Unpublished Writers and Websites: Should You Have One and What Should It Say?

unpublished writer websites

If you plan to pursue writing as a professional, long-term career, I recommend starting and maintaining an author website even if you’re unpublished. Your website serves as an online home and hub for everything that you do, whether in real life or in the digital realm. You fully own and control it, tell your own story, and connect directly with the media, readers or influencers. It’s hard to overstate its importance over the long term. Consider it the cost of doing business in the digital era, a necessary business card and networking tool. In some cases, it can also be a creative outlet and community area, especially for writers who blog. (To be clear, having an author website does not mean blogging or require blogging. But if you’re interested, here’s my guide to blogging.)

Your first attempts at creating an author website probably aren’t going to be that great, and that’s okay. Plus, it’s unlikely you’ll get much traffic. Instead, the point is to practice your skills at expressing who you are, and what you do, in a public space. Over time, your ability to do this will improve, assuming you tend to your website periodically and don’t abandon it. (And why would you, if you’re still writing and publishing?)

If you start the website development process early, before you really “need” a site (before people seek it out), you can enjoy a gentler learning curve, as well as the power of incremental progress. You don’t have to launch and perfect everything at once. Start small, and build your skills and presence over time. You want something doable and sustainable—and sustainability is key.

What do you say on your website if you’re an unpublished author?

For very new writers, a website might consist of only one or two pages, mainly focused on your bio and portfolio of work, if any. Consider the following elements.

  • About page. Write a bio of about 200-300 words if you don’t have one already. (Here’s how to write a good bio.) If you have a decent or professional head shot, add it to the page.
  • Contact page. Make it clear how you can be reached. This can be combined with the about page if you prefer.
  • A page detailing any work that’s been made public. Mention any magazines, blogs, or websites you’ve contributed to. Link to specific work you’ve written if it’s available online. If the list here becomes long, group your writings by genre, and use reverse chronology. Very prolific writers might consider creating a separate page for each genre, series, or type of work. For example, a multi-genre writer might have separate pages labeled “Poetry”, “Fiction” and “Personal Essay.”
  • Links to your social media profiles. If you’re active elsewhere and invite interaction, make it clear either with social media buttons in the header, footer, or sidebar—or by using widgets and badges that reflect your activity.
  • Email newsletter signup. Consider having an email newsletter to keep your fledgling readership updated on news and publications. Learn more about email newsletters for writers.

Home pages typically include the following elements.

  • A site header with your name and possibly a line describing what you write. Commercial authors often include their headshot in the header or somewhere on the homepage, to make the site feel more welcoming. However, some authors find this too self-absorbed. Do what feels comfortable.
  • Some unpublished writers, if their site is only one or two pages, will put their full bio on the homepage. However, it’s best practice to limit how much information you put about yourself on the homepage, and save the full story for those who are really interested (and end up clicking on your “About” page). Homepage messages should be reader-focused and help visitors understand what sets your work apart.
  • Social proof. We’re all very susceptible to signaling that says, “This person is liked and trusted by others.” Some writers include logos of the publications they’ve contributed to or mention grants or awards received. Others mention offline/online communities they belong to.

Website and homepage design is incredibly subjective, but the most important criterion is that the type of writer you are—and the work you produce—should be recognizable quickly. You don’t want visitors guessing; you have about three seconds to convey a message. Some writers are able to get away with a fair amount of intrigue or cleverness, but try to be honest about whether you’re actually intriguing people or frustrating them.

Make the homepage navigation or menu system plain and clear—which usually means having an obvious path for people to find out more information about who you are (“About”), how to contact you (“Contact”), and what you’ve written (“Books” or “Publications”).

You might not have the resources to do it right away, but in the long run, it’s helpful to hire a designer to create a custom header for your site, or a custom look that fits your personality and work. If you’re using WordPress or a blog-centric system, be careful that your homepage doesn’t automatically default to showing blog posts—especially if you’re not going to blog!

Should you mention unpublished books?

Some writers are tempted to discuss and post their submissions materials at their site, such as a query, synopsis, book proposal, and/or excerpts. While this isn’t wrong, it’s unlikely to accomplish anything. If you’re actively querying agents/editors, they look at your website to assess whether you’ll be a decent and professional person to work with. If they want your submissions materials, they will ask for them directly. Or, if an agent/editor stumbles on your site for some reason—due to seeing you on social media or reading your material somewhere—they are very accustomed to proactively reaching out to ask about any books you’re working on. If you put too much information at your site, it could in fact dissuade an agent/editor from contacting you if it’s poor quality or doesn’t put your best foot forward. So, if you do post your submissions materials, do it with exceptional forethought.

All that said, it doesn’t hurt to put somewhere on your website a line or two about any unpublished projects you’re currently working on or shopping around. By a line or two, I mean less than 50 words.

Should you use WordPress, SquareSpace, or something else?

I generally recommend writers use WordPress (WordPress.com to start) because even though it can be a more complex and intimidating tool, it’s free and has so far stood the test of time. (WordPress has been kicking around for more than a decade, is open source, and underpins about 20-25% of today’s websites.) SquareSpace can be easier to use for those with few tech skills, but it comes with a monthly cost that may not be justifiable early in your career. Here’s a post that looks at the pros and cons of each.

Here I discuss when and if you should use WordPress.com or WordPress.org (self-hosting).

The good and bad news is that your website is never finished. It is always a work in progress. You’ll improve it, tweak it, experiment with it, and hopefully take pride in how it showcases your work. It’s better to get your site established while you’re unpublished, so you own your domain early on, learn how to use the tools, and begin the journey of expressing who you are within digital media environments.

