# When to start an Author Site



## Incanus (Nov 19, 2014)

Coming from someone who should probably be described as ‘social-network challenged’, I’m just wondering, in a general way, when it would be appropriate to start my Author Site.

Mostly, I’m setting up such a thing because it’s ‘expected’.  For me, it’s all about the fiction itself; everything else is window dressing.  As of today, I have in my ‘catalogue’ three completed short stories, and one novella that might be about a quarter done.  (I’ve also got an essay on the history of my world, about 31,000 words, but not fit for human consumption.)  I’m working on another short story that looks like it might be my best yet.  I would like to get a few more shorts, finish the novella, and then start on the novel.

I don’t feel quite ready to send out any of the completed stories yet–I’d like to finish a couple more and then pick the best one or two to submit.

Is it time yet to start the Author site?  Or should I maybe wait until I’ve made a start on the novel, and sent out a story or two?


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## skip.knox (Nov 19, 2014)

From my perspective, I see two main uses for my web site. One, to provide backstory. Two, to provide links to published work. 

The killer, also from my perspective, is being able to keep adding content. After an initial burst of energy, I now find maintaining the site to be more chore than pleasure, and the list of things I need to do there is now months old. And everyone will tell you, readers figure out very quickly if your site is moribund and they go elsewhere.

I know I do.

All of which is, however sound, just plain depressing.


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## Philip Overby (Nov 20, 2014)

I think it's useful to have an author site in case "something happens." Meaning:

a. You have a short story that gets attention and people want to find more from you.
b. You get a lot of attention on social media for some reason (a good reason hopefully) and people want to find more from you.
c. You publish a novel that people like and they want to find out what you're doing next.

From experience, I've had a sudden surge in traffic on my Japanese blog for some reason I didn't know why. That might have been a good time to have links to books I have for sale and stuff on the Japanese blog (even though it's not related to my writing). I think it's always good to have something on stand-by and then when you really start promoting a book, you have a place people can go as your contact point. I know some self-published authors do special deals if you buy directly from them and not from another source like Amazon. 

Once I make an official author site (my blog is still that for now) I want to make it a place where you can get unique information about my books, progress, history, deals, etc. that can't be found elsewhere. That's what makes me interested in author sites anyway.


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## FarmerBrown (Nov 20, 2014)

It's really never too early to start building your 'platform'. I'd start building your website now and getting involved in social media (connect with other writers and fantasy lovers now, who will be connections to your readers/fans later); being involved on this website is an excellent start. As above posters said, your website is where readers will go when they search for you, so you want info about you and your work, and where to buy your work when it's ready. You want to have something ready and stable by the time you publish and definitely do not want to wait until after you have something ready! So, your timeline for having a website is okay. But you can start working on it now and just don't make it live, because you want plenty of time to tweak it and make it the best it can be. Unattractive, confusing websites are as bad as bad book covers: people will leave your website before clicking on anything.


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## Incanus (Nov 20, 2014)

Thanks for the helpful replies!  Slowly, I'm getting my head around this stuff.  I guess I'll have to work out what sort of looks like a chicken/egg dilemma:


--Start a site without having any fiction published anywhere, or

--Try to get something published without yet having a site set up.


One must preceed the other, but which to tackle first?


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## Kristene Collins (Nov 20, 2014)

Incanus said:


> Thanks for the helpful replies!  Slowly, I'm getting my head around this stuff.  I guess I'll have to work out what sort of looks like a chicken/egg dilemma:
> 
> 
> --Start a site without having any fiction published anywhere, or
> ...



I don't see why this has to be chicken-or-the-egg. Why can't you simply set up the site WHEN you publish, or at least are about to? That way it can say "'title of book' COMING *date*!" to help create hype for it's release.


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## skip.knox (Nov 20, 2014)

Also, don't forget all that backstory stuff. You're probably writing it anyway. That way, if someone asks if you have a website, you do. Even if you don't have a publication yet.


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## Incanus (Nov 21, 2014)

Kristene and Skip--you're both quite right.  I tend to overthink myself into a stasis.  There's no hurry yet, but I'll just bull forward with the website, probably sometime early next year.

And yes, I've got a pretty good build up of world-building, backstory material.  Not sure yet what bits of it to include, but it will be a good deal of work to distill some of it into a website-friendly form.

In the meantime, I've gotten my answer--thanks to all who replied!


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## TWErvin2 (Nov 22, 2014)

If nothing else you can go ahead and lock in your domain name. That's not very expensive.

Websites tend to be more static, with information on published works, covers,.buying links and activities, maybe an about page and such. Blogs and dedicated Facebook pages tend to be more dynamic and changing, keeping more up to date.

