London Writers Club

With advice of ten tips for an author website and more, here are the latest London Writers Club newsletters:

New term, new ideas, new words What do you want to achieve before the end of 2018. A solid proposal, the first three chapters of your novel, polish your first draft, submit to publishers? We have three great agents speaking at the Club this Autumn, first up this month, Samuel Hodder of Blake Friedmann on 18 September. Grab a ticket below - or if you are a member, let us know you are coming and we'll reserve a seat for you.  Writing non-fiction - work out who your reader is with this persona tool from HubSpot.  It even works for fiction writers who need to know who their audience is.  Writing a memoir - read some great tips from Jeanette Winterson and Helen MacDonald  here Let us know if you are writing a memoir - we'd love to tailor a package just for you to help you get your book into the world.  September's event with Samuel Hodder of Blake Friedmann Samuel is looking for a wide range of both fiction and non-fiction. In literary and contemporary fiction he loves distinctive voices and complex characters (e.g. Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh), coming-of-age novels, LGBTQI themes, and novels that explore the loss of innocence, desire, deceit, class, or the world of work. In historical fiction, novels so immersive they can show readers a different way of thinking and being: Mary Renault's novels are favourites. In crime and thrillers, he loves an unusual, evocative setting (e.g. The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin), but would like to read anything from psychological suspense to the truly macabre.  Join us for the event to find out more about Samuel and the Blake Friedmann agency.  Join us in September for our first autumn event with Samuel Hodder of Blake Friedmann on 18 September Members come for free - and tickets are £15 in advance. Bookseller discount for members 50% discount for LWC members The Bookseller is the industry magazine - giving insights into editors, agents, deals made and publishing trends. We have negotiated a 50% discount for LWC members (a discount worth £75). If you are a member already and would like the code, email us - or if you'd like to take advantage of this offer, join the club. Information here.  Contact info@londonwritersclub.com Stay Connected

London Writers' Club, St Marks Road, Teddington, Middlesex Tw11 9DE  England

10 tips for a simple author website An author needs to have a simple website to act as an 'electronic business card'. Writers need to be reachable and instantly contactable via the web. At LWC, we are finding that more and more writers have to be in control of their own career - they have to self-promote (both before publication, during and afterwards), they have to put themselves on a pinnacle and shout out loud, they have to work hard to gain a following - a close knit band of happy followers that will in turn promote their work via word of mouth; and they have to an online presence - essential for this need-to-know-it-all-now society we live in. So a simple author website, what should it contain? If you are an unpublished author, your website should act as a calling card - somewhere for visitors to land and find out who you are, what you are writing and a net for you to collect names and email addresses. It can be two or three pages - too many people go mad and put too much information on sites. It is simply a shop front and must be clear and precise. When your book is published, then you are free to add other pages - product pages, reviews and events - but for now, keep it simple. Include the following: 1/An active blog - this will be a great tool to showcase you and your writing. Be relevant and don't just write about your lunch or your pet though. 2/Your contact details - ensure these are correct. 3/A biog - again, be relevant - have you had any writing experience previously, what is your job - when did you start writing etc. 4/Make your website easy on the eye and easy to navigate. 5/Ensure that you control the website - you MUST be able to make changes when you want to. Too many website designers charge huge fees and then the client is unable to actually make changes and must go back to the designer each time a change needs to be made (which means more costs). 6/Use your name as the domain site (not the title of your book) - we are assuming that you are going to write more than one book! 7/Give the people who visit your website unexpected value - this means they will return and will become a 'follower'. What have you discovered that could help others? Dampen your ego and think about content value. 8/Be entertaining and interactive - if people comment on your blogs, respond. Remember these could be your future readers. 9/If you twitter or have a Facebook site, have links to these on your site. You are creating an author-brand and all things should be linked and not separate entities. 10/Finally, your website should reflect you as a person and as a writer - create a site that will act as your platform, your soapbox for your writing. Join us in September for our first autumn event with Samuel Hodder of Blake Friedmann on 18 September Members come for free - and tickets are £15 in advance. Bookseller discount for members 50% discount for LWC members The Bookseller is the industry magazine - giving insights into editors, agents, deals made and publishing trends. We have negotiated a 50% discount for LWC members (a discount worth £75). If you are a member already and would like the code, email us - or if you'd like to take advantage of this offer, join the club. Information here.  Contact info@londonwritersclub.com Stay Connected

London Writers' Club, St Marks Road, Teddington, Middlesex Tw11 9DE  England