Writing, Self-Publishing, Book Marketing

Introducing the AuthorTree community, Author Solutions’ latest invention from the publishing and marketing laboratories. This time, however, they’re dealing in free author Web sites, which is fairly awesome in this marketer’s humble opinion.  

Markets are ever-growing and evolving, just as the name AuthorTree suggests, and unless writers adapt to the digital marketing environment that has become so fertile in the last decade, authors will certainly lose the spotlight, wilting and withering in the darkness. 

Fortunately, there are some smart people working at AuthorTree. 

Not being the most familiar with the AuthorTree community specifics, I read through the FAQs and ventured down the rabbit hole that would hopefully lead to a brand spanking new author Web site.  To be honest, it was far easier than I had originally anticipated.  

Registration took maybe two minutes, and all that was required was my name, e-mail address, username, password and security question.  

After I logged into my account, I was able to use the Administrative Wizard to input my book and biographical info as well as feature images of my sample cover and my author picture.  

As it turned out, I found that I could start (and manage) my own blog, post reviews about my book, list literary events coming soon alongside relevant time and location info, and even select the Web site skin and layout, i.e. my theme, for my entire page. 

It was pretty rad to say the least. 

The AuthorTree story gets even better though – turns out any author can develop their own Web site at no charge. It doesn’t matter if you’ve published with Wordclay or Random House or LuLu or Chronicle Books or Vantage Press – you can still have a free AuthorTree Web site. Obviously, the best books and the hardest working authors should be the most successful in the publishing market, and we hardly want to discriminate against authors, nor fight against the marketing tide. 

Come on – who ever heard of a tree, let alone an AuthorTree, discriminating against authors, shading one writer selectively instead of all? 

Honestly, there’s no catch. You may wonder how AuthorTree makes its money, but they use the same principle as Wordclay, namely marketing services. Your Web site is free, but your mission (should you choose to accept it) is not simply to post your information, but also to push your title into the spotlight so it can thrive (and sell). So, if a marketing kit or postcards can help you accomplish your goals, you always have the option of purchasing some packages. 

One thing I foresee selling (and for good reason) is the personalized domain name service. When you buy a domain name with AuthorTree, you get to submit your top choices for your Web address. Instead of http://www.authortree.com/yourbook, you can now obtain a unique, memorable and relevant URL. For example, if you have a book about origami, perhaps you select the domain name “Origamidude” or “Origami for Beginners” (your title), making your Internet address either http://www.origamidude.com or http://www.origamiforbeginners.com.  

Easy, right?  

Domain names make sense for an author, too. People who hear about you or are curious about your book want an easy way to remember and find you online later. In a word, domain names are a great way of clearing away the publishing and marketing brush, cutting right to your book. 

Another thing to bear in mind with AuthorTree is that you can monitor your own personalized book blog. As you engage your audience and encourage them to post on your blog, you’ll have the control of approving the comments most valuable to your marketing campaign before they’re ever viewed by the public. Sometimes, one lone gunner, jealous or just plain bored, might post a comment that could turn otherwise interested readers away from purchasing your title. Even if you elect to allow all comments, you can always delete the ones you don’t like - that’s your perogative. Now, you can minimize the damage to your reputation and your book, all for free. 

The AuthorTree community gets my thumbs up rating, and if you’re curious, definitely check them out. In the meantime, if you have questions or comments about AuthorTree, feel free to post them here. I’m more than happy to address your concerns or forward them onto a person who can. 

This is Justin Dimos, blogcasting from Wordclay, signing off.