Well, this is embarrassing, and I owe you an apology. I’ve hosted Novel Marketing for 12 years, and somehow, I’ve never done an episode about website book pages. You know, the most important page on your website for selling books and getting AIs to recommend your books to readers? Yeah, that page. 

I have episodes on the home page, about page, press kit page, landing page, and even the contact page, but until now, I’ve had nothing about creating your website’s book page. 

This oversight is particularly embarrassing because I started working in publishing back in 2007, building websites for authors. My company, Author Media, even built the number-one author bookstore plugin for WordPress that built book pages. Yet, I’ve never talked about how you can create amazing book pages on your website. 

Today, your website’s book page is more important than ever. It’s not just about selling your book anymore. If you want ChatGPT to recommend your book to readers, having well-optimized book pages is critical. 

In the YouTube version of this episode, you’ll find examples of many of the key elements of book pages we’ll cover in this post.

Every Book Needs a Page

The most important thing to understand is that every book needs its own web page.

New authors often get this right at first. They write a book and create a dedicated page all about it. But when they publish a second book, they sometimes make the critical mistake of renaming the original page to “Books” and adding the new book’s information to the top of that same page.

This is a major error that can hurt your search engine rankings and reduce your visibility in AI-driven results. If your website doesn’t have a page focused solely on each book, search engines are more likely to send readers straight to Amazon. That means you miss the opportunity to connect with readers, grow your email list, sell directly, or earn affiliate income.

But this mistake is easy to fix. Just copy and paste the information for each book into its own separate webpage. Then, create a main “Books” page that displays your big, beautiful book covers linking to each individual book page on your website.

If you’ve written many books, consider creating a separate page for each series instead of each book.

Your “Books” page is also the perfect place to share your recommended reading order.

This page should answer the following questions:

• “Which book should I read first?”
• “Which book should I read next?”

Of course, your readers can read your books in whatever order they want, but if they are visiting your website, they want to know what you think is the best place to start. 

Recommend your best book as the place to start. You want to make a great first impression on your readers. Once they love your hits, they may come to love the deep tracks, too. If you’re a new author and still improving your craft, your best book is often the latest book. Be prepared to update this page with each new release.  

Books Page Checklist:

• A Books Page (Chronological with the newest books at the top with links to each book)
• A Reading Order Page (Your recommended reading order with links to each book.)
• A Page for Each Series
• A Page for Each Co-Author
• A page for Each Book

Download a printable checklist for creating your book pages.

Individual Book Page

What do you put on a book page?

High-Resolution Book Cover Image

At the top of the web page, include a big, beautiful book cover image at the highest resolution version you can put online. Some readers will be searching for your book via image search, so you want a higher-resolution file than they’ll find on Amazon or other retailer sites.

A high-res cover is also helpful for journalists, video creators, presenters, or anyone who might want to use your book as an illustration or example. Make it easy for them by offering a high-quality image.

Title and Subtitle

Next, include your title and subtitle, along with your author name, right near the top of the page.

Author Name and Bio

Include your brief author bio with a link to your full About page. Include a great author photo in this section as well.

One-Paragraph Pitch

Near the top of the page, add your one-paragraph pitch for the book to grab the reader’s interest and summarize what it’s about.

Buy Buttons

You’ll also need lots of buy buttons.

• A buy button for each format on Amazon
• A direct buy button if you sell from your website (for signed copies or special editions)
• A buy button for services like BookVault (if you use them)
• A buy button for bulk orders if you offer them

If you prefer to keep your page looking clean and have just one buy button, you can use Genius Link. This creates a pop-up window that displays all your purchase options. To learn more, listen to my episode on how to use Genius Link.

Details and Metadata Section

Most authors skip this section because it’s not particularly interesting for humans, but it is critical for AI. It helps AI make sense of your book on your website and across the entire web. Including this information will help clarify what your book is all about.

