welcome…
…to all my secrets on life as a published author
(I’m 7 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 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
Substack for authors: interview with Emma Rowley
I had such a great response to my previous interview with Eleanor Anstruther about Substack, that I thought readers might find a chat with Emma Rowley, who works for Substack in the UK, helpful too.
One simple tweak to make to your author website today
I think this might be the shortest blog post I ever write, but here we go anyway! A small but important New Year thing that lots of people miss…
My three words for 2025
Allow me to share this Instagram post with you that freaked me out recently…
2024: my work year in review
Ahhh! It’s nearly the end of 2024 and this is my most favourite of all my blog posts to write so I may be a little bit overexcited.
My final 3 website designs of 2024!
The idea for this post just popped into my head and I thought it would be a bit of fun because it occurred to me the other day that the last three sites I built were so different from each other!
Squarespace: how to fix your Instagram feed
This is something that I’ve had a few questions about from former clients: how to fix your Instagram feed when it stops updating on your Squarespace website.
How long does it take to build an author website?
There are a lot of factors to consider when building your author website - from which platform to use, to how much you want to spend, and how much content you want to include. You also need to think about the strategy for your author website - what’s your primary goal for the website (if you’re not sure, may I suggest building your author mailing list?)
Competition: The Oxford/42 New Writing Prize
A bit of a different post than usual from me today, but I know how important competitions like this can be for aspiring writers, and so I wanted to spread the word.
Some honest thoughts about writing fiction as a career
My dad wanted me to be a lawyer. Like many (most?) writers, I was academic. I did well at school, I was pretty quick at most subjects and I was very good at English and assimilating a lot of information and then, well… writing about it in an accurate and relatively concise way.
How to resize book covers for your author website
This is something I get asked for advice on A LOT, so I thought I’d do a quick video to show you how to resize the covers for your books, so that they’re not too big before you upload them to your author website.
Project Spotlight: melpennant.com
I’m really happy to be sharing some one of my latest website designs with you today. This was such a fun website to work on, and I am in love with the colours we used!
Making the most of Substack as a fiction author - interview with Eleanor Anstruther
I’m so excited to be sharing this interview with you! Eleanor Anstruther is an award-winning author and was one of my very first web design clients, five years ago.
How I deal with professional jealousy as a writer
I just want to put something out there, in the full knowledge that it might make me seem like a spoilt brat. But being a writer is hard. Really. It is.
How to find photos for your author website
I really don’t want to start this blog post by writing ‘an image speaks a thousand words’ but… it’s 8am and I haven’t had much caffeine yet so… let me just whisper it. It’s true, anyway. Especially online. Photographs and images are simply much easier and more efficient ways to consume content on websites – even though, as a writer, it pains me to say so.
Why every author should set up a mailing list
Regular readers of this blog will know that I feel very passionately that all authors should set up a mailing list as soon as (or even before) they get their book deals. All my author website packages include this functionality as standard – that’s how important I think it is!
What to do when you hate your book's cover
I can’t remember who told me that most authors hate their covers. Perhaps hate is too strong (I have a tendency towards hyperbole - hey I’m a storyteller! 😆).
22 author website examples to inspire you
As you’d expect, I have spent a LOT of time looking at author websites. And I genuinely love it. Seeing all the amazing creative ideas that different authors have for their websites lights me up.
Some honest thoughts on author blurbs
Another post that might get me into hot water but here we go anyway. The somewhat controversial topic of author blurbs. What do we think of them?
Why I use Squarespace (not Mailchimp!) for my author newsletter
Most of the authors I know use Mailchimp to send their newsletters. For a long time, it really was the only viable newsletter platform for complete beginners to email marketing. But in recent years, as people have come to see the incredible value in email marketing, more and more different platforms have emerged.
5 mistakes I made after getting a book deal
Like many authors, when I first got my book deal, I was completely overwhelmed. It’s such a huge goal - to get a book published - and for many writers, it takes so long to achieve that we often don’t look much past 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?
click the covers to find out more
pssst! before you go…
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Look at all the great stuff you’ll get…
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