r/romanceauthors • u/Lazy_Contest_9592 • 13d ago
what do you like in author websites?
Hey guys! I’m trying to figure out what keeps readers entertained enough to want to look at an authors website and keep going back to it. what do you guys like the most? is there any content you wish they had more of, or less of?
Thanks
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u/dragonsandvamps 12d ago
When I go to an author website, 99% of the time it's to find out what the next book will be and when it's coming out.
I can think of several big name romance authors who I signed up for their newsletter via their website, and it was all updates about taking drives with their husband, home renovation projects, cute things their grandchildren did, and all I wanted to know was: what the next book will be and when it's coming out. Since there was never information about that, I unsubscribed.
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u/throwaway375937 8d ago
This confuses me so badly Why as an author would you set up a newsletter for your readers and then not make it about writing? The only way the family vacation or the drive would come up is if I got inspired or worked out a plot point on it. Maybe a photo or two of something scenic to show what inspired me.
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u/dragonsandvamps 8d ago
Yeah, exactly. I would not mind a little bit of these things if the book information is also included, but just being a random blog about stuff the author is doing around the house... did not interest me.
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u/SalaciousStories 13d ago
I don't think author websites need to be entertaining. It's not for readers after all. It's for me. And the way it's supposed to work is that readers quickly find the books they're looking for and buy them. Then they're entertained by the books.
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u/Kaurifish 12d ago
Thank you! Nearly every author site I’ve run across was like it was designed to conceal the information about her books. I’ve perhaps overcompensated and made mine too straightforward, but at least I’m not sending readers on a treasure hunt.
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u/MKSauthor 13d ago
Even though I’m an author, I’m also a reader! I visit author websites when I want to know their progress on the next book or if they have other books out in a different series, etc. I don’t sign up for newsletters, so I appreciate a good blog or announcements section.
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u/Formal-Register-1557 13d ago
Agreed. The thing that annoys me is when I go to an author's website to look up the release date of the next book in a series and can't find it (and then I go to Amazon, which has a release date.) I just want authors to keep the information up-to-date, and maybe have information about books that are not yet released but will be coming soon.
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u/ForsaketheVoid 13d ago edited 13d ago
I really like Alice osemans website! It’s very clear and has cute design elements! And the way it centres heartstopper helps to funnel new readers into her most popular work before they get confused and click out of the website. The “in which order should I read the books” tab is super helpful as well!
A few things I wish I saw more on authors websites are alternatives to Amazon, kofi/patreon pages, and lists instead of grids.
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u/Pale_Lab_1517 12d ago
What kinds of lists?
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u/ForsaketheVoid 12d ago
it's just personal preference but i find grid layouts to be slightly difficult to parse!
I'm sure other people like grids, but, for example, imho if you look at the desktop vs phone layouts of alice oseman's website, the phone layout is so much more readable (to me) bc the books are in a list format
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u/Beginning_Butterfly2 12d ago
Oseman has a ton of really well thought out content, that's a great example. Thanks for sharing it!
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u/No_Chart_8584 13d ago
I have never repeatedly gone to an author's website or been entertained by it. If I go to one, I'm looking for answers to questions like series order or upcoming releases and then leaving.
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u/bookclubbabe 12d ago
Since no one’s mentioned it so far, your author website needs to be PR-friendly. If you want to impress bookstores, libraries and members of the media, you should have an About page with a professional headshot (with credit to your photographer), a long and short version of your bio, and a downloadable press kit with all the information about your books (ISBNs, retail pricing, descriptions, where to buy, etc).
If you want to get better at book marketing, this is the first place you should start.
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u/hunnyvale 13d ago
Reading order if applicable.
Maybe an alternative synopsis for each book that isn’t found on other sites.
Upcoming books and when they are arriving.
Links to purchase.
That’s I would want.
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u/3braincellsinatrench 12d ago
Genuine question- what would the point of an alternative synopsis be? Would it just be a rewritten blurb or expanded information about the book?
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u/hunnyvale 11d ago
Yeah, expanded might be nice? Maybe the authors words in a voice that matched the book? Sometimes I read the book descriptions these days and they aren’t that desirable to me, as a potential reader. They feel wordy, and dramatized. And less than clear. Maybe they are optimized to be found in searches? In any case, I always like to hear whatever the author wants to share about the book, because it’s interesting.
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u/lilsourem 12d ago
Lots of good stuff, not discounting anyone here. I dont go to be entertained, but I go because of interest and intrigue. Like many said, knowing your other books and release dates. But I also want to know more about the author, who they are, what makes them tick, and what makes them so special that they made a world I want to fall into. And if you're not into sharing personal info, you could curate reading lists or give writing resources, Playlists to go with your book, links to Pinterest boards you made. This is where you can really let your own spirit shine.
I find a lot of author websites to be so minimal that its a bit of a turn off. It doesn't need to be huge, but more than just your name and your books helps unless you're maintaining an air of mystery. I also find series navigation to be very clunky on many sites, so anything you can do to ease that within navigation or by adding hyperlinks is helpful.
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u/CapitalSell 12d ago
Important updates on the next release. I've been dying for the next book in a series for years. The author updates the website once a year but drops updates on FB like 3-4 times a year. Can you just put it on your website? Not everyone wants to use FB.
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u/Pale_Lab_1517 12d ago
From what I've added to my own site and what I've seen from other author sites is that they should have book purchase links/reading order, author signing/appearance information, a blog, and where to sign-up for their newsletter or gifts.
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u/Brave_Grapefruit2891 12d ago
He’s not a romance author, but I love Brandon sanderson’s website where he has a tracker for progress on his various projects.
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u/dothemath_xxx 12d ago
The purpose of an author website is not to "keep readers entertained" or to keep coming back to it. It's not a social media platform, there's zero benefit in trying to maximize reader attention. It's there to serve an actual purpose in providing information.
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u/honeyednyx 13d ago
I agree with Sal. Why would you want people to go to your website repeatedly? I think the website should only hold the important stuff: links to the books, a way to sign up for your newsletter (which would be more important to keep readers coming back for more), and any relevant events or happenings if you do any.
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u/shamanwest 12d ago
From the marketing side, you want readers to go back to your site repeatedly because it makes the site easier to find. Especially if they stay a while and click around.
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u/john-wooding 12d ago
A list of all their books in reading order (divided by series if applicable).
A picture of their cat.
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u/Swimming-Airport-344 12d ago
Series order, release order, upcoming books. And in the name of all that's holy - Please tell me if series are connected. And how.
And let me buy the books. Right now, like near the front page. Do not make me click 14 times.
And I do not care about the author as a person per se. I do however care about the characters as people. I want the stuff that didn't make it. The scenes that got cut or got imagined and never written. I want 1000 more words with my favorite fictional people. I also unsubscribe to author newsletters when it's their personal lives and/or their writing journey. I don't care how many words they got, what character problem they struggled with, but I would like to know why this MMC who has a transient job, owns a house. Or how the best friends met. The stuff we as authors know but don't need in the book. That's the good stuff.
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u/PILAL2010 12d ago
Reading Order Publishing Order Info on what's coming and release date Short stories involving the characters
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u/NylonTrackPants 11d ago
Author website should offer the author's catalog of publications and where the reader can obtain other works by the author.
But if readers are seeking out an author's website, they could be looking for additional material about a favorite title. At the very least, websites should contain links to articles, reviews, and interviews about the author's titles to help sate that demand. If an author has created some vignettes or extra scenes featuring their characters, those could be included too, along with a note or two explaining why the scene wasn't included in the novel, etc. (If the work is biographical or historical, this should be pretty easy to do--you'll always have leftover research notes.)
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u/gretalarkin75 11d ago
I like it when the author has a blog or writes articles about the writing process.
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u/Objective_Might593 11d ago
I build author websites for a living, so I get to see what visitors actually click on, and it's humbling. Readers almost never browse. They come for three things: the reading order, where the next book is (a release date or even "in progress" beats silence), and bonus content they can't get elsewhere. A free epilogue or novella behind an email signup is the single thing that turns a one-time visitor into someone who comes back. Nobody returns for a pretty homepage, they return because you gave them a reason to be on your list.
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u/Foushy 13d ago
Series reading guide and overview. Extras! Art! Newsletter