By Evan Swensen
After I first heard Donald Miller say, “For those who confuse, you lose,” I finished in my tracks. I’ve spent many years working with writers and publishers, and I’ve seen that straightforward reality play out time and again. Writers usually consider cleverness or complexity will promote books. It received’t. What sells is readability.
The Shifting Panorama of Guide Discovery
Publishing has by no means been static. In my early years, bookstores, flyers, and brochures carried the load of discovery. For those who needed to succeed in readers, you needed to battle for area on cabinets or spend money on print promotions. However the panorama shifted. Amazon changed bookstores because the hub. Flyers and brochures have been changed by electronic mail lists and social media posts.
After which got here a brand new assumption: each creator wants an enormous, elaborate web site. However as we speak, that isn’t completely true. Readers don’t primarily uncover books on creator websites. They uncover them by podcasts, e book golf equipment, social shares, or—most frequently—immediately on Amazon.
So does an internet site nonetheless matter? Completely. However its position has modified.
The Three Important Questions Each Web site Should Reply
Donald Miller’s Constructing a StoryBrand breaks down the aim of any web site into three easy questions:
- What do you provide?
- How does it make life higher for the reader?
- How do they get it?
That’s it. If these solutions aren’t entrance and heart, readers click on away.
In my expertise, the distinction between an creator website that works and one which fails doesn’t come all the way down to design developments, coding tips, or fancy options. It comes all the way down to readability.
Simplicity All the time Wins
I’ve watched authors pour months into sprawling websites crammed with complicated menus, hidden subpages, and blogs that no one learn. The end result? Frustration, not gross sales.
Then again, I’ve seen minimalist websites—only a e book cowl, one line describing the expertise it presents, and a daring “Purchase Now” button—outperform expectations. Readers didn’t want a labyrinth; they wanted a entrance door.
Consider it like strolling right into a room. If the room is cluttered, you hesitate. You don’t know the place to take a seat, and the chaos feels overwhelming. But when the room has a chair by the fireplace and somebody smiling, you realize precisely what to do.
A very good creator web site ought to really feel like that chair by the fireplace: heat, welcoming, and apparent.
The Hazard of Neglect
Even the best-built web site loses energy if it’s ignored. I’ve seen clear, easy pages slowly rework into digital ghost cities—outdated bios, damaged hyperlinks, previous occasion bulletins. As a substitute of inviting readers in, they sign neglect, like strolling right into a home with cobwebs within the hearth and a damaged chair within the nook.
Your website ought to by no means make a reader surprise in the event you’ve stopped writing.
The Writer Web site Guidelines
For many writers, the necessities aren’t sophisticated. You want:
- Your identify and photograph. Readers wish to know who you might be.
- Your books. Covers, blurbs, and clear hyperlinks to purchase—entrance and heart.
- A brief bio. One thing that connects with readers personally.
- An electronic mail sign-up. Your most beneficial instrument for staying related.
- Contact and social hyperlinks. A means for readers or collaborators to succeed in you.
That’s sufficient. Something extra dangers complicated the very folks you’re making an attempt to succeed in.
Why Readability Builds Belief
Right here’s the reality: Amazon already presents belief, velocity, and comfort. Your website doesn’t want to exchange Amazon. What it might do is add the private contact—a spot for readers to see your face, hear your story, and maybe purchase an autographed copy immediately from you.
Your website’s job is to not do every little thing. Its job is to welcome readers, level clearly to the place they’ll get your books, after which get out of the best way.
Resist the Temptation to Overcomplicate
The toughest half for writers is resisting the temptation so as to add extra. Extra phrases. Extra options. Extra cleverness. However every “further” dangers muddle. And as Miller reminds us, in the event you confuse, you lose.
So sure, you continue to want an internet site. However maintain it easy. Consider it as a entrance door, not a warehouse. A chair by the fireplace, not a cluttered room.
Once you get readability proper, your web site does its job quietly—making area to your actual focus: writing the following e book and connecting with the readers who’re ready to listen to your voice.
Evan Swensen is the founding father of Publication Consultants, an Alaska-based publishing firm devoted to serving to writers convey their tales to life. As a writer, creator, and editor, Evan has guided numerous authors by the journey of turning manuscripts into books. With many years of expertise, he continues to champion the ability of storytelling and the significance of connecting with readers.
If You Confuse, You Lose: A Writer’s Perspective on Writer Websites Share on X