Having a good website is handy, but you'll be struggling for content relevant to potential visitors--looking for more information on you or your published works.

If you find a publisher (for a short story(s) or novel(s)) it generally takes months or longer for them to come to print, so you would have some time to develop and establish a website, once items are accepted and the contract is signed. With self-publishing, if that's the route, since you're in control of when a work is released, you can complete the website when appropriate.

At least that's the dynamics I see for an author website.


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## marcdangerousworlds (Dec 5, 2014)

Has anyone had any luck with any social media utilities? The problem seems to be replication of information across multiple platforms - including personal websites.


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## Scalvi (Dec 5, 2014)

I imagined it's a "ASAP" item. You want to have as large a base as possible for when you actually want to do something.


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## spectre (Dec 8, 2014)

I am officially facebook challenged, i'm glad this post is here to make me start to think about these things.


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## Addison (Dec 9, 2014)

Chuck Sambuchino, a noted author, and columnist for Writers Digest published a book called "Create Your Writer Platform". I have a copy and he said that you want to create your site before your story is done. He gives a time of three years but the gist is you want to make it prior to the story's completion, enough to get a following going. 

Little tip, ask friends and family for help if you're new to website creation and such. Bonus points if the person who can help is a teenager or parent. You may be able to get help in exchange for babysitting, the car for the night etc.  I'm waiting for my step-dad to get a break in his projects so he can help out. I've got the design but not the host site or anything like that. For a first site, and on a budget, don't expect the site to be perfect or just as you imagined.


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## SeverinR (Dec 10, 2014)

We talked about this on another thread.

But I would keep your Author site a-political and try not to mention stands on any subject(other then writing or subjects of your book) that might apply to current events, and then after alot of thought.

Up and coming authors can't afford to alienate any large portion of readers.  Definately not 40% of Dems/Repub(in USA),
even the smaller groups, 10-20% of society is alot of potential sales lost to an announcement on your author site. That includes majority in agreement, even if 80% of people agree with you, 20% is still alot of potential sales.


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## Incanus (Dec 10, 2014)

Ah, nice to know that someone else has found this thread useful.

In Addison's post, I read 'novel' for the word 'story'.  I have completed short stories, and a novella well underway.  But I'm pretty slow, so I probably won't have a novel done for at least 2 or 3 years after I start it, which itself might be in another 5 or 6 months.  Plenty of time to learn about this stuff.

And yes, I have absolutely no intention of including political or controversial content on my sight.  Despite having opinions on such matters, it just seems like a naturally bad idea.  The primary focus is fantasy writings.  I want the sight to highlight my stories, not me.


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## Addison (Dec 15, 2014)

Story's apply too Incanus. I only put Novel because, while writing the post, I was taking a break from my novel. A site can promote any kind of author or any person of any career or skills. So don't be afraid or wary to make your site, go for it!


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## Incanus (Dec 16, 2014)

Right!  I'm going to read up on this for a bit and then get this 'social media' stuff going (just ordered up "Create Your Writer Platform").  I wish I could get as excited about this part as I am about the writing itself, but I'm still looking forward to getting it underway.  One day at a time...


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## Mythopoet (Dec 17, 2014)

I think it really depends on what kind of audience you're trying to draw to your "platform". Are you trying to draw in readers/potential customers? Then I don't think there's a whole lot of point to having a social media presence without anything to offer to that audience. The vast majority of readers/potential customers just want to read your stories. They don't care about your life as a writer. Those who do care usually only care AFTER they've read something you wrote that they liked. The main purpose of any author website for most readers/potential customers is to provide information on your published works and where to buy them. 

If you start an author "platform" without any actual published work for people to buy, most of the people who are going to be drawn to you are going to be people just like you: aspiring writers who have been told they need to build a platform and start following you in the hopes that you will follow them and become one of their potential readers/customers. But most of those people won't become one of your readers/customers. 

So again, it comes down to what you're trying to accomplish with your "platform". Do you want to get to know other writers just like you for the community aspect even knowing that most of the effort you put into social media isn't going to translate into future readers/customers? Then go forth and have fun. If what you really are trying to do is attract readers/customers then I would advise you to wait until you actually have some published work available to offer said readers/customers. Especially if you are really the sort of person who enjoys social media. The earlier you start the faster you are likely to burn out from the effort, especially if you aren't actually gaining much from it. 

And quite frankly, I would not recommend listening to the advice of anyone in the legacy publishing industry about this question. That industry is remarkable ignorant about the internet in general and most of what they have to say is really bad advice for authors.


