Baby Step 3: Build your author online presence by making executive decisions in answer to the following three questions. Who will provide you with internet service? Who will provide webhosting service for your website/blog? What content management system is right for you as an author? Internet service providers are those who bring the internet into your home or office. This may be your phone company, your cable TV company, or a local independent internet service provider. (FYI: if you do not already have your own internet service you can enter your zip code here to find a provider in your area.) Many internet service providers also offer customers hosting services for websites and email. However, you do not have to use an internet provider’s hosting service. At Swenson Book Development LLC we recommend BlueHost.com based on their affordable price, video tutorials, excellent customer service, immediate and accessible tech support, and uninterrupted service.

Last week I wrote about deciding upon your author name to determine your domain name. Once you have purchased your domain, the next step is stake out your own real estate on the internet. Before you build your author website, you will need to answer three questions.   (1)  Who will provide you with internet service?  Internet service providers (ISPs) are those who bring the internet into your home or office or mobile device. This may be your phone company, your cable TV company, or a local independent internet service provider. You will be billed a monthly fee for this service and rates vary. If you already have access to the internet, then you already have an internet service provider and can move on to the next question. (2) Who will provide webhosting service for your site? Many internet service providers also offer hosting services for websites and email. You may decide to buy your domain name through your webhosting service, but domain registration and webhosting do not necessarily have to be purchased from one provider. (If you have already purchased a domain name through one webhosting service, you can transfer it to another.) Webhosting services provide space on their servers for your site and assign it a unique DNS (Domain Name System). With many different companies vying to become the host for your author site, you want to look for one which features access to the Control panel (cpanel), offers site statistics, ecommerce tools, mailboxes, email tools, and 1-click…

Are you on the start of your journey to publication? Authors’ names are their brands, and satisfied readers exercise brand loyalty. They shop for titles by author name, and when they come across a real find, they recommend it to friends. Those friends do the same, and the chain continues. But a book is more than a cover or jacket. It is the embodiment of a human voice to which the reader seeks connection. Thus, loyal readers attend book signings, subscribe to newsletters, and use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social media platforms to make contact with favorite authors. The deeper the social connection between reader and author, the more likely the reader will act as the author’s sales agent. There is nothing better than word-of-mouth advertising for a book. Cultivating an audience for your writing is something you are expected to bring to the table when you have a manuscript for them to consider for publication. In creating your author platform and establishing your name as your brand, you want to be consistent and constant. If your name is Amy Anderson, your professional contact email will be amy@amyanderson.com; your gmail will be amyanderson@gmail.com; your website will be www.amyanderson.com. Your Twitter account will be – drumroll please – @AmyAnderson. Do not use the title of your book. Do not use any catchy taglines or slogans. Use your name. But first check that your name is available. Since Amy Anderson is a common name, you may need to use a legal…