Website Wisdom + video tour, social media, & controversies
Websites! + I walk you through my new one; against performative authoring; bookstore map; MassBook Award; Booktok; Bluesky; writing retreat; short story coming!; controversies & awards; decadent tea
Greetings readers & writers,
I try not to be too prescriptive when it comes to marketing (and writing!) advice. Everyone’s career, project, and needs are different — you know what works best for you as a creative, a business person, and an overall human. However, there’s one thing I tell every writer that they need to have. Yes, you need to have a website.
Caveat: a website can look like a lot of different things. Primarily, it needs to be a static place online where people can find information about you and your work. But that can mean a linktr.ee or carrd.co page; it can be a Facebook or Goodreads author page; it can be a Substack page, a blog, or a website (of any level of complexity) with your own domain name.
I recently spent some time (ok, A LOT of time) creating a new website for myself. I liked my old website — it was colorful, professional, and opened up a lot of opportunities. But even though I kept it updated, the site design was ten years old. Wix, the website platform, no longer supported several features I had implemented, so there was no way to edit those pages without entirely recreating them anyway, leading to broken links and old information.
But most importantly, I designed that website for my marketing coaching business almost exclusively. With fiction of mine forthcoming, I wanted to make sure my website reflects who I am now — as a marketing coach and a writer (with a little more emphasis on the writer). I wanted something professional but also a little moody, a little whimsical, to set the tone for the kind of writing I do.
So let me give you a little video tour so I can share my thought process and some tips for creating your own:
In case you don’t have time or access to audio for the video, the key take aways:
At the minimum, your website should have:
The Home page is where folks are most likely to land. This can be an image with links, like mine, it can feature your latest writing or book, or it can be where all your info lives. There should be a link menu somewhere so people can click to get to the info they want, and be sure to include your socials in a sidebar or on the footer.
The About page is where people go to find out about you, of course! On my site I have an About Page and a Press Kit page; the first has a more personal writer’s statement/self-description, while the second has my carefully written bios for use by media and marketing partners. You don’t have to have separate pages, but I find it’s helpful to have both a personal statement and a professional bio.
Other things that can live here: endorsements or praise for your work; upcoming events; links to publications. These can all be separate pages if you prefer.
The Contact page is how people can get in touch with you. Include a contact form or your email; if you have a publicist, you can list them instead as your publicity contact. This is where you can also link to your social media, newsletter, other businesses or websites, etc.
All of these pages can be one giant page! Some people like that scrolling action! But I think it’s helpful to still have an easy-to-identify menu bar that lets you go straight to the info you want.
I often get asked: do I need my own domain (aka a url with my name on it)? Honestly, it looks much more professional if you have one, but it isn’t required, especially if you’re just starting out. However, for folks building up their online presence, domains are relatively affordable and make it easier for people to find you online. Most free options still let you build your name/brand into the url for your site (e.g. Facebook.com/allisonpottern)
But Allison, how do I build a website?
There are many of free or low cost platforms, with different levels of complexity for starting. The ones I’ve seen most commonly used are Wordpress, Wix, and Squarespace. The Author’s Guild offers something called SiteBuilder for it’s members too. The trick, if you’re intimidated by web design, is to pick one of the lovely templates that many of these sites have compiled for just such a purpose. In most cases, they’re fill-in-the-blank, drag-and-drop situations. You can customize with your own colors, images, and content without having to do any of the structural work.
If you don’t want to touch building your own website with a ten-foot pole, congrats! You’ve identified the marketing support you need! Seek out a web designer. Reedsy is a great source, or I’ve been asking folks to chime in on Bluesky.
My Trollbreath Magazine story jumps the paywall this Friday, Sept. 27th! “Cryptid Car Rental” is a quirky, funny, heartfelt romp through the comments section of a travel forum, as a young artist tries to vet a questionable car rental company.
(If you are interested in reading it right now, for the low, low price of a web membership, you can support a nascent speculative fiction magazine that clearly has excellent taste and reads a myriad of cools stories and poetry!)
Writing/Marketing Resources:
Suyi Davies Okungbowa’s essay “Against Performance” is highly relatable and important food-for-thought for creatives trying to run the social-media gaunlet.
Are you worried you’ll be stranded without a book? Never fear,
www.iheartbookstores.com is here, with an interactive U.S. map of over 6,000 indie bookstores!
The Mass Book Awards are now open to submissions! If you don’t have a novel published (SAME), check out the New England Science Fiction Association’s short story contest!
In case you want to be hip like the kids: BookTok’s 11 Most Talked About Books Of The Year (So Far) {Rolling Stone}
Bluesky now offers starter packs to give you following options once you join. Here are some great ones for SFF writers! This is also a great article from The Verge on social media platforms and features that aren’t X.
Level-Up Your Language Skills:
There’s still time to sign up for the Metrowest Writer’s Guild Fall Retreat, where I’ll be giving on a session on leveling-up your language skills, with lots of fun, nitty gritty word-choice writing exercises at the lovely Endicott House in Dedham, MA along side some other awesome writers. Come hang and write with us!
News
The National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) organization came under fire earlier this month for a statement claiming that condemning A.I. is both classist and ableist. {Wired} In addition to rejecting this assertion, many authors, as well as members of NaNo’s own “writers board,” accused the organization of catering to it’s A.I. writing-aid sponsor.
The Booker Shortlist has been announced! {BBC} Any books on here you’re excited to see honored?
Appeals Court Upholds Decision Against Internet Archive’s Book Scanning Program {Publisher’s Weekly} For more insight into the opposing sides of this issue: Authors Guild Applauds Final Court Decision Affirming Internet Archive’s Book Scanning as Copyright Infringement | Why a ruling against the Internet Archive threatens the future of America’s libraries {MIT Review}
Tea:
My youngest was crestfallen to discover we were out of two tea favorites, which called for a shipment from Newton-based, online tea-purveyor Virtuous Teas. We picked their Rooibos Raspberry Ripple, which proved an excellent choice: with a warm rooibos base, coconut, and raspberry and rhubarb bits, it smells and tastes like a raspberry truffle. Perfect for a fall tea party.
Your voice matters. Keep making your art. And make sure you’re registered to vote.
~Allison
PS: LAST CALL! If you’ve supported my anthology in any way, reply to this email with proof that you supported, purchased, or shared before Oct. 8th to receive an exclusive audio recording of my story (once I’ve recorded it!) for FREE. This is not an official audiobook; just me wanting to say thanks to my subscribers for all your help.
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