This is where you’re going to include:

• Paperback ISBN
• Audiobook ASIN and ISBN
• Ebook ASIN and ISBN
• Publisher name, city, and state
• Publication year
• Library of Congress catalog and publication data (if you have it)
• Country your book was printed in
• BISAC Categories

Include everything that’s on your copyright page and everything we discussed in our metadata episode.

When you include all the book’s ISBN numbers for each format, it helps AI cluster your different versions and recognize them as the same book. This allows you to combine your AI “points,” which can make your book more recommendable.

If the information is important enough to be printed on the copyright page, it’s important enough to include it in this details section.

This section doesn’t need to be prominent, but it does need to be present. On some websites, this section might be hidden behind a dropdown menu, which is fine. Most visitors aren’t looking for these details, but the people who are interested really care about them.

And remember that the AIs and bots use these details to connect everything about your book. If the information isn’t connected, reviews for your different formats could cause the AI to present them as different books.

For more see: AI Optimization for Authors.

Book Info Section

The next section of your website’s book page is what I call the book info section. Your goal here is to make this page richer than Amazon because Amazon is your primary competition. You want to outrank Amazon so that readers come to your website first and then go to Amazon. This will take some effort because Amazon has reviews, and you’re probably not going to have the same kind of reviews they do.

Full Back Cover Copy

Your one-paragraph summary is at the top of the page, but in this section, you should include the full version of your back cover copy.

If you need help crafting your back cover copy, my Patron Toolbox tool will help you create a three-paragraph back cover copy, a one-paragraph pitch, and a one-sentence pitch. Simply upload your manuscript and the tool will automatically read your book and generate back cover copy for you.

If you’ve already written your back cover copy, make sure you include it here on your book page. To learn more, listen to my episode on How to Write Bestselling Back Cover Copy.

Endorsements

More endorsements are better. This isn’t the place for abbreviated blurbs. You might use shortened versions of your endorsements on your Amazon page, but on your own website’s book page, you should include the full endorsement.

Remember, this section isn’t just for convincing readers; it’s also for feeding AI useful data about your book.

To learn more, listen to my episode on How to Get Endorsements for Your Book.

Reviews

You’ll want to include reviews here, too, but do not copy and paste your reviews from Amazon. Doing that violates Amazon’s terms of service and can look like plagiarism to Google.

Instead, link to blog posts or media outlets that have reviewed your book. You can include a short snippet of the review, followed by a “Read full review” link.

Sample Chapters

Next, consider including sample chapters as a downloadable PDF. I recommend offering three chapters, or about 20–30 pages. If you’re traditionally published, check with your publisher to see what they’re willing to let you share.

AI loves sample chapters, and so do readers. While Kindle already offers a sample to Kindle readers, this version on your own website makes the sample available to everyone.

Tropes

Include the tropes in your book. Some authors create a graphic showing the book cover with arrows pointing to all the different tropes. You could also use a simple bulleted list.

If you’re not sure what tropes are in your book, I have a Patron Toolbox trope tool that will evaluate your manuscript and generate a list of tropes based on your writing.

FAQ Section

Another useful section to include is an FAQ. If your book is already published, you’re probably receiving reader questions. If not, you can guess what they’re asking and include the question and your answer in this section.

For this section, I recommend using the Yoast SEO FAQ block if you’re on WordPress.org. This will optimize your questions and answers in a format that both Google and AI can easily understand. When someone types a similar question into Google, your page may appear in search results.

Supplementary Material for Readers

This section could be called “For Readers.” It’s mainly for readers who have already purchased your book, but it also can help convince shoppers to pull the trigger. Supplementary materials will make your readers happy after the sale.

Most authors scatter this kind of content across their websites, making it almost impossible to find. But readers look for it on the book’s web page. That’s why you want one big, beautiful page that contains all the information for potential readers and for current readers.

Remember, your goal is to beat Amazon in usefulness. This section gives you a real edge because supplementary materials aren’t typically found on Amazon.

Bonus Chapters

If you have any bonus chapters, include them in this section. Readers love bonus chapters. You can even mention them in your “For the Reader” letter at the end of the book, pointing them to your website to find additional content.

