It was too far, it was in the afternoon, my kids needed me (no, they really didn’t). Not getting to a WriteLinks meeting had become an excuse. I went to other local writing meetups which were wonderful, getting to know my writing community. I learned my craft.

But they never really fulfilled my needs. Why? Because none of them wrote for children. Writelinks provided that for me today. Bonus, I got to listen to Anthony Puttee of the Book Cover Café – now The Self-Publishing Lab – speak on making a website.

A few friends had teed me up in the prior months, yakking on about domains and hosting (napkins on the table and chips in a bowl, right?) when really I had no idea. Nods and smiles convinced them their words had gotten through while I hoped my computer started and I could find my most recent Word document.

An hour and a bit into the meeting I was amazingly well educated on how to choose a host that allows me to purchase a domain – my own author name – which looks professional, is easy to use and can grow with my business. This includes listing my books in an online store and getting one of those snazzy enter-your-email-here boxes I’ve always wanted.

In fact I’m so gung-ho, I’m heading home to sort it out later tonight. Not bad for someone who regularly sees wisps of smoke rising from whatever electrical item they’ve neared. I was pretty impressed with my very first Writelinks meeting – more so by Anthony, who gave me the confidence that I could sort this at home by myself.
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So here are his tips for making a strong author website. An author’s website is their online presence, their main hub to the world. The Domain, he explained, is like a street address, the Host is the land and the website the house itself.
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First he offered a choice of website creators. The usual suspects, Wix, Weebly, WordPress.com. But it was WordPress.org he focused on, along with Blue host.
For a small fee you can set it all up ad free, with an email that matches your domain. What screams professionalism like that? Especially to that top-notch agent or Big 4 publisher you’ve been chasing. *cough* Because we never do that…
If yours is a reasonably unique name like mine, use that as your Domain, so your fans can find you easily. If you have a more common name or one that crosses with another online personality, maybe you could add something to it – johnsmithbooks.com, for example.

Anthony went through the entire process with us and it took around half an hour, with questions. In your own quiet space, you could do it in less time again. Follow the prompts and save for a quick, professional hub that can expand with your writing business.

You can even get a great little plug in that shares your content to social media for you. Handy. It’s also compatible for mobile devices, so that professional look follows your online presence. www.selfpublishinglab.com also provides authors with editing, cover design, layout and a plethora of coaching services. Many of the WriteLinks authors have used Anthony’s services to their great benefit and speak well of him.

In all, I enjoyed my first WriteLinks meeting. I learned a lot, put faces to online names, met some wonderful authors and reconnected with others I’ve spoken to at prior Brisbane events. I’ll certainly be adding these meetings to my 2019 calendar.

Jo Seysener is an emerging children’s author with a passion for PND awareness living near Brisbane with her three crazy kidlets, enthusiastic GSD pup and decrepit Kelpie. She also shares her living space with a trio of mad chickens. Jo dabbles in speculative fiction in her spare writing time and is obsessed with alpacas.
www.fourquills.com ​