welcome…
…to all my secrets on life as a published author
(I’m 8 traditionally published books in and I’ve learnt some stuff 😉)
I blog weekly about author websites,newsletters and life as a writer…
New posts published every other Monday😊
Want to learn more about me and my own publishing journey first?
(includes info on how I landed one of those mythical six-figure book deals!)
Read all about my own journey to publication →
Or scroll down to read all my other posts!
most popular posts
most recent posts
My most popular blog posts in 2023
I’m easing myself into the new year very gently (as you can probably tell from this post!). Although, that’s not strictly true as I seem to have a ton on my plate this January - including copyedits for my second Rixon book landing at the exact same time as even more edits on my new thriller, plus I have a big website project booked in this month too.
Why Squarespace is the perfect web platform for authors
On some of my trawls of the internet researching author websites, I’ve found a few articles suggesting that Squarespace isn’t a good platform for author websites.
My three words for 2024
2023 was a real milestone year for me, and I think I learnt A LOT. I’ve covered all the ups and downs in a previous post, but in this post, I’m going to be looking ahead to next year - and hopefully being a bit more positive! Let’s see… 😆
Project Spotlight: mariontodd.com
I’m so happy to be sharing with you my last web design project of 2023. As you’ll know if you read my previous post, I have only done a handful of website designs this year as I’ve had so many of my own writing deadlines to content with, but I absolutely loved doing this project and it’s got me very excited about 2024 and all the shiny new projects I have booked in!
2023: my work year in review
Gosh what a rollercoaster this year has been. I touched on it briefly with my post on why I hated writing full-time, but I think it’ll be useful (for me!) and perhaps interesting (for you!) to go into more depth about exactly what happened to me work-wise this year
How to upload a file to your Squarespace author website
As you may know, I offer Author VIP Design Days to authors who’ve built their own website but would like a bit of help to make the most of the platform, or who aren’t quite sure how to do certain things.
Marketing for authors – top tips from expert Katie Sadler
This is probably the most interesting and helpful interview I have ever done! I worked with Katie Sadler on my first novel The Rival, when she was working in-house at Quercus.
Which retailers should I link to from my author website?
Obviously, one of the primary purposes of your author website is to make it easy for people who visit to go on and buy your book. However you’ll be surprised - or perhaps dismayed?! - how many author websites I see that don’t have ANY links to online bookshops on them at all.
My number one tip for coping with life as a published author
Life as a published author is weird. It’s brilliant, exhilarating, satisfying, exhausting, nerve-shredding, anxiety-inducing and both satisfying and frustrating all at once. In my opinion, it’s quite unlike any other job out there, and no one really prepares you for it.
5 tips for building an author website on a budget
I’ve said before many times on this blog that writing is not a lucrative career in the main, and therefore I totally understand if you’re an author and you don’t have much budget available for creating your author website.
Why I hated writing full-time
For many aspiring authors, the thought of ditching the day job to concentrate on writing is one of the things that keeps them motivated and plugging away. It makes sense - writing is hard work. Mentally draining and often physically uncomfortable too. Trying to cram it around a day job is incredibly tough.
When should I launch my author website?
This is a question I get asked quite frequently by authors who are enquiring after my services! So I thought it would be an interesting topic to explore in a blog post.
3 author websites I built in a day
I don’t get to share my Author Website in a Day projects very much - so I thought today I would do just that, and share with you three author website designs that I built in just one day.
What happened when I blogged every day for a month
As you may already know, I celebrated my five-year anniversary of being a published author on September 6 2023. I remember that day so well - and now I look back and think how sweet and wide-eyed I was about the whole process.
Is a one-page author website right for you?
While obviously I believe that every author should have their own website, I also appreciate that not every author has the time or enthusiasm to create an all-singing, all-dancing, multi-page wonder website, packed full of content, that they need to update every week to stop it from looking ‘out of date’…
Six signs it might be time to leave your literary agent
There are tons of articles out there about how to spot a shady literary agent, but they are almost all for people who are still looking for representation, and they talk about things like never paying someone to read your manuscript etc.
What’s a good open rate for my author newsletter?
Ahh open rates! For those not completely au fait with email marketing terminology, the open rate is the number of people who actually open your author newsletter. It’s not the same as the number of people on your mailing list, or the number of people who actually receive it (this is referred to as your ‘delivered’ rate).
How I deal with bad reviews
If you’re having a novel traditionally published then there’s one thing that’s certain to happen: you are going to get a bad review.
How to share your Squarespace site privately for feedback
If you’ve taken the plunge and decided to build your own author website (and if you have, then a huge pat on the back from me!), then you might want to share it with others BEFORE you actually make the site live so that the whole world can find it.
✨ 30 things I’ve learnt from 5 years being published ✨
September 6 2023 marked 5 years since my first book was released 😲
To celebrate, I shared a new post about what I’ve learnt from being published EVERY DAY throughout the month.
Enjoy!
curious about my books?
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Essential Guide to SEO for Authors
17 page guide
The Debut Author’s Survival Guide
30 page ebook
Author Website Content Guide
14 page guide
Author Newsletters
- a Beginner’s Guide
30 minute video
Blogging for Authors
- a Beginner’s Guide
18 minute video