Newsletter Signup

If someone is halfway through your book and enjoying it, there’s a good chance they’ll want to join your newsletter. Make it easy by including a link right here on the book page.

Spotify Playlist

Many authors like to share the music they listened to while writing the book. If you have a playlist, this is where you’d include it. Just create a playlist on Spotify (or use an existing one), copy the link, and post it here so readers can listen along.

Reader Community

If you host a reader community on Discord, Facebook, or elsewhere, this is the place to link to it. Give your readers an easy way to connect with you and with each other.

Quizzes

This section is also a great place for interactive content like Quizzes. If you’ve created a “Which character are you?” quiz or a quiz tied to your nonfiction book, link to it. These tools are fun and help readers stay engaged with your content.

Reader Magnets

If you’re using a prequel or other special content as a reader magnet, include a link here. Years from now, you might be using a different magnet on your homepage, but someone who’s just finished this book may still want the original reader magnet tied to it. Keep it accessible by placing it right on the book page.

Fiction Supplemental Materials

For fiction books, there are even more options you can include in the “For Readers” section to enhance the reader experience.

Epilogues and Deleted Scenes

Bonus epilogues or deleted scenes are always popular with readers. These can offer closure or additional insights into your story world.

Maps

Maps are especially useful for fantasy and historical fiction. Be sure to use high-resolution maps, but don’t place them directly on the page. Instead, provide a link to the JPEG file so readers on a phone can pinch and zoom, and readers on a computer can scroll in and out easily.

The Patron Toolbox will soon have tool that can turn your hand-drawn map into a full color graphic.

into this:

Character Compendium (PDF)

Create a character compendium in PDF format that lists all your characters and helps readers keep track of them. My Character Compendium tool can evaluate your manuscript, extract your characters, and even generate audio voice profiles for narrators (For the version you share with readers, I recommend removing the audiobook narrator instructions).

You’ll want to tweak the results, of course, but it does a surprisingly good job of providing character summaries.

Location, Faction, and Race Compendiums

You can also offer:

• A location compendium (PDF)
• A faction or race compendium for fantasy settings

The Patron Toolbox has tools to help generate each of these based on your manuscript.

Timeline (PDF)

Most books don’t need a timeline document, but if your story is told out of order or has a complex chronology, a timeline PDF can really help readers. This can be especially helpful for books that jump between time periods or include multiple perspectives.

In the Patron Toolbox, you’ll find the Timeline Chronicler tool that builds a timeline based on your manuscript.

These kinds of tools are especially valuable when you’re working with a series page. If you have a series of seven books or more, a character compendium or timeline becomes incredibly helpful. Readers may struggle to remember which characters are still alive, who was introduced when, and how the story has evolved.

Glossary

A glossary is a great addition to many books. If you’ve already included a glossary in the book itself, there’s no need to duplicate it on your book page. But if you didn’t, this is a great place to offer a PDF of your glossary.

My Glossary Builder tool can read your manuscript, identify key terms and how you’ve used them, and build a draft glossary you can edit for accuracy. It requires little effort from you but offers a high value for your readers.

Prequel Reader Magnet Link

If you’ve written a prequel for your story, be sure to include a link here where readers can download it.

Nonfiction Supplemental Materials

For nonfiction readers, you can add anything that supports what you’re teaching in the book.

Worksheets, Checklists, and Templates

Consider adding tools such as worksheets, checklists, and templates that help readers apply your concepts and get more value from your content.

Workbook

If you’ve published a standalone workbook companion that’s for sale, you wouldn’t want to include it here. But if you don’t have a companion workbook, offering one as a resource on your book page can be a great feature.

You can also use these materials to help grow your email list by offering them in exchange for an email signup.

Printables

Other printables can work well too, depending on your topic. You don’t need to include everything. These are ideas for making your book page even more useful than the one on Amazon.

Audiobook Supplemental Materials

If you have an audiobook version of your book, consider including a PDF with any visuals that accompany the book. This could include illustrations, charts, maps, or photos.

