welcome…
…to all my secrets on life as a published author
(I’m 7 traditionally published books in and I’ve learnt some stuff 😉)
I blog weekly about author websites, newsletters and life as a writer…
New posts published every Monday 😊
Want to learn more about me and my own publishing journey first?
(includes info on how I landed one of those mythical six-figure book deals!)
Read all about my own journey to publication →
Or scroll down to read all my other posts!
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My number one Squarespace tip
I have a short and sweet trick to share with you in this post. One of the most useful features of Squarespace that I don’t think many people are aware of.
How to encourage visits to your author website
So, finally, your author website is live! Hurrah and hurray. No matter how you achieved this – whether through doing it yourself or getting someone else to help you or even handing over the whole project completely – you should feel very proud.
How to organise books on your author website
I work with a mix of authors, from debuts to longstanding writers with big backlists, but the majority of my work is with debuts, because it’s often when writers first get their book deal that they think ‘oh god! Now I need a website!’
The top 5 mistakes author websites make
Bit of a controversial post today, but I thought it might be helpful to summarise the top 5 issues I see with author websites. These are the things that crop up again and again, but thankfully they’re super easy to fix and will make a big difference to your author website if you address them!
Should I have a blog on my author website?
Ah, blogging! Where better to write about this massive topic than here, on my very own blog. Building websites means I get asked a lot of questions about blogs, and whether or not authors should have them.
How to add a browser icon to your author website
Here’s a neat little tip that will make your author website look truly pro. I quite often see author websites with missing browser icons, and it immediately marks them out as ‘home made’. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing - in fact, I’m all for authors building their own sites as it can actually be quite a fun creative project (yes really) and it’s very empowering!
Do authors REALLY need websites?
I thought I’d tackle a biggie this week! Believe it or not, I’m often asked if authors really need their own websites. Of course, I’m hugely biased, given what I do, but I’m still always a bit surprised when people say they don’t think they’re necessary.
The difference between branding and web design
I recently had to part ways with a client when it became apparent that they were looking for someone to provide branding alongside their new website. The experience was thankfully very amicable, with us both realising that we weren’t the right fit for one another, but it did get me thinking that perhaps I needed to be more clear in my messaging - particularly about the differences between web design and branding.
How to block AI crawlers from your Squarespace author website
A quick video for you today to show you how to stop AI crawlers from using the content on your author website to train their language models. Check it out.
What is PLR and why should authors know about it?
A bit of an impromptu blog post today, but today I received one of the best emails an author receives all year - from the British Library, with a link to my PLR statement. And on the statement was the amount of money my books had earnt from libraries across the UK in the past year.
Should I add a pop-up to my Squarespace author website?
One of the frustrations that many of my website clients share is how to get people to sign up to their author newsletter / mailing list. With all the author websites I build, I add a newsletter sign-up box as standard (usually in the footer, as this means it’s visible on every page), whether or not the author wants me to.
What's the best Squarespace template for authors?
As you’ve might have seen on the Squarespace website, they offer lots of different pre-built templates, all with their own specific look and feel. There are so many that sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming – when I ask my web design clients to take a look through the templates and let me know which they like best, a lot of the time they say they feel bamboozled and come back to me with the same question: ‘but which Squarespace template is best for authors?’
5 finishing touches to make your author website look pro
As you might know, I’m a big believer in authors building their own websites! It honestly doesn’t have to be a hugely stressful experience, especially not when there are brilliant platforms such as Squarespace and Wix around to make it easy for you.
Which Squarespace plan is right for authors?
One of the most frequent questions my author website clients ask me is which Squarespace plan they should be on. So in today’s post I am going to take a look at the two main options that my authors use: the Personal plan, and the Business plan.
Why Squarespace is the perfect web platform for authors
On some of my trawls of the internet researching author websites, I’ve found a few articles suggesting that Squarespace isn’t a good platform for author websites.
How to upload a file to your Squarespace author website
As you may know, I offer Author VIP Design Days to authors who’ve built their own website but would like a bit of help to make the most of the platform, or who aren’t quite sure how to do certain things.
Which retailers should I link to from my author website?
Obviously, one of the primary purposes of your author website is to make it easy for people who visit to go on and buy your book. However you’ll be surprised - or perhaps dismayed?! - how many author websites I see that don’t have ANY links to online bookshops on them at all.
5 tips for building an author website on a budget
I’ve said before many times on this blog that writing is not a lucrative career in the main, and therefore I totally understand if you’re an author and you don’t have much budget available for creating your author website.
When should I launch my author website?
This is a question I get asked quite frequently by authors who are enquiring after my services! So I thought it would be an interesting topic to explore in a blog post.
Is a one-page author website right for you?
While obviously I believe that every author should have their own website, I also appreciate that not every author has the time or enthusiasm to create an all-singing, all-dancing, multi-page wonder website, packed full of content, that they need to update every week to stop it from looking ‘out of date’…
✨ 30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published ✨
September 6 2023 marked 5 years since my first book was released 😲
To celebrate, I shared a new post about what I’ve learnt from being published EVERY DAY throughout the month.
Enjoy!
curious about my books?
click the covers to find out more
pssst! before you go…
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Look at all the great stuff you’ll get…
Essential Guide to SEO for Authors
17 page guide
The Debut Author’s Survival Guide
30 page ebook
Author Website Content Guide
14 page guide
Author Newsletters
- a Beginner’s Guide
30 minute video
Blogging for Authors
- a Beginner’s Guide
18 minute video