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## Incanus (Dec 19, 2014)

Mythopoet said:


> I think it really depends on what kind of audience you're trying to draw to your "platform". Are you trying to draw in readers/potential customers? Then I don't think there's a whole lot of point to having a social media presence without anything to offer to that audience. The vast majority of readers/potential customers just want to read your stories. They don't care about your life as a writer. Those who do care usually only care AFTER they've read something you wrote that they liked. The main purpose of any author website for most readers/potential customers is to provide information on your published works and where to buy them.
> 
> If you start an author "platform" without any actual published work for people to buy, most of the people who are going to be drawn to you are going to be people just like you: aspiring writers who have been told they need to build a platform and start following you in the hopes that you will follow them and become one of their potential readers/customers. But most of those people won't become one of your readers/customers.
> 
> So again, it comes down to what you're trying to accomplish with your "platform". Do you want to get to know other writers just like you for the community aspect even knowing that most of the effort you put into social media isn't going to translate into future readers/customers? Then go forth and have fun. If what you really are trying to do is attract readers/customers then I would advise you to wait until you actually have some published work available to offer said readers/customers. Especially if you are really the sort of person who enjoys social media. The earlier you start the faster you are likely to burn out from the effort, especially if you aren't actually gaining much from it.



Yes, yes, yes, yes.  This is exactly the kind of content I was looking for in an answer to my initial question.  Is there a counter point to what Mythopoet is saying here?  I'd like to make an informed decision.  And, again, I must emphasize my general lack of interest and presence in social media.

A writer web-site for an author who has no writing available for the public.  If you deck out such a site with a billion bells and whistles and shiny things, doesn't it still amount to:  I want to be a writer, really I do!  I'm writing something, honest!  It's going to be awesome!

This sort of thing seems more suited to Facebook, or whatnot.  I conclude that there will be plenty of time to get a site going in the interim between being accepted, and actual publication, should any such thing ever occur--as was wisely pointed out somewhere above (sorry, forgot who that was!)

Am I wrong headed somewhere in all this?  Please expose the flaws in logic or provide the information that puts this on its head.  I"d love to know.

Sheesh, I think I'm swinging back and forth like a pendulum.  Oh, well.  It'll settle down--


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## Mythopoet (Dec 21, 2014)

Incanus said:


> Am I wrong headed somewhere in all this?  Please expose the flaws in logic or provide the information that puts this on its head.  I"d love to know.



I'll counterpoint myself a little, because I freely admit that I'm somewhat biased. I look at the entire question of publishing from the position of an indie self publisher, because I believe it is very foolish for a newbie author to sign with a traditional publisher under 99.9% percent of circumstances. (The possibility that you will be the .1 percent that manages, as a new author, to land a really lucrative and fair traditional publishing contract is so unlikely that I think planning your career on that assumption is about as smart as planning your retirement on the assumption you'll win the lottery one of these days.)

However, if you are hoping to get a traditional contract, it's entirely possible that _not_ having a pre-built platform to show the bean counters will greatly decrease your odds of getting an offer. Publishers are more and more adverse to taking risks these days. They want the sure thing. And they don't actually want to invest a lot of money in new authors who aren't guaranteed bestsellers. This is why they love to sign celebrities and social media stars and self publishers who have already achieved success on their own. Anyone who already has a fanbase is pure money in the bank for them. And they expect all authors to do their own social media marketing, so an author who is already doing that successfully is more attractive to them than an author without a platform.

Some would see this as a reason you HAVE to build a platform. I see it as just another reason to shun the traditional publishing system.


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## Snikt5 (Feb 16, 2015)

It is hard to strike the balance. I began a blog once I knew I was in the final stages of drafting my first novel. I wanted to document the process and looking back it was rewarding to see just how much time and effort the process was. However, I also knew I needed to maintain interest in the blog and so I posted several reviews of the books I had been reading. Four years on I had reviewed over 200 books, each review ranging from 500 to 1,000 words long. 

My site had been visited over 40,000 times, but I had become known more for my reviews than my writing. It is difficult to know how many of those visitors went on to buy my books but I do know, the effort I spent on those reviews (whilst enjoyable) could have been spent on writing another book.

My advice would be to start an author site as soon as you can, but don't spend all your time and effort on it. The important thing is the book.


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## piperofyork (Sep 3, 2021)

I'd wager many a platinum that this has been discussed at length in other threads, so I apologize for any redundancies here. I have plenty of academic publications from my day job, but nary a tale in print (although my first novel is, as Orwell might say, within measurable distance of its end). I understand the importance of having an author website, but without a single fiction publication to my name (yet!), is there any point in publishing an author website now? To be clear, I can see the point of _working on_ my website now. I'm just uncertain about the usefulness/prudence/point of _publishing _it before I have at least one publication to mention and one forthcoming publication, or something like that. I'd love to hear any advice you have! 