A lot of this material can get lost in the audiobook format.

As someone who reads a lot of audiobooks, I know how often these companion PDFs are missing or hard to find. It’s always a pleasant surprise when an author provides a clear, easy-to-access PDF of the visuals.

Audible now has a way to deliver these PDFs, but I highly recommend also including the visual companion on your website. It’s a simple way to enhance the audiobook experience and serve your readers well.

Blog Links

The next section of your book page is for blog links. If you’ve been blogging about your book (and you should be), this is where you’ll link to those posts.

At the very least, include a post that tells the story of how the book came to be, but there are many other blog topics authors can link to here as well. If you need help generating blog ideas, check out my Blog Brainstormer tool.

Fan Art

As readers send in artwork of your characters or scenes, consider showcasing it in a blog post. This creates community engagement and gives readers a fun way to interact with your story world.

In-Depth Answers to Reader Questions

If you’ve ever written a five-paragraph email to answer a reader’s question, you should probably make it a blog post. These kinds of answers go beyond what would fit in a simple FAQ block and are often helpful to other readers, too.

Recipes

Both fiction and nonfiction books can benefit from recipes. Whether it’s a dish mentioned in the story or something that complements the book’s theme, a blog post is a perfect way to share it.

Similar Books

If your book is a fantasy adventure with dragons, consider writing a post about other dragon-fighting books your readers might enjoy. Posts that recommend similar books are helpful for readers and also great for training AI on your genre and themes.

Similar Authors

Create a post titled something like “7 Authors to Read If You Like [Your Name]” or “If You Like J.K. Rowling, You’ll Love These Authors.” Include well-known authors along with yourself to help readers make connections.

Audiobook Narrator Interview

Interview your audiobook narrator and share insights into the recording process. If the narrator is open to it, consider including a blooper reel or behind-the-scenes audio to make the post even more engaging.

Automate Blog Links in WordPress

If you’re using WordPress with the Divi theme, you can automate this blog section easily (I cover this technique in my free course on building author websites).

Here’s how:

1. Tag each blog post related to your book with the book’s title.
2. On your book page, add a Divi blog module.
3. In the module settings, check the box to only show posts with the matching tag.

Once you’ve done that, all current and future blog posts tagged with your book title will automatically appear on the book page. It’s that simple.

If you’re using Wix or Squarespace, there may be a way to automate this, but I haven’t seen anyone pull it off yet. WordPress remains the most flexible option for integrating blog content directly with your book pages.

Media Mentions

The goal of your media mentions section is to make the book look popular and noteworthy. It also serves as a resource for readers who want more information about your book.

Podcast Interviews

Include any podcast interviews where you’ve discussed your book. Link directly to the episodes so readers can listen easily. If the interview includes show notes or a transcript, you may want to link to that as well.

To learn more about securing podcast interviews, check out my course on How to Get Booked as a Podcast Guest.

Blog Reviews and Interviews

If a blog has reviewed your book or featured you in an author interview, include those links here. Some of these may also appear higher on the page, but this is a good place to group them together for easy reference.

YouTube Interviews

If any YouTube channels have interviewed you about your book, include links to those videos as well. You don’t necessarily need to embed the videos. A simple list of links is often more effective. If you’ve only done one or two interviews, you could consider embedding those for better visibility.

Traditional Media And PR

Include links to traditional media coverage, such as newspaper articles, TV appearances, or radio segments. If you’ve issued a press release about your book, link to that here as well.

Organizing Your Media Mentions

If you haven’t done much PR, a single section titled “Media Mentions” with a simple list of links is sufficient. But if you’ve done a lot of publicity, you can break this into subsections like “Podcasts,” “YouTube,” or “Press” to better showcase your exposure.

