The Writers Bridge | Author Website 101: Building Your Homebase with Lynda Hammes
July 28 @ 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm EDT
Do you actually need a website, or is social media enough?
A website is the one piece of your author platform you actually own—and it might be the most underused sales and discovery tool authors have.
Every author eventually asks the same question: do I really need my own website, or can I just live on Instagram and Substack? The honest answer is that social platforms come and go, algorithms change overnight, and none of it belongs to you. A website is different. It’s your one-stop business card, mailing list nerve center, and permanent home base—the one place readers, agents, and editors can find the real, current story of who you are and what you write.
We’ll cover what actually belongs on an author website (and what doesn’t), why an email sign-up matters more than almost anything else on the page, how a website helps new readers discover your books through search, and how to keep readers engaged between releases. We’ll also talk through the practical build question every author faces: pay for a custom build, DIY on a platform like Wix, Squarespace, or WordPress, or use an author-specific tool like Tertulia, built to make author websites easy and fast.
Join us TUESDAY JULY 28 at 1PM EASTERN – live and FREE on Zoom, all welcome!
Our special guest
Lynda Hammes is the co-founder of Tertulia, a platform reimagining online book discovery and community, and an all-in-one website, email marketing, and direct-sales builder made specifically for authors. Her career spans journalism, magazine publishing — including her tenure as Publisher/Chief Revenue Officer at Foreign Affairs — and brand strategy and growth marketing consulting. That background in content, audience, and digital growth now shapes how Tertulia helps authors build a real, lasting connection with readers.
Join your hosts Allison K Williams (SEVEN DRAFTS), Sharla Yates (CRAFT TALKS) and our special guest for this lively, funny hour of frank talk about writing careers, publishing realities, and how authors can position themselves and their books in the world.
FREE, all welcome! Sign up to receive the Zoom link the day before.
Enjoy past recorded sessions here
Closed captioning is available. ✔
All registrants receive the recording. ✔
ABOUT YOUR PRESENTERS
Allison K Williams has edited and coached authors to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, St. Martin’s Press, and numerous small presses. An expert in author marketing and community building, her platform includes the Brevity Blog (80k+ followers), Instagram (10k+), a mailing list (12k+), and Facebook (5k+), with publications in the New York Times and appearances on NPR and CBC. Her book, Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro from Blank Page to Book, sold on proposal. She leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreats and co-hosts The Writers Bridge.
Sharla Yates is the author of the poetry chapbook What I Would Say if We Were to Drown Tonight, published by Stranded Oak Press (2017). She hosts a webinar series, CRAFT TALKS for writers on writing, and co-hosts The Writers Bridge with Allison K Williams. Her nonfiction essay, “Address” was a finalist for the 2015 Columbia Journal writing contest and the 2016 Penelope Niven Creative Nonfiction Award. She is the former Director of Education at the Creative Nonfiction Foundation and teaches creative writing at the University of Pittsburgh.
Questions? Please email Info@writingcraft.com
