As an independent author, you’re essentially a one-person operation. Not only are you focused on writing books, you’re also your company’s marketing department. If you don’t have a large budget to spend, an author website can be a relatively inexpensive way to showcase who you are as a writing professional, your books, as well as blog posts and any other work you have done.

So, let’s get into the basis of this article, the importance of author websites.

Simply put, every author who is trying to be as visible as they can, should have a website. while it is certainly possible (and many writers take this route) to create your own website on the cheap through WordPress, for a more professional, refined look I recommend hiring a web developer to build one for you.

Your author website should contain an ‘About Me’ section as well as a portfolio of any freelance writing you have done, including publications you have written for. Furthermore, as I have done, it’s good to add a landing page with a link to a free book visitors can download by signing up to your mailing list.

Not only are author websites a great way to promote yourself, but they are also a dynamic central hub to market your books and communicate with your readers and followers.

In addition to writing books, do you also offer copy editing, editing, or freelance writing services?

You can list these as a separate section on your website.

In the past, authors relied heavily on their publishers to promote their books, as before the dawn of self publishing, traditional companies and agents were the only way for authors to get published.

But now, since most of the gatekeepers have been removed, getting your works out there for the world to see is easier than it has ever been. That being said, you have to put in more of the grunt work, which is totally worth it.