'Create the Best Author Website Ever', that sounds like a fairly brave claim and at this stage in the process it is.
What I’d like to do is work with some the marvellous readers and writers here on Wattpad to create a content checklist for a stunning and engaging author website. And, just to be clear, I mean author websites not blogs, although there may be an element of blogging associated with the site.
I think this initiative will give readers an opportunity to express their preferences and it’ll help authors to create the best website they can.
Personally, I'm aiming to achieve a number of things. I want to:
1. Understand what readers want from an author’s website.
2. Create a network of readers who like engaging with authors.
3. Improve my website.
4. Help others improve their websites.
5. Create a network of like-minded authors.
6. Increase the visibility of my website (and consequently my books).
7. Help other authors increase the visibility of their websites.
The structure I’m thinking of is to have a page dedicated to each participating author website. We’ll then use the comments facility to help the author improve their site.
I’ll also create a content checklist. It’ll start with the obvious pages e.g. About the Author, and over time, I’ll gather the most frequent suggestions add to the list.
We can also highlight examples of the best ‘professional’ sites and glean ideas from them.
I’ll put the time into this if there is sufficient interest, so please let me know if you think this is a worthwhile idea.
