So, you have created an author website and you want to create a place you can showcase all of your work – a beautifully presented bibliography. But how should you structure the content?

Let’s not forget why you are taking the time to build your presence on the internet – to highlight the fabulous books (short stories, flash fiction, comics…) you write!

There are several approaches to a writer’s professional bibliography – though hopefully a more visually pleasing and interactive bibliography than you found at the back of your high school textbooks! Don’t forget that these pages can include more than just a blurb and cover. Ensure there are links to buy, any related events, media coverage, reviews from users (not just publications!), fan art, extra pieces you’ve written set in the same world, notes on the writing, and more.

An author website is like having a digital CV

The one-page bibliography: The simplest option

List out your publications, broken down in a sensible way. For example, listing out books, short stories, podcasts, and so on separately and in chronological order of publication. For anything that is available online, make sure that each listing is hyperlinked to where readers can access the content. For books, either include a link to the publisher’s page for the book or a Goodreads (or other platform) that provides more detail on the publication.

One page per book: For the most in-depth content

This approach works if your publications tend to be large, long-form texts. However, if you are anywhere near as prolific as Stephen King, this approach would not only be over-kill but incredibly difficult for users to navigate.

If you take this approach, you need to think about ease of navigation. It is common to have a ‘Publications’ or ‘Books’ item in your website’s menu with a drop down link to each publication’s page. On each book’s page, include the book cover, blurb, any quotes you received from other authors or publications, as well as links to Goodreads (encourage readers to add the book to their ‘Want to Read’ list) and links to online bookshops.

Bibliography by grouped page entries: A combination approach

Do you tend to write books in a series? Great! Make a page dedicated to the series. Feature the individual titles, reviews, covers and variants, extras, and behind the scenes insights.

Do you write a lot of different kinds of content but have too much out there for a one-pager? Create a page for each kind of work you produce, such as listing out short stories, books (or books by different genres, for different age groups, etc), and more. This is a much better approach for those of you who have a large back catalogue but want to give more details than a simple list page. You can also mix it up, with some pages featuring more in-depth content and others being a more basic list.

If you still aren’t sure what you prefer, take some time to look at other author websites. What do you like on their websites? How have they structured their bibliographies? Copying a structure or flow of information is not stealing someone’s intellectual property, so don’t worry about taking inspiration from others!

If you have any questions about your publications page, drop us a comment below 👇.