Get Inspired! Websites for Authors Who Want to Write Well 📝
- Writing
A round-up of the best websites for authors seeking tips, tricks, and inspiration, plus a look at why writers should consider creating their own site.
Writing is more than just putting words down on paper or typing away at a keyboard. It’s a complex process that involves quite a bit of time, motivation, skill, and inspiration.
Another piece of the successful writer puzzle is a polished author website. It’s an important part of an aspect of professional writing that often gets overlooked — marketing. Finishing that first book is a major step, but your very own URL is a great way to get your work out there. Whether you’re looking for resources to strengthen your writing or need inspiration for creating your own author site, we’re here with a round-up of great websites designed for authors to help get your career off the ground.
10 of the best websites for authors 💻
One of the best ways to become a better writer is by exploring online writing resources, including blogs, writing tools, and communities. We’ve compiled a list of free websites for authors to provide you with new ideas, inspiration, and guidance on elevating your writing.
These freelancing and book writing websites offer diverse resources to help improve your writing process and navigate the blogging and publishing worlds. They have everything you need to help you launch and grow your career, from writing techniques to book marketing strategies.
- Be a Freelance Blogger. This website offers helpful tips and advice for successful freelance blogger careers, including where and how to find jobs and pitch ideas, how to get paid, training opportunities, and more.
- Make a Living Writing. This website targets freelance writers who want to make a living writing. It offers tips on finding clients, avoiding scams, setting rates, using social media, increasing productivity, and more.
- Books & Alchemy. Holly Ostara’s website helps aspiring authors finish and publish their books. She provides resources and support for writers who want to get published, including tips on a wide array of topics, from formatting to marketing.
- FundsforWriters. This website offers detailed information on grants, contests, and other opportunities to help writers earn money.
- Career Authors. If you want to make a career out of writing, this website is for you. It includes tips on everything from marketing your work to honing your voice, improving your fiction, building a brand, and more.
- Pitch Travel Write. This website advises travel writers, including tips for breaking into the industry, pitching ideas to editors, and writing compelling travel articles. Coaching is also available.
- Writers Write. This website is a comprehensive resource for creative writers, business writers, and bloggers. It inspires, educates, and informs with articles about blogging and other types of writing.
- The Porte Port. This fascinating blog explores storytelling techniques in movies, games, books, and shows and offers helpful advice for fiction authors.
- The History Quill. This website provides resources and support for historical fiction writers. It includes everything from specialist historical fiction editing services to beta reading, coaching programs, promotion services, and more.
- The Bestseller Experiment. This website follows two authors attempting to learn about, write, and publish a bestselling book in only 52 weeks. They also offer a podcast with weekly discussions with leading figures in the publishing industry.
Get inspired by 8 of the best author websites 🤓
Want to become a bestselling author? If that’s your dream, having your own website is a powerful tool. It’s a great way to establish your online presence, connect with current and potential readers, and showcase your work. Here are eight of our favorite author websites to use as inspiration:
- N.K. Jemisin. Jemisin’s website showcases her science fiction and fantasy work. It’s well-designed, informative, and entertaining, offering overviews of her novels, an author bio, and a blog written by Jemisin herself.
- Hugh Howey. Howey’s website is dedicated to his two life’s dreams: writing a novel and sailing around the world. Having already accomplished the former, he’s currently doing the latter, updating his readers along the way.
- Neon Yang. Yang’s author platform is bright and colorful. It provides a fun overview of the author’s published novellas and upcoming novels.
- Mark Dawson. This author’s website is an excellent example of how to build a successful brand. It has an eye-catching visual identity and includes a blog and a shop for directly buying the author’s work.
- Rick Riordan. This author site is a great example of how to engage young readers with an exciting layout and engaging visuals. It includes detailed information on Riordan’s work, advice for writers, parent and teacher resources, and more useful information.
- Roxane Gay. Gay’s website is a personal and introspective platform, offering readers an intimate glimpse into her work and creative process. It provides an overview of her work, upcoming appearances, and news.
- Miquel Reina. This website is a beautiful showcase of Reina’s work. The design is stunning but understated and offers a wide range of information on the author, including his books, book clubs, news, and events.
- Helen Hoang. Hoang’s colorful website displays her love stories with pride. It also offers translations of her work and an online store for purchasing.
Why should authors have a website? 🚀
As a writer, launching a website may not be at the top of your to-do list, but it should be! While books are often sold on Amazon, and reader interaction often happens on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, having a website helps develop and solidify a cohesive brand.
Let readers know who you are 📚
A website is a virtual representation of who you are as an author. It’s a platform for showcasing your history, portfolio, accolades, upcoming projects, and contact information, all in one convenient place. When a reader lands on your website, it should be easy for them to get to know you. Don’t forget to include a contact page!
Reinforce your brand 🦾
A website is a great way to build and reinforce your brand. A consistent color scheme, fonts, imagery, and language help create a cohesive and recognizable identity for your work. It also lets you keep your messaging consistent across social media, book covers, and other marketing materials.
Provide easy access to your work 🚪
A website makes it easy for readers to find, learn about, and purchase your work. By including your own online store or links to online bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, readers can easily grab your latest book in just a few clicks. A website can also serve as a hub for your backlist, allowing readers to discover and purchase older titles they may have missed.
Build a fan community 🧑🤝🧑
A website is a great way to build and engage with readers. Fans love receiving updates on upcoming work, seeing what’s going on behind the scenes, and getting insights into creative processes via blog posts and newsletters. You can even offer access to exclusive content like free e-books, short stories, or a chapter from your next book. Encourage online engagement through comments, sharing, and contests to help build a loyal fan base.
Showcase your work with Contra ✏️
Whether you offer ghostwriting, blogging, content writing, children’s book writing, or search engine content optimization (SEO), the Contra platform is the perfect place to advertise your writing services and find the ideal client. And our Portfolios allow you to construct a high-quality website to showcase your personal brand and professional skills, with a variety of templates made especially for Independents.
Contra is a commission-free job search platform for freelancers. Independents on Contra are always guaranteed a fair wage, and clients are guaranteed to find the most talented writers.
