I am always really grateful when an author has not just a website but also a newsletter. I despise social media and only have a secret fake FB account so I can use Marketplace. But for many authors, if you don't follow their Insta or whatever platform they prefer, you have no idea when they are on tour or coming to your area, etc. Even if I didn't hate most social media, I do not have time to scroll through 5 different feeds on the off chance I might catch an author's post that I could conceivably miss anyway if I scroll at the wrong time of day or something. Really grateful for authors like you who still do newsletters via email which you can read at your leisure AND which ensure you don't miss important info 💜
You're spot on about things being easy to miss on social media. Even if a reader has ALL of them (like...how??), the algorithms will still cause people to miss posts by people they are intentionally following! But an email will always go straight to the inbox (or promo/updates tab) and the website will never decide not to show certain people your tour dates just for the lols. Maybe it's boring, but it's reliable!
Wow, I really like your approach to this topic, that is, how you organized the helpful information you shared. I think you make great points regarding the benefits of having an author website. Thank you so much for sharing!
From a reader, THANK YOU! Earlier this week I read a novel that I really enjoyed, and when I went to look to see if the author had other books, I got very confused. Amazon's algorithm was showing me all sorts of books by other authors, and I couldn't easily figure which were theirs, perhaps under other pen names, and which were being pushed at me under Amazon's dubious "if you liked this" formula. So I went looking for the author's web site, and found one -- they own their domain name, but there's nothing there except a bio and a lot of generic web template placeholder (since 2022, according to the site). No list of books, even, yet from the author's note in the book I read, this author has published books in multiple series and different genres. This author definitely lost a sale here, maybe more than one.
This is really great, clear information that I wish I'd been able to find when I was making my website! Being a fellow Old, I also really enjoyed how you compared Substack to LiveJournal. I ignored the LiveJournal thing the first time around and always felt like I'd missed out. Being on Substack is soothing my lifelong FOMO.
Thank you! This came ar the perfect time for me.
Of course! Happy to help.
I am always really grateful when an author has not just a website but also a newsletter. I despise social media and only have a secret fake FB account so I can use Marketplace. But for many authors, if you don't follow their Insta or whatever platform they prefer, you have no idea when they are on tour or coming to your area, etc. Even if I didn't hate most social media, I do not have time to scroll through 5 different feeds on the off chance I might catch an author's post that I could conceivably miss anyway if I scroll at the wrong time of day or something. Really grateful for authors like you who still do newsletters via email which you can read at your leisure AND which ensure you don't miss important info 💜
You're spot on about things being easy to miss on social media. Even if a reader has ALL of them (like...how??), the algorithms will still cause people to miss posts by people they are intentionally following! But an email will always go straight to the inbox (or promo/updates tab) and the website will never decide not to show certain people your tour dates just for the lols. Maybe it's boring, but it's reliable!
Wow, I really like your approach to this topic, that is, how you organized the helpful information you shared. I think you make great points regarding the benefits of having an author website. Thank you so much for sharing!
Of course! I'm glad it was useful and organized clearly for you!
From a reader, THANK YOU! Earlier this week I read a novel that I really enjoyed, and when I went to look to see if the author had other books, I got very confused. Amazon's algorithm was showing me all sorts of books by other authors, and I couldn't easily figure which were theirs, perhaps under other pen names, and which were being pushed at me under Amazon's dubious "if you liked this" formula. So I went looking for the author's web site, and found one -- they own their domain name, but there's nothing there except a bio and a lot of generic web template placeholder (since 2022, according to the site). No list of books, even, yet from the author's note in the book I read, this author has published books in multiple series and different genres. This author definitely lost a sale here, maybe more than one.
Oh that is SO sad to hear. You went above and beyond trying to find more books!
Great minds! I was thinking of doing a post like this after hunting (in vain!!!) for a lot of people’s info for blurbs 😅
You should do one, too! I'd love to see your take. (And *yes* it can be so hard to find blurb information!)
This is really great, clear information that I wish I'd been able to find when I was making my website! Being a fellow Old, I also really enjoyed how you compared Substack to LiveJournal. I ignored the LiveJournal thing the first time around and always felt like I'd missed out. Being on Substack is soothing my lifelong FOMO.
Yeah it’s not quite the same as LiveJournal, but the feel is very similar! I’m glad it’s helping your fomo!
Hey Jodi. Great work!