. No Biking is a memoir chronicling how she and her family of six (mom, dad, four kids) adopted five orphans from overseas—one… [Read More]
Today I list 10 times when an author of non-fiction might need a book development editor. If you plan to write a book and your goal is publication, then you might find the professional services of a book development editor valuable. 1. Before you begin writing the manuscript, take your concept to a book development editor. Don’t write the book before you’ve done your business… [Read More]
Keeping Up With the Joneses in the Design and Development of Your New Website and Blog Over the last three Saturdays, we have outlined preliminary steps for building an author website and blog. Today we talk about design. But before picking out tiles and swatches for your new electronic home, look at your neighbors’ houses. Do some window shopping. Compare yourself to the Joneses by… [Read More]
On YouTube you can view hundreds of clandestine copies of the unofficial people’s anthem of Iran, “Ey Irani.” The identities of these underground musical artists remain unknown but the viral impact is political dissidence. On the streets of Tehran in 2008-2009, the song lyrics of Malek O’Shoara Bahar offered resistance to tyranny. The Green Movement and the Arab Spring now interest Americans as social media… [Read More]