To learn more about getting PR for your book, check out the following episodes:

• How You Can Create Massive PR for Yourself, Even If You’re a Complete Novice
• How to Conduct Your Own Media Tour (without hiring a PR Firm)
• How to Create an Online Author Press Kit

Including a Media Mentions section not only gives your book social proof, but it also creates a historical snapshot for future readers. Most media buzz happens in the first few weeks after launch, and curious readers discovering your book months or years later may enjoy seeing what kind of attention it received at the time.

Discussion Group Resources

This is another type of “For Readers” section. The goal is to encourage readers to feature your book in a book club and to make it easier for them if they do.

Discussion Guide

Include a discussion guide. My Discussion Guide Builder tool can read your book and generate thoughtful discussion questions. It can analyze the whole book or just a single chapter, and it’s surprisingly good at creating meaningful discussion prompts.

Classroom Lesson Plan

If your book is aimed at children or students, consider adding a classroom lesson plan. My Lesson Planner tool allows you to select the age group you’re targeting (anywhere from kindergarten to college age), and the tool will create a lesson plan tailored to that group, including interactive activities.

Having a classroom plan makes your book more accessible to teachers and homeschool parents, and this is where you’d want to include it.

Participant Printable

Consider creating a one-page summary of your book. This can be a useful refresher for book club members, especially those who didn’t finish the book before the meeting. It helps everyone participate without feeling left out.

Sample Presentation

You might also include a sample PowerPoint presentation for a teacher using the book in class or a group organizer leading a discussion.

Bulk Order Link Reminder

Finally, include your bulk order link again. You’ve already listed it with the buy buttons, but including it here serves as a gentle reminder that the book is available for bulk purchases for clubs or classes.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

If you’re using Yoast SEO, make the “focus keyphrase” for your book page the title of your book. Put only the title in that field because that’s what you want to rank for.

When someone types your book title into Google, you want your website to appear above every other page about your book, whether that’s Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or any other site.

Meta Title

For the meta title of your page, keep it simple:

[Book title] by [Author Name].

This format is clear, search-friendly, and easy for readers to recognize.

Meta Description

Write a 140-character version of your book blurb. This short summary should be compelling enough to get readers to click through when they see your site in search results.

FAQ Block

If you’ve included a FAQ section on your page (as discussed earlier), be sure to use the FAQ block provided by Yoast SEO. This helps train AI and improves how search engines understand your content.

Green Dots on Yoast

Yoast has an SEO scoring system of sorts, with red, yellow, and green dots. Green dots are a signal that you’re following SEO best practices. If you need more guidance, Yoast offers a free course on SEO.

To learn more about SEO, check out the following episodes on Novel Marketing:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Author Websites
• AI Optimization for Authors

Book Page Scanner

This patron tool takes what I talked about in this episode and scans your book page and give you tips on what to add & improve. It even gives a score! This is my first time creating a tool that can generate a score with any kind of precision. Let me know what you think and feel free to share your score below!

One-Time Work, Long-Term Benefit

This may seem like a lot of work, but it’s one-time work. Unlike social media marketing, which requires constant updates and content, this page is built once.

Every time you create a book page for a new book, it gets a little easier.

To get started, download my Book Page Creation Checklist.

You don’t need to add all these elements, but a robust page of information about your book will thrill your readers and help AIs and bots to accurately and regularly present your book in search results.

Sponsor

How to Make Your Author Website Amazing

If you want help building your author website, I have a free course called How to Make Your Author Website Amazing. It’s a step-by-step training on building or improving your website.

Share Your Book Page!

Please share your book page in the comments under this video on AuthorMedia.social. YouTube comments don’t like links, so be sure to join our online community of over 2,000 helpful authors on AuthorMedia.social. You can join for free. 

• AuthorMedia.com is the website
• AuthorMedia.social is the social network for authors. 

Featured Patron

Jane Daly, author of Where Is My Sister

When Brianna vanishes inside an elite self-help program that demands total obedience, her sister Morgan must unravel a dangerous web of secrets before it’s too late. Find out in the Christian Psychological Thriller Where is My Sister by Jane Daly.

Featured patrons get access to the Patron Toolbox, Live Q&A sessions with me, and exclusive discounts on courses.