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!
most popular posts
most recent posts
Top tips from expert fiction editor Rebecca Millar
As an author, I am in awe of editors! They contribute so much to the publishing process, and I know for sure that my books wouldn’t be half as good if it weren’t for the vigorous editing they were put through by some very talented editors. However, as editors are largely ‘behind the scenes’, we don’t hear that much about them. So I thought it might be nice to pin one down to find out a little bit more about how they work! I’m delighted to be sharing this interview with Rebecca Millar, a hugely experienced freelance fiction editor, to find out more about how she works with both established and aspiring authors.
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.
5 marketing tips for debut authors
Really excited to have another guest post from marketing expert Katie Sadler for you this week. When they get their first book deal, many authors feel totally overwhelmed by the prospect of marketing their books - so I thought it might be helpful to get Katie’s take on the most important things to do as a debut!
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.
My most popular blog posts in 2023
I’m easing myself into the new year very gently (as you can probably tell from this post!). Although, that’s not strictly true as I seem to have a ton on my plate this January - including copyedits for my second Rixon book landing at the exact same time as even more edits on my new thriller, plus I have a big website project booked in this month too.
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.
My three words for 2024
2023 was a real milestone year for me, and I think I learnt A LOT. I’ve covered all the ups and downs in a previous post, but in this post, I’m going to be looking ahead to next year - and hopefully being a bit more positive! Let’s see… 😆
Project Spotlight: mariontodd.com
I’m so happy to be sharing with you my last web design project of 2023. As you’ll know if you read my previous post, I have only done a handful of website designs this year as I’ve had so many of my own writing deadlines to content with, but I absolutely loved doing this project and it’s got me very excited about 2024 and all the shiny new projects I have booked in!
2023: my work year in review
Gosh what a rollercoaster this year has been. I touched on it briefly with my post on why I hated writing full-time, but I think it’ll be useful (for me!) and perhaps interesting (for you!) to go into more depth about exactly what happened to me work-wise this year
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.
Marketing for authors – top tips from expert Katie Sadler
This is probably the most interesting and helpful interview I have ever done! I worked with Katie Sadler on my first novel The Rival, when she was working in-house at Quercus.
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.
My number one tip for coping with life as a published author
Life as a published author is weird. It’s brilliant, exhilarating, satisfying, exhausting, nerve-shredding, anxiety-inducing and both satisfying and frustrating all at once. In my opinion, it’s quite unlike any other job out there, and no one really prepares you for it.
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.
Why I hated writing full-time
For many aspiring authors, the thought of ditching the day job to concentrate on writing is one of the things that keeps them motivated and plugging away. It makes sense - writing is hard work. Mentally draining and often physically uncomfortable too. Trying to cram it around a day job is incredibly tough.
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.
My current favourite podcasts for authors
Ah podcasts! What did we do without them? How did I ever motivate myself to clean the house before they existed? It feels as though they came out of nowhere and now there are tons of them and not enough time in the day (or cleaning chores) to get me through them all. I love them, and so I thought it might be interesting to share my current favourites today.
3 author websites I built in a day
I don’t get to share my Author Website in a Day projects very much - so I thought today I would do just that, and share with you three author website designs that I built in just one day.
✨ 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