P.S. I can't see myself getting into blogging, at least not yet. (But who knows? Perhaps my thinking about blogging is too limited.)


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## Demesnedenoir (Sep 20, 2021)

I’d say there is minimal value to it until you are ready to do… something. Whether that is approaching agents or readers or whatever. That said, building it early is a good plan. Blogs, I am on the side of casual blogging, meaning update whenever the hell you feel like it, because you’re better off spending that time writing. Unless, of course, you just have nothing but time. Unlike me.


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## Ned Marcus (Sep 21, 2021)

Incanus, you asked the question back in 2014. Did you start your author website? How's it going?


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## Demesnedenoir (Sep 21, 2021)

Ned Marcus said:


> Incanus, you asked the question back in 2014. Did you start your author website? How's it going?



Damned zombies anyhow.


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## Ned Marcus (Sep 22, 2021)

Demesnedenoir said:


> Damned zombies anyhow.


They get me sometimes, too.


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## Demesnedenoir (Sep 22, 2021)

I’ve been watch Walking Dead, I should’ve known better. heh heh



Ned Marcus said:


> They get me sometimes, too.


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## pmmg (Sep 12, 2022)

Another old one, but I started building this in my mind over the last several weeks, and last week began to write out the content. I dont the right answer to this, but I feel publication is coming sooner rather than later, and I have the skill, and I know its does really cost much. I would like to have it ready as a marketing tool when I launch. So, for any still asking a question like this, my answer is try to have it up on or around the same time as your publication hits.

For anyone interested, three beta readers currently on book 1, one beta reader on book two, waiting for them to return with comments. Book 3 is at 48,000 words, which is an amazing pace for me. Still low on $$$, but getting there.


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## Derin Edala (Nov 16, 2022)

If your website is free (there are plenty of places that'll offer you a free website), there's no reason not to build it as soon as possible. Even if you're not using it much now, it'll give you experience in making and managing it. It works as a hub to put all your work in one place where readers can find it, and a convenient place to link people where they can find all of your information (that is, the information you choose to tell them).

If you're looking to pay for web hosting, that's a bit different; I wouldn't recommend making that investment until you have a reason to. I write web serials, and I didn't start paying for my web site for about 3 years. It wasn't worth it until then.


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## skip.knox (Nov 16, 2022)

>Even if you're not using it much now, it'll give you experience in making and managing it.
Yes, this. 
You do not want to be learning how to manage and extend your web site while your readers suffer through your mistakes. Better to fumble about, get your feet under you, and *then* announce.


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## Puck (Nov 17, 2022)

Never too early.  If you have good content on it and an audience building up that is.  Publishers like that.  If you have some interesting bits and bobs and maybe a short story or two to put on it from time to time, it will help sell a few more books by the time you publish one.

I started a medieval history blog, mainly for my own personal entertainment, for writing practise and as a bit of a showcase.  

9 nine months in a Publisher approached me for a proposal and commissioned me to write a book on the back of that thing!  So, it obviously can work.  (I just have to write the book now....!)

So, I guess that shows -_ "if you build it, they will come."_


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## Ned Marcus (Nov 17, 2022)

Okay, I'll reenter the resurrected thread. 

I once came across a writer who spent a lot of time building a social media presence (I can't remember whether he had a website, but I think so). He generated interest while he was writing his fantasy novel. The only problem was—he never actually finished his novel. I guess he may have done so many years later, but I followed him for about two or three years, and slowly the people who were interested just drifted away. He stopped posting, too. 

I think this is the danger of starting a website too soon. If you're not yet confident that you can actually write a novel, it may be too soon. And it WILL take time away from writing your story.


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## pmmg (Nov 18, 2022)

I should  probably be making this now. I have content prepared and a good idea of how I would want it to look, but I am still in writing mode. I dont really want to stop to create something new. I dont think I will really be rolling along until this third book is finished, and then only if I dont push on into Book four. Course my cat continues to vex. Every night he wants to lay on the keyboard and every night I have to push him off. He really does not like my writing. ATM, he is staring at me, trying to make me feel guilty.


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## Puck (Nov 24, 2022)

Ned Marcus said:


> I once came across a writer who spent a lot of time building a social media presence (I can't remember whether he had a website, but I think so). He generated interest while he was writing his fantasy novel. The only problem was—he never actually finished his novel.



I think it is important to be disciplined about it, otherwise there is a real risk that something like that will happen.  Once you start doing both, you need to draw up a publishing schedule for yourself, or at least develop some rules in terms of how much time you will devote to which task.


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