Your online presence is everything you say online: on your website if any, on your publisher’s website if any, on your blog if any, on Facebook or Twitter or any other social media site, and also – unfortunately – in your private emails, which can so easily be hacked and copied. It’s also everything anyone says about you: in newspaper or magazine reviews, if in digital form or accessible online; on blogs; on social media.

A word of warning: publishing online is publishing, and is subject to libel law. Book reviews are “fair comment,” but vicious attacks on other people’s personalities and behaviour are not.

But what about you, the writer? Publishers are always telling authors to get online, take up social media, run a blog, and so forth. Should you do it? Not if you don’t feel comfortable with it. Some writers feel that engaging online would be a distraction; others find it trivial and embarrassing, even demeaning. Yet others feel it’s another form of writing. Some genuinely want to hear from their readers. Each online platform is different. Twitter is truly social: it’s like a party. You meet strangers, some of whom will indeed be strange. You have short conversations about any subject at all. But if all you do is promote your own work, other people will think you’re vain and egotistical. They’ll be very happy to get recommendations from you about books by other writers, however. Twitter is a great way to pass along the news, including news about things you like and causes you support.

A blog is like a column in a newspaper: you can use it to write about things that interest you. Some of these may be your own work, but if that’s all you write about, your readers may lose interest. A website – which may host, for instance, a blog and a Twitter window – can be many things, but on a writer’s website visitors expect to find out about the books you’ve written, to read reviews, and even to be shown how they can buy your books online. Pictures of the covers are not out of place here, nor a biography.

A Goodreads author session allows readers to ask questions that writers then answer. It’s like a Q and A after a reading. Those attending it will be fans of your work. These sessions are generally pleasant.

Facebook is like a moving billboard on which items are posted, most of which concern the subject. Many authors have a Facebook page administered by the publisher. Some have Facebook “shrine” pages put up by fans.

Pinterest is for pictures; some of these can be covers of your books, should you so desire. Flickr and Instagram are also mainly visual. I suppose you could use Instagram to post pictures on your own website and Facebook. I haven’t tried it yet. Glossi allows you to create something that looks like a glossy magazine (you can turn the pages). It would be a good place for an illustrated excerpt, with perhaps a background piece about the book. Byliner fills the niche left by a dearth of magazine fiction and longform investigative journalism. It commissions paid-for pieces, shares royalties, allows authors to post “updates” to stories, and cross-promotes via (for instance) Twitter. It curates collections of authors work, and allows users to search by various categories. Your agent should be aware of it.

Wattpad is a site on which members generate the free content that other members can read and comment on. It exists in 25 languages; its members (both readers and writers) tend to be young, but increasingly publishers are looking at it both for potential writers and as a way to help launch a book. There are a great many book bloggers and library sites and book clubs, and some will advise you to leave “calling cards” on them. I have no opinion about this, not having tried it. Book Riot and Rumpus are two well-known book information sites, but there are many more.

And who knows what wonders may soon appear? Siren songs, all of them, you may feel, leading those who heed them to destruction: your real job is to finish your book. Or you may not feel that. It’s up to you. And there’s no rule that says you can’t try one of these out and then decide it’s not for you. On the Internet, one size does not fit all.

If you’re considering developing your web presence you are probably wondering whether it’s better to build a website, start a blog, or join Twitter, Facebook and the many other social media platforms available today. If you are lucky enough to have the golden trifecta: time, ability and money, then by all means, do it all! But if you’re like most people and have limited resources in at least one or two of those areas, you need to think about the kind of web presence that you can manage on an ongoing basis.

For many writers, social media is an awkward fit. It takes time and tenacity so a low-maintenance website can be a really good way to secure an online presence without the pressure of daily, weekly or even monthly updating. Before we go on, I want to emphasise that this article is not about scaring you off social media. There are counter arguments for everything listed below, and if you can utilise social media then by all means do. But if you can’t use it then – for authors especially – a website remains a very valid alternative. Here’s why:

Maintain your comfort Zone
A website allows you stay within your comfort zone. You decide what goes up there, approve it before it goes live to the public, and then update it as and when you need to. Engagement with social media is much more active and immediate and it can be difficult for a variety of reasons: lack of knowledge or ability, lack of time, or most crucially a general lack of interest. Many of us are not, by nature, sociable creatures so the idea of joining Twitter is akin to being forced to attend every networking event on the publishing calendar, completely alone, and to emerge surrounded by a bunch of new friends. Online activity may be cyber, but it’s still real life and you are perfectly within your rights to maintain the same comfort you would in the physical world. A simple website allows you to be present, while only attending the parties you want to attend.

Control the content
When you use social media you are engaging with a network of other users and this effects your own profile. You can’t always control how other people behave and interact with you on a social media site but you can control the content of a website. And it’s easier than ever to do that. Nowadays websites are much more accessible and affordable. Almost all developers will build your site using a CMS (Content Management System) and this allows you to quickly and easily edit your site yourself, at no cost. If you can use Microsoft Word then you will be able to use a CMS and you will therefore be able to maintain control over the content.

Keep it low maintenance
Not everyone is tech savvy, just like not everyone can cook, or garden, or fix things. Creating a low maintenance website let’s you have a web presence that you can maintain as often or as little as you like. The more you can update your site and be present online, the more search engines will favour you, but this favouritism isn’t always so necessary for authors. Having a website that functions as a simple calling card can be enough.

Consolidation
The most effective way to present a complete picture of yourself is on a website. Unlike social media sites, a website gives people a single portal into your online world, rather than them having to sift through your tweets, posts and mentions to build a picture for themselves. Your homepage should carry all the key information people might need (and a link to where they can buy your books) and also give the reader a sense, within a split second of seeing it, of who you are.

Validation
Anyone can create a Twitter account and invent a persona for themselves, but a website is a bigger investment and it therefore gives validity to yourself and your work. It shows that you have made a commitment to your writing and that you are serious. If you have a well-designed and well-presented website it will also demonstrate to agents, publishers and readers that you know what you’re doing when it comes to your online presence.

Copyright and Intellectual Property
Most social media sites are free but they need to monetize themselves somehow. Often they do this by assuming ownership of the content (data) that you upload to their sites and using any social media site comes with the implicit understanding that this is how things work. When you build a website you retain the copyright of the content (be sure to make sure your web designer agrees this in writing) while your web designer will keep the copyright of the design and code base (assuming they produced both). You can ask for a backup of the data at any time to ensure your content is safe.

Statistics
Finally, with a website you can track your web statistics and see, among other things, the number of visitors to your site, how long they stayed on the site, their geographic location and how they found your website. This can be invaluable data for understanding who your readership is and what you can do to engage them further. For example, if you find that 40% of visitors are coming from Germany it might be time to discuss a German language edition with your publisher!

It’s not nearly as costly or intimidating to get a website as it used to be and it can be a great way to start building your online self. Who knows, maybe you’ll get hooked and will want to join Twitter after all!

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