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joanna elm

I absolutely agree 100% with starting an author website long before you need it. I set up a website and started blogging more than a year ago (when I started writing my third thriller after a long time away from writing fiction.) Traffic isn’t stupendous but I think I am building a core group of visitors when I blog about writing tips, or the best websites I’ve discovered for authors or even when I link my own writing adventures to useful information. I’m proudest of the fact that I post regularly –one blog post a week — scheduling it for the very same hour each week. If I do nothing else on my third novel that week, at least the blog post is an accomplishment.

Glenn Miller

Loved the suggestion to start before you need a site, in order to experience a gentler learning curve. To so many writers, the mechanics are overwhelming – as is the perceived need to get it perfect from day one. But incremental progress and incremental learning let you work out any frustrations in your own obscure corner of the internet before throngs of company show up.

Starting small also lets you respond more easily to shifts in the book marketing landscape. Bonus points for being nimble.

Thanks, Jane. Good advice for all writers.

Harald Johnson

Excellent post with a spot-on intro, Jane. I started my (WordPress) site a couple months before publishing my first fiction novella. The extra time got me in the swing of things smoothly. Couple of unique things for me: (1) I have a “reverse headshot” on the home page (me looking out to sea, which ties into what I’m writing; (2) for my About page I give a quick one-liner and then offer a much longer version just below (“find a comfortable seat”); and (3) I don’t call my site posts “blogs” but “Posts & Stories” – again goes with my site premise and concept.

Definitely recommend getting a site up and running as soon as you can.

Elizabeth Jane Corbett

Great post. I wholeheartedly agree. A website is essential. And great fun. I started out with a blog and made heaps of mistakes along the way but, when the time came to launch my first novel, I knew how to write engaging posts.

Bryan Fagan

This is weird: The moment I realized I had to create my own site I began seeing content like this everywhere. Kind of like having a new car in mind and you start seeing that exact same model all over town.

As I research this more and more I’m wondering if I need to create a blog first. I’ve been thinking really hard on the content of my future site. As a writer my goal is to entertain and if I jump into the deep end I will want to entertain to whoever reads it. I do not see a whole lot of entertaining with an authors web site but I do see one in a blog.

My first novel in almost complete. My editor and I are ironing out a few wrinkles, when it is complete I would want to write about the journey of getting it published. That in itself is a story all on its own.

My Question: Would I be better off, for now at least, to create a blog instead of an author’s website?

Bryan Fagan

Thank you, Jane.

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Jubi Arriola-Headley

Great article, Jane. The only thing I would add is to caution unpublished authors, all authors, really, against putting too much of their unpublished work – individual stories, essays, poems, etc. – on their own website. Very often journals/editors consider any piece that’s already posted online (even on your own website) to have been previously published and won’t publish it in their journal. I disagree personally with this point of view, but I don’t make the rules. 🙂

Pranav Mishra

Hi Jubi and Jane,
That’s a very important thread. I was thinking about creating my website, and I was wondering what I should really put in there. Actually, I have been writing for more than a decade, and I have written quite a lot, without actually bothering too much about getting published. Presently, I want to get published, and for that I thought of creating an author website.
I think it’s alright to include all work (actually, novels), without revealing the plots. I would like to include 2000 words of excerpts, or maybe 1500. Of course only those pieces which can give me some mileage. I would give out the themes, and abbreviate the titles if the name is something special. I would like to write 2 to 3 lines, just interesting snippets so that they can connect to the work.
I was thinking of including this website beneath my name in the covering letters. I hope I can do that.

Cheers.

Pranav Mishra

Thanks a lot, Jane. Your response gives me confidence.
‘Don’t say, “visit my site to learn more.”‘ It’s a solid piece of advice. I would just include my website’s address in my contact information.

My idea while creating the website is to bridge the gap in the understanding of the person on this side. I want to tell them that this is not my first book, and as a person who has been continuously writing for last 12 years, I might have learnt things, and I might have idea about what I am writing about. I don’t want to brag about my work. I just want to give a clear-cut picture about the quantity and quality of my previous work. Some of it may be bad too, but that goes on to define a learning curve.

I have an important question. I have written a lot, but my efforts to get my work published somewhere have been minimal. Does it not reflect a lack of professionalism? Don’t I lose points because of this? (I can explain that my whole interest was devoted to writing, but would it work?)

Also, can I say something like: I am going to write a series of 50K-60K words entertainers revolving around interesting ideas, featuring the youth of my country? Can I disclose my vision? My idea is to tell them what I am going to do in future, and prove that I will be capable to do it.

Regards.

I am including the website address below. Till now I have uploaded information under “nevels by me” tab. I have to inform on top of the page that while my recent 2 novels are pieces of commercial fiction, the earlier ones belong to the literary.

Pranav Mishra

Thanks a lot, Jane.
Much helpful.
Keep doing the good work. Best wishes.

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Tena Faruque

Hi Jane, I know you wrote this about year ago – I’m at a different stage in life and want to begin writing seriously.

Other than a book review, movie review, news event article and commentary on a Facebook page, that’s the extent of what I have written.

Does it make sense at this point to have an author page? And what do you suggest to quickly add to that?

I’ll be looking around in your page for other advice I can garner.

Thanks.

Michele

I’m a writer and a story teller. I wanted to do a web site where I can post a weekly humorous column, and stories and opinion pieces. Meaning, instead of being picked up by a newspaper or something like that for the column, I just thought I would self publish on my web site the column and stories, drive traffic to it through social media, selectively archive pieces on the site, remove most posts from the site after a week (goal to collect the stories/columns for a book to sell), and have an option to sell my book when the time comes. Also, have a contact page. I thought I would use Facebook as a platform for interaction and comments as oppose to the website which I envision to just have content that is posted, archived, and refreshed weekly (goal). In short, I’m looking at the website as a way to self publish and control my own works and drive readers there for success. Does any of this make sense? Am I on the right track? The right way of thinking?