Are you a fiction writer building your own site?
If so, this post is for you.
Through our experience in working with dozens of fiction authors, these are the pages that we’ve found every fiction website needs.
1. Home
This is your landing page, the first page your visitors will see when they navigate to your website. Therefore, you will want your home page to make it clear who you are and what you write. Don’t make your visitors guess.
Your home page will set the tone for the rest of the website, so focus on easy-to-understand navigation, clear calls to action, and a design that reflects who you are as a writer. Your book(s) should be featured prominently.
Many writers also opt to have their blog on their home page, which is perfectly acceptable. You can also choose to keep your blog on a separate page.
2. About
This is your bio section. Don’t get too bogged down talking about all the minute details of your life story; that will get monotonous rather quickly. Instead, focus on hitting the highlights of your life, especially those that pertain to why you started writing or where you get inspiration for your books.
Choose a professional headshot for this page.
Tweetables:
- @AuthorMedia tells us what pages a fiction website should have. Click to Tweet
- Do you need to add another page to your fiction website? @AuthorMedia answers the question. Click to Tweet
3. Book
If you’re only selling one book, use this page to give your readers information about that book–but not too much information. You don’t want your readers to just read about your book; you want them to buy your book. So give them just enough to hook their interest, then provide clear calls to action with “Buy Now” buttons and links to buy the book.
Are you in the process of writing your first book? Include a signup form where your visitors can choose to receive book updates.
If you have multiple books, it’s better to have one page that lists your books and links to individual book pages for each book. If you try to fit all the information for every book onto one page, that page can become crowded very quickly. Plus, it’s almost guaranteed that you won’t rank #1 on Google for any of your books.
Overwhelmed by the thought of listing your books? Check out our MyBookTable plugin, which was designed specifically for this issue.
4. Contact
Make it easy for your fans to get in touch with you! We recommend putting a contact form on a page labeled “Contact” or “Contact Me.” Also, if you haven’t listed your social media profiles elsewhere, make sure that they’re easily visible on this page.
5. Blog (?)
If you didn’t include your blog on the homepage, then you’ll need a separate blog page. This is where you’ll be adding your new content.
Should I also include a ____ page?
Many authors suggest additional pages to us, ranging from speaking pages to stories about how they got their inspiration for the name of a minor character.
Should you add that extra page? Here’s a good rule of thumb: Don’t add another page unless you want people to do something specific, like booking you for a speaking engagement. That extra page with your character bios is nice, but will distract people from the page where you’re actually selling your book. Save extra content for your blog.
Need help?
Feeling overwhelmed? Not sure where to start? Consider having us build your site for you.
Contact Us to Get Started!
I have the pages you list, plus two other pages. A Newsletter Signup page, and a News & Events page that lists where I’ll be both in person and on the internet in terms of interviews and blog posts. On the news and events page, I also list an archive of my newsletter (which is mainly news about my books).
Is that too much? Both of my additional pages are calls to action.
It sounds great, Heather! We typically put a newsletter signup form on the homepage, but nothing’s wrong with having it on a separate page, either.
My website isn’t live yet but will be soon (www.sbhadleywilson.com). Anyhow, what kind of content should go on the Blog page? I’ve read several different things for fiction writers. Some say write about the process. Some say write about things related to the themes in your work. What do you recommend?
Hi SB,
It really depends on your visitors and what they enjoy. Try writing down a detailed persona of the type of person you think would visit your website, and then ask yourself what they would enjoy reading. We actually have a post about creating visitor personas in the works. You can also check out our post 50 Things to Blog About When You Have Writers Block for ideas. We even have specific ideas for fiction writers.
Thanks for reading!
I currently use WordPress for my site, which doesn’t use plugins when they do the hosting. Is there any chance MyBookTable will be offered as a widget in future? I’d love to use it, but can’t justify moving my site and paying for a third party host at this point.
One significant, and often overlooked, audience for author websites is book bloggers and reviewers. Mostly, they will be there to copy blurbs and book covers, and to look up information such as release dates. But there’s more you need to say. Typically, they might be wondering about whether they can get review copies, interview and guest post availability, how you are likely to respond to reviews, and what kind of content you are prepared to link to. Can you work with them professionally, or are you a slacker who is prone to internet meltdowns?
I have a page devoted to this kind of information for reviewers, and several bloggers have made positive comments to me about it. As a book blogging writer, I wish more authors would do this kind of thing.
You should have a sample of your book, preferably the first chapter. This is particularly important if your publisher doesn’t have one. Also, many selling sites do not offer samples so readers can check your book out before buying.
Check your publishing contract first because some stipulate the number of pages allowed to be posted.
If you write a series, put the series list in order. This is surprisingly hard information to find online as simple text.
Check out the websites of authors who write what you do for ideas on what to offer.
Have a widget like this which allows one click buying from various booksellers.
http://www.twliterary.com/buybook.html
Good post. As Alan says the issue is not so much the site but getting visitors. My site for my books (www.gerrycryer.com) still rumbles along at 2 or 3 a day. I need to concentrate now on the marketing. Writing is easy compared to selling!!
You see I cant even attach a hot link properly!!
http://gerrycryer.com/