I visited some online writers’ forums this past weekend, doing some research about the kind of self-promotion questions that new authors might have. One of the discussion threads I found dealt with whether or not there was a point to having a blog and/or a website, or even registering a domain name, before a writer had actually gotten a publishing contract.
My answer to this question is, “Yes, it’s worth it. Start early.” Why wait until your book is published to start building an online presence for yourself? Getting a jumpstart on a website full of content relating to your book is going to help your online publicity in the long run. Don’t wait until your book hits stores for the search engines to start finding you. (This is by no means advocating keyword spamming. I’m talking about good, strong, natural content.)
At the very least, go ahead and register your domain name(s), including www.YourName.com. With domain name registrars like GoDaddy, who frequently offer discount codes, domain registration for a year usually runs less than $10.
Rachal Donadio published an article in The New York Times a couple of weeks ago that focuses more on general marketing buzz for books rather than specifically talking about online publicity, but I think what she writes only adds to my point:
[…] publishing still relies on a time-honored, time-consuming sales strategy: word of mouth. […]
“It’s not only buzz, it’s a product introduction — but with nothing like the advertising or marketing budget that a piece of soap would have,” said David Rosenthal, the publisher of Simon & Schuster. With the Internet and blogs, word of mouth travels more quickly today, but there’s a glut of information. To help a book break through the static, publishers have to plan months in advance.