Book Authors

A personal website allows you complete control to craft your narrative bio and show-off your expertise, in addition to increasing your online visibility. Think of it as your digital portfolio, where media contacts and interested readers can learn more about you, your work, and how to connect. 

If you’re a trade book author or a scholar interested in building your public profile, we recommend creating a personal website separate from your university faculty page. Keep in mind that while your personal website should feature your new book prominently, it’s a place to show off all your work over the long-term. For that reason, we recommend using your name as the domain and prioritizing building a personal website over a book-specific site. 

Creating Your Website

Building a personal website takes time and resources—including costs to set-up the site and maintain the domain—so factor that into your planning. Check with your university to see if they offer faculty support for designing and building personal websites.

Platforms like Squarespace and Wix are user-friendly, lower-cost options that offer pre-designed templates for creating your own site. You can also check out Canva for a free, user-friendly tool for designing any graphic elements.

For the layout, select a template that's as simple and streamlined as possible. Here are some key pages to include:

• About. Add a narrative bio and current author photo.
• Book. Add information on your new book, including the cover image, description, the link to your UC Press book page, and any reviews. Include a clear call-to-action or button to order the book.
• Research. For scholars, include information on your research, teaching, and academic history.
• Writing/Media. Capture interviews, op-eds, public writing, or media coverage on the book and your previous work.
• Contact. Include your contact information or a contact form, either on a separate page, or in the footer of your website. If you have an email newsletter, include a place for people to sign-up. If the goal of your website is for readers and media contacts to engage, there should be a clear way for them to reach you.

If you’d like additional support in designing your personal website, please reach out to your marketing manager for recommendations of freelance website designers.