I recently realized how amazingly convenient an author links page can be and I thought I'd share with you a cool way to do it.
Most people use something called LinkTree which is an awesome service. You can display all of your author links to your site, blog, social media, etc. in one place. Cool right?
I loved the idea of an author's links page but wanted a more customizable option that didn't also have the words 'link.tree' everywhere.
With a little research, I found an alternative that is just as customizable, but with your individual brand throughout. And the great part is if you have a website then you already have everything you need to do it for free. It works for both mobile and desktop, too!
The link's page is essentially a published, but hidden page on your website that you customize for mobile viewing. You keep it unlinked so that the page is unreachable via your normal website navigation. So its not on any of your website tabs or the menu. However, you have the link address, in my case its raquelbyrnes.com/links and it takes you to my page of awesome buttons!
The thing I love about this method is that it matches my website aesthetic. I put a lot of thought into the colors I chose for my site and I also use this theme on my other social media accounts. I really like that everything vibes together. The link page has my background, font, even the color-changing features because I did it through my website. Which in this case is Wix but I have seen it done in Squarespace and Wordpress as well.
I threw some of my social media links on the bottom, but the main attraction here is the easily customizable buttons. I don't have to go and change the link in my bio all the time on Instagram or Twitter or whatever every time I want to add a blogpost or have a newsletter coming out. And it's great for book sales, promo links, freebies, and all the other things I love to share with readers. You can get as fancy as you like. I've seen author use thumbnails of their books as buttons, etc. I really love the streamlined look of the color shifting buttons so I went with that.
If you need a step-by-step tutorial on doing this on your particular webhost I found some a really detailed tutorials here and here for the two biggest web building sites, but the concepts transfer almost anywhere.
In other news, I made a Vegan Pumpkin Spiced latte the other day to celebrate the first non-three-digit day this month. Woo-hoo...its feeling like fall y'all! The fun part is I made the latte with pumpkin puree from one of my homegrown babies. So proud.
I didn't actually plant any pumpkin seeds this year. I think they are volunteers from our compost pile. They started to grow in my green bean beds and I didn't have the heart to pull them out. They were trying so hard!
What I got was a couple of small pumpkins the size of large coconuts. Not really carve-worthy. BUT, they were sweet and I love pumpkin flavor so...
My daughter and I made a vegan version of the Pumpkin Spice Latte from a recipe we found on, you guessed it, TikTok. It was really, really yummy! Surprisingly easy, I highly recommend you give it a try.
Lastly, something really uplifting just came across my desk and I got so excited I wanted to share it with you guys. If you have kids then Operation Story Time is going to be a godsend. A program that has children's book authors reading, drawing, and writing online for their teeny fans. I would have loved this!
If you have any links you find fun or helpful, drop me a comment. And if you try