Elements of an A+ Author Website: The Booklist

Posted by Sienna Condy on Dec 12 2011, 3:31 pm

Perhaps the most important part of the author website is the booklist. Your website—more than anywhere else—should be the be-all and end-all resource for your books. This means you need to have a full and complete booklist available on your website at all times.

Sure, sometimes Amazon’s going to get the jump on you and get that pre-order button up earlier than you anticipated. It happens, but overall, if I come to your site, I should be able to easily find everything you’ve ever written under that name or in that genre.  Yes, this includes that Comanche romance you wrote in 1985 that you wish you had never released into the world. If I can still find it on Amazon, get it as an ebook or find it in a used bookstore, it should be on the list.

For highest reader satisfaction and usability, a printable booklist should also be available, as well as a separate list for books by series, if applicable.

When NOT to include a book on your booklist:

• It no longer fits your brand.

Example: If you wrote one romance in 1985, and then started writing a gruesome NYT best-selling series about serial killers, you probably don’t need to include the one romance on your booklist.

• It might turn people off your other books.

Example: You currently write inspirational romances, but in your youth, you wrote and published several erotic, science-fiction romances featuring alien babies. You might want to include a section under your bio saying you once wrote sci-fi romances (if you’re using the same name), but you may not want to include the alien babies.

• The book was published so long ago it’s unavailable in any format.

This is becoming less likely as ebooks become more prevalent in the book market, but at this point, it’s still a possibility. If there is no way I can get a book unless I fall through a time portal into the past (i.e. impossible at this time), then you do not need to include the book on your booklist.

Need help getting your website in tip-top shape? Email the Bemis Promotions crew at info@bemispromotions.com.

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