Author website template
A free author website template for a novelist, essayist or speaker, with your new book up front, earlier books and essays, your talks and workshops, and a form for event organisers. Once your books are in, sell signed copies to readers yourself.
At the top sits your name over a photo, here a reading chair, with a line on what you write and speak about, and Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn underneath. The page is white with deep wine-red buttons and a classic serif for the headings, and a wine-red band introduces your speaking.
What’s on this page
The new novel
Up to five photos with a title and a line of text. A card can show your work, an item for sale with a link to buy it, a product you recommend, or a code to copy.
Put the new book first, with the cover and a photo of it open, and a line that does what the back cover does, like a family, a house by the sea and one long summer. Add a button to wherever readers can buy it, and change the line to the publication date as it gets close.
Earlier novels
Up to five photos with a title and a line of text. A card can show your work, an item for sale with a link to buy it, a product you recommend, or a code to copy.
Readers who like the new book go looking for the rest. Use this card for your earlier novels and say whether they are still in print, then link the button to a page that lists them all.
Essays
Up to five photos with a title and a line of text. A card can show your work, an item for sale with a link to buy it, a product you recommend, or a code to copy.
Shorter work shows a different side of your writing. Give your essays a card with a line on where they appeared, and point it at a collection or your favourite one.
Talks and workshops
Up to five photos with a title and a line of text. A card can show your work, an item for sale with a link to buy it, a product you recommend, or a code to copy.
Organisers book a speaker for a particular talk, so name yours. Say what each one is about and how long it runs, like an hour on attention or a half-day workshop on writing clearly at work. A photo of you on a stage or in a workshop room helps them picture it.
Invite me to speak
A form with the questions you choose, for enquiries, quotes or feedback. Every answer is saved for you in Keepp.
The speaking form asks for an email, confirmed with a code, the event and date, and who the audience is. That is enough to know whether you are free and which talk fits. Each enquiry is kept in your dashboard, and you can tag it as it moves from a first email to a confirmed date.
Add to it
Signed copy of the new novel
An item you sell, with photos, a price and a buy button. Buyers pay on the page through your own Stripe account.
Readers love a signed copy, and you can sell them yourself. Ask at checkout who the dedication is for and where to send it, and buyers pay through your own Stripe account. Set the stock limit to the copies you have on the shelf, and it stops selling once that many copies have sold in total.
Reading group notes
A piece of writing, like a guide or a list, that opens to be read in full with its own photos and items.
Book clubs look for discussion questions before they choose a book. Write them as an article with one item per question or section, and readers open them on your page. Send the article's own link to any group that gets in touch.
Hear about the next book first
One offer shown as a card, a small button or a pop-up: an email sign-up, a product or booking on the page, a link, or a flyer image.
Years can pass between books, and readers forget to check. A sign-up card collects their email addresses on the page, and the list keeps growing in your dashboard until the next one is announced.
Questions
What should an author website include?
Your latest book with a way to buy it, the rest of your books, a short bio, where you are speaking or reading next, and a contact for events and press. This template has cards for the new book, the backlist, essays and talks, and a speaking form.
Can readers buy my book?
Yes. Give each book card a button to the shop you sell through, or sell signed copies yourself as a product, paid through your own Stripe account.
Can event organisers book me?
Yes. The speaking form collects the event, the date and the audience, so you can reply with your availability. If you like to talk it through first, add a booking block for a short call.
Does it work for a speaker who has not written a book?
Yes. Use the book cards for your talks, workshops or recordings, and keep the speaking form as it is.
