Earlier this week, I wrote a column for Writer Unboxed, where I discussed the primary function and value of an author website, which is marketing related.
Yet many authors ask me questions that indicate they plan to focus on their website as a publishing tool—and they wonder if that’s OK. My response:
Sure, posting content you own at your website is OK. But why do it?
What do you gain by posting your book, in part or in its entirety, on your website?
How will anyone know it’s there?
Why will anyone want to read it on your website?
What are you trying to accomplish by putting it on your site and not publishing it through the biggest retailer of ebooks (Amazon)?
Read the full column over at Writer Unboxed, where there’s already an active discussion in the comments.
Jane Friedman (@JaneFriedman) has nearly 25 years of experience in the media & publishing industry. She is the publisher of The Hot Sheet, the essential newsletter on the publishing industry for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2019.
In addition to being a professor with The Great Courses (How to Publish Your Book), she is the author of The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), which received a starred review from Library Journal.
Jane speaks regularly at conferences and industry events such as Digital Book World and Frankfurt Book Fair, and has served on panels with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund. Find out more.