I’m not published yet. Do I need a website?
For published authors, a custom website is a great tool. It showcases your work. It gives your readers an easy online reference point. Best of all, it allows you to take control of your online presence – and in an industry where so much is out of your hands, that’s an empowering move.
But what if you’re not quite there yet?
Do you even need a website if you’re unpublished? Or should you wait until you land that first book deal?
The short answer is that you can wait, but that doesn’t mean you should. Here are just three compelling reasons to go ahead and set up that website today.
(Note: This post is addressed to writers seeking traditional publication, but indie authors might find aspects of it useful, too.)
You’re writing non-fiction
There’s a lot of talk in writing communities about whether authors need an online platform to get – and stay – published. But here’s the bottom line:
For novelists, there’s a lot of leeway. If you can be active on social media and still be happy and productive, that’s fantastic – and a decent number of followers can definitely help sales. But the number one priority is to write a great, marketable book. The book is the product, not you.
But if you’re writing non-fiction, an existing platform isn’t a nice-to-have bonus. It’s essential.
As Nathan Bransford explains, agents and editors want to know two things:
Are you THE right person to write this book?
Are there people out there who will buy it?
An author website is a crucial tool in building your platform. You can use it to showcase your credentials, link to existing work (like peer-reviewed or popular articles), build your email list and integrate your social media feeds, all in one place.
And when anyone looks you up online – whether that’s an interested agent, an acquiring editor or a potential new reader – your branded, professional web presence is one of the first things they'll see. That’s a huge credibility boost.
Trust me, I’m an expert.
You’re thinking proactively
Publishing moves slowly until it doesn’t. That’s a truism for a reason.
An agent might request your manuscript in a day and then take six months to read it – or the other way around. Publisher submissions can take anywhere from days to months, or even years. Check out these anonymous sub stories for a representative sample.
And once you’re on the path towards pub day, you’ll experience long periods of waiting interspersed with flurries of activity. That’s the nature of the process, and it can raise the anxiety levels of the most easy-going author.
So how do you keep your composure?
Publishing timelines are so stressful because they’re unpredictable … for everyone.
The industry is full of dedicated, passionate people who are serious about finding and supporting great books. But they’re also handling multiple projects, and it’s common for something to go wrong – a scheduling clash, a logistical issue, a health crisis – that sends the entire, finely balanced schedule out of whack.
You can’t influence those factors. But you can be proactive about the things that are within your control.
You can write the next book. You can start that new self-care habit. And you can get ahead on all the stuff that’s going to help your career.
Like building your website, for example. That’s something that’s totally yours. By getting on with it now, you’re saving yourself that effort further down the line.
What’s more, you’re showing agents and editors that you understand professional norms. From their perspective, an up-to-date, branded author website is a promising sign that you’ll be a good person to work with.
And if you do work together, they’ll be promoting your book to other people in the industry. Having your website on hand makes that a whole lot easier.
(Plus, you’ve got a much better chance of securing the domain name you want if you get in early.)
Dress for the job you want.
You’re honouring yourself
Yes, that sounds a bit emotional. But you know what? Publishing is an emotional business.
You don’t set out to make it as an author unless you’re willing to grapple with hard work, frequent rejection, and recurrent feelings of failure. And those things don’t go away with the first book deal. They’re standard at any career stage.
To sustain a writing career, you need to believe deep down that your work is worth doing. And yet writers are some of the most doubt-ridden, self-critical people around.
There are always exceptions, of course. But being a good writer requires deep sensitivity, a lively imagination and a healthy dose of self-awareness. Those same qualities can make it really difficult to maintain resilience when things are tough.
If you hold yourself to high standards, it’s easy for agent rejections – or editor rejections, or bad reviews – to bring you down. That’s because you’re willing to believe negative feedback. In fact, scientific research shows that our brains fixate on bad news by default.
So what do you do about it? You do exactly what you’ll have to do as a published author: when your editor drops you, or your book underperforms, or someone leaves you an absolute stinker on Goodreads.
You reconnect with your purpose.
A Jesuit friend of mine talks about “taking the temperature of your vocation”. If you’re feeling beaten down by rejection, you might feel that you just don’t want to try any more – and that can be a totally valid decision.
But if you sit with it for a while, and you find that you still want to write and be published, it’s time to show yourself some love.
For an unpublished writer, making an author website is a powerful statement. You’re declaring to yourself (and to anyone who Googles you) that you’re committed to your work.
Author websites: not just for published authors
By now, it should be clear that an author website has lots of benefits. You don’t need one (unless you’re writing non-fiction: see above). You might even decide that it feels better to wait to make your new site until you’ve definitely got a book coming out.
But if you’re itching to nab that domain name and get yourself out there, you shouldn’t hesitate.
Your website can have all kinds of useful things: your biography, your contact information, your headshot if you have one. And if you’ve published shorter pieces, like articles or poetry, it’s a great place to showcase them.
And when you land an agent, or that debut deal comes along, you can just update your existing site. Easy!
As a Squarespace web designer, I offer an affordable three-page website package for exactly this purpose, including a full content review. Check out an example here.