Regardless of how you publish your book, every author needs a website nowadays. When you use WordPress to build your author site, there are several plugins that are virtually a necessity. Let’s take a look at some of the best plugins every writer should use.
I often use the free version of several of these, but upgrading can provide more features in most cases. I suggest trying them out, seeing if they’re right for you, and then upgrading as necessary.
Best Plugins of WordPress for an Author Site
When I talk about WordPress in this regard, I am referring to self-hosted WordPress. This is when you get a web host and install the WordPress core yourself.
It’s very easy to do and has a wide range of benefits – one of which is the fact that it’s often cheaper than platforms like Wix or Squarespace.
In this instance, I’m only highlighting plugins specific to book authors and writers. So, I’m not going to mention backup, caching, SEO, or security plugins. You should already have essential plugins ready when first building a website.
1. WordPress Books Gallery
As an author, you want to show off what books you have available. Whether you’re selling them from your site or linking to Amazon, the WordPress Books Gallery is a great plugin to try.
It is important to note that some of the best features are locked behind the premium version. However, the free version still offers a lot, especially for a new author.
You can sell your own books or load WordPress Books Gallery with works from other authors. This means that it’s great for book blogs that focus on making sales through Amazon or another affiliate program.
You can also get a bit creative and link to other writing you have on the Internet. For instance, I’m adding the eBook cover to VII once it’s finished on Wattpad.
WordPress Books Gallery gives you several customization options. But as I said, a lot of the better tools and functions are locked in the premium version. It’s a minimum of $45 per year or $119 for a lifetime license. So, unless you plan on driving a lot of traffic to your blog, the premium version might not be the best investment for a beginner.
2. Author WIP Progress Bar
Although the Author WIP Progress Bar hasn’t been updated in a while, it’s still a good plugin in WordPress. It gives you a nice progression bar you can use to keep your fans in the loop when writing a new book.
You can upload the cover, change the color of the bar, add candy strip animation, and add information and links to other resources regarding the book.
For instance, I have a link to my YouTube playlists for the writing sprints I used to work on the manuscript. I’m promoting my book and the YouTube channel from a single block.
You don’t have to use the Author WIP Progress Bar exclusively for writing books. I also use it to keep track of how many words I’ve written for the year as I work on my goal of publishing a million words.
The idea with this plugin is to give your audience an idea of how much work you’ve put in and an estimation of when the manuscript is complete. It’s a fun addition to keep your fans interested.
3. Cool Timeline
Cool Timeline is another plugin you can use to highlight important dates for your book. Essentially, you can give visitors and fans a historical reference of your novel, series, characters, worlds, and much more.
The Timeline Block in WordPress comes with a variety of functions to customize the layout to your liking. Not only do you have horizontal and vertical options, but you can change the colors as well as the typography of the text.
The plugin also allows media blocks to show above each point in the timeline that you can upload, insert from another URL, or even have generated by AI.
Although you don’t necessarily need the Cool Timeline plugin for an author site, it’s a fun way to engage your readers while keeping them updated on your progress.
I often use the timeline as a landing page when I talk about the corresponding book.
4. The Events Calendar
As an author, you’ll undoubtedly attend events to either sell some books or sign some autographs. Whatever the cause, The Events Calendar is a great tool for WordPress to assist in highlighting those author events.
This free plugin gives your WordPress editor several new blocks to create pages specific to events and venues. Then, you can add the sidebar widget to show upcoming events automatically.
When those events have passed, the plugin will then hide it so to quell any confusion of what’s coming next.
Although The Events Calendar comes with ready-to-go block templates, you can use the Event Blocks to create unique pages or posts in your content. Then, you can add the address to a map and display it for all to see.
In my case, I place the event widget at the top on the right sidebar. That way, everyone can easily see it when they visit my author’s blog. Not to mention that I write a blog post about the event while using the available blocks.
5. MPL-Publisher
If you’re interested in turning blog posts into eBooks or audiobooks, MPL-Publisher is a great option. However, the audiobook (MP3 conversion) and print-ready-PDF functions are locked behind the premium version.
Nonetheless, you can export blog posts in ePub 2.0 or 3.0 formats, DOCX, TXT, and MD file types in the free version.
Essentially, you tell MPL-Publisher what posts you want to include in your book and the plugin will put it all together for you. This can save you a lot of time copying and pasting posts into a word processor to compile an eBook.
You can also duplicate and edit each post to make them suitable for eBook or printing formats. Add in the book’s meta information (ISBN, Publisher Name, etc.) and a cover, and you’ll have an ePub ready to go for your favorite book distribution channels.
In my case, I am putting together free eBooks regarding specific topics on this blog. That way, someone can download and read them all instead of spending time searching through the blog’s library.
It’s a way of repurposing content you’ve already written.
6. WPForms
Most blogs and websites should have some kind of contact form. While most of the messages you’ll get are spam (Akismet helps with that), it provides a way for others to get in touch for a variety of reasons.
WPForms gives you everything you need as an author so anyone can contact you through WordPress. Its builder is very easy to use, and the free version comes with all the fields a writer will need for most situations.
You can add Google reCaptcha to limit spam, add drop-down selections, multiple-choice options, and more. Then, you can use the block or shortcode to add the form anywhere in WordPress.
In my case, I use WPForms for the author registration form for the interviews, a way for sponsors to contact me, and for others to reach out for collaborations.
If you want to accept payments through your forms, you’ll need to upgrade to the premium account. The free version of WPForms only has Stripe available.
7. Akismet
Spam is a constant problem, whether you have a basic author blog or building an eCommerce powerhouse in WordPress. There are a lot of tools that can help eliminate spam, and perhaps one of the best is that of Akismet.
Akismet is one of the most popular plugins developed by Automattic, the developer of WordPress.
This plugin automatically scans the comment section as well as your forms to filter out unwanted messages. It adds a few functions and features directly to the WordPress core such as seeing the number of approved comments for each user, which comments were caught, revealing hidden or misleading links, and more.
Akismet works so well that it’s often one of the default plugins that are automatically installed when you self-host WordPress.
Keep in mind that no tool is absolute. Some spam will still get through to the comment section and forms. However, it is greatly reduced by Akismet.
8. Email Subscribers by Icegram Express
Email marketing is still one of the most cost-efficient methods for advertising. According to data, you can make between $36 and $40 for every $1 you spend on email marketing.
When it comes to selling books, surveys show that using email marketing can increase book sales by 50%!
Icegram’s Email Subscribers plugin gives you a feature-rich platform for growing a subscriber list and engaging that audience. It’s exceptionally versatile and compatible with some of the most popular plugins for WordPress.
Ready-made email templates, cart recovery options, blog post notifications, unlimited contacts and emails, and more are at your disposal.
The only reason why I stopped using Icegram is because I decided to try Substack. Yet, I’m debating on bringing the newsletter back to the blog with Icegram.
9. WooCommerce
Selling books directly from your website is a great way to cut out the middleman. Of course, how much you make depends on your marketing prowess. Still, you can make approximately 50% more per sale on your own site than you can through Amazon.
WooCommerce is one of the most popular eCommerce tools on the Internet for selling just about anything you can think of.
It’s an open-source, free store plugin for WordPress that has a slew of options for selling. Not to mention the vast number of plugins developed by others to integrate with WooCommerce.
The bottom line is that if you want to sell books and related merchandise (like posters, mugs, or shirts) from your blog, WooCommerce is the tool to use.
Remember, though, that sales of any kind on your blog rely on traffic. If you don’t have a lot of visitors, you won’t make a lot of money.
Why Use Self-Hosted WordPress for an Author Site?
When it comes to building an author site, WordPress has a lot to offer that a lot of platforms don’t. While it does take a bit more tweaking in the backend, most of the tools are automated. And with a massive community, you can find help everywhere.
In fact, there is a WordPress Meetup group in just about every major city across the globe. There’s a reason why WordPress runs about 43.6% of all websites on the Internet.
There are a few reasons why I prefer using self-hosted WordPress to something like Wix or Squarespace.
- It’s cheaper overall.
- Tens of thousands of plugins to choose from.
- Thousands of themes and templates for designs.
- Easy to build your own themes and templates.
- Access to HTML and coding for direct changes.
- Can monetize any way you see fit.
- Easy to migrate content without jumping through hoops.
- A plethora of ways to customize a single theme or template.
- Integrates well with the most popular online tools.
And these are just the things off the top of my head.
For instance, I can sell my books through my author blog while also adding ad revenue to generate a bit of extra income. Most free platforms don’t allow adding ad-sharing platforms like AdSense.
It only costs me around $106 for a single blog through GreenGeeks Web Hosting for three years making it $2.95 per month. Wix and Squarespace are five times more expensive.
I can access any part of the HTML, CSS, or PHP elements if I want to make specific coded changes. Most other platforms deny access to the backend.
My name is my brand. I don’t have to share the URL with anyone else, and it’s obvious who owns the domain. Free platforms will have their domains within your site’s address.
Anyway, you can use any platform you wish to create an author blog. I prefer WordPress and have been using it since 2008, after migrating from Joomla.
A Base of Operations
I am a proponent of all authors having an online presence beyond social media nowadays. In fact, every well-known author has one whether it’s run on WordPress or not. It’s simply a great base of operations.
You can write about the progress of a new book, give in-depth answers to interview questions, sell books and merch, and make announcements of new projects or collaborations.
Not to mention that branding the URL can do wonders for getting your name out there. If you’re curious, Google my name.
My point is that you can connect so much back to your author site to ultimately grow your online presence far beyond a few thousand followers on Twitter. Plus, it doesn’t look too bad if you’re querying or applying for writing jobs if you have an author site complete with what you offer.
The more you can highlight yourself as an author, the better. I’ve seen some people say you should promote the title of your book more than your name. Actually, it should be nearly an even split leaning more toward you as the author.
Think of your favorite authors. When you see their names show up, you know what to expect from those books. You start to build that reputation today with an author site.
It’s All Part of Marketing
Having a blog as a base of operations as an author is part of the intricate web that is marketing. From highlighting your name to promoting your books, a solid foundation can prove exceptionally beneficial.
Of course, that also depends on how well you promote the blog.
Whether you use WordPress to build an author site or something else, it’s best to have a central point where fans can find your work. Given how much of a dumpster fire most social media is nowadays, it’s good to have a place where others can easily find you.
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