Clogging Up the Internet

I'm sure I'm not the only writer this has happened to.  You write a book, you get a domain name for your book, you build a website for your book, and everything is good and wonderful -- that is, until you write your next book.

My website had gotten totally out of control.  It had started out as a site for my living history programs, then I wrote my first book, and then my second book, which was in a different genre.  Next thing I knew I had pages and pages and then sub pages, and multiple domain names, all pointed to the same site.  It was starting to resemble that old Three Stooges bit where they're plumbers and they end up building a huge, tangled maze of water pipes.

It's taken me a good part of a weekend, but I think I finally got it back under control.  I somehow managed to untangle and consolidate some thirty website pages into fourteen pages, and those fourteen web pages are divided up between two separate websites.

So, here is my advice to all you aspiring authors out there...

First, get a domain name with your name.com.  If your name is already taken, try variations such as adding your middle initial, adding words like, "my" or "the real," or use the .net or .biz extensions.   While it probably wouldn't hurt to get the .com name for your book title, keep in mind that if you write more than one book you'll need to get a separate domain for each title.  If you're planning a series of books you may want to consider getting a domain with the name of your series instead of one for each title.  I use LukeandJennyBooks.com.  I also have other extensions for LukeandJennyBooks.  

If you write in more than one genre, as I do, try to avoid putting all your titles on one website.  Multiple genres can be confusing and I recommend separate websites, or blog sites, for your different genres.  I just finished putting up a new website for my Luke and Jenny books.  My cookbooks will never be included on the Luke and Jenny site, nor will the Luke and Jenny books ever go on the cookbook site.   Two different genres -- two different audiences.  A link to your other sites may be okay, but I wouldn't recommend much more than that.  Obviously at this point you'll need to buy other domain names, such as JohnDoeMysteryBooks.com and JohnDoeSelfHelpBooks.com.  You get the idea. 

Many authors do public speaking.  As long as your speaking topics are connected with your books it's perfectly okay to include that information on your book website.   In fact, it would probably help make you more marketable.  But if your speaking topic is unrelated to your books then once again, you'll need a separate website.

If you're wondering about the cost for all this please keep in mind that blog sites can be a low cost, if not free, alternative to a traditional website.  It's also a good idea to shop around and see what kind of hosting packages are out there.  Web hosting companies can be very competitive.

My advice -- keep it all as simple as you possibly can.  That way you won't be clogging up the Internet.

GM