Last week I shared some websites we created for pre-published authors and for debut authors.
This post is for established authors, those who have graduated from “debut” status and have now have multiple (or many!) books to present to the world. The main consideration is how we are going to organize them. All books on one page? Combined into different categories? A page for each book and/or page for each series? There is no “right” answer! And you may reorganize them multiple times over the life of your website. Nothing is set in stone. It all depends on what feels the most logical to you for where you are now, and how much information you want to provide for each book.
Below are some examples of different ways I’ve organized books in the past, but there are many more. (If you have a LOT of books—like a lot a lot, 100 books, so many books, I will have a post for the most prolific authors coming soon.)
All books on one page:
If you don’t want to/need to provide a ton of information for each book, and really want everything on one handy page, having just one page for books is an option.
For example, David Shannon has dozens of books, but he only wanted to provide a very brief synopsis of each, so we created one page. We also divided the page into a section for books he wrote and illustrated, and one for books he illustrated for others. Because he is the illustrator of all of his books, the covers look amazing all on one page together, and you get an instant grasp of his large library.
K.A. Holt similarly wanted to stick to just a synopsis, plus links to buy, for each of her books, but in her case, clicking on a cover opens a pop-up screen with the info. Visitors can see all of her books and stay on the page as they learn a bit about each of them. Her page is also divided into Middle Grade, Picture Book, and Adult Anthology categories.
Simple books index page + a page for each book
This is probably the most common configuration, with a page displaying all of the covers, each linking to a page about that book. Having a page for each book is great if you want to include reviews, links to more materials, book trailers, etc.
Books index page organized by category + a page for each book
Similar to the above, but the main Books page is divided into different categories.
Anika Denise, books divided into Nonfiction and Fiction:
Phillip Hoose, books divided by topic:
Liz Garton Scanlon, books divided into Picture Books and Novels:
Series and other groupings:
Many authors opt to have all books of one series share a page or other book combinations share a page.
For example,Debbie Michiko Florence has a page for each of her series, but also has one page with all of her Middle Gade Books, and one page with all of her Picture Books.
Lindsey Leavitt, on the other hand, has a page for each of her series, but each of her standalone books gets its own page:
Again, this is not a comprehensive list of every possible way to organize your books, but can hopefully give you some things to think about as you contemplate what makes the most sense for YOU. And we are always happy to help! Contact us to see how we can help you showcase your books, however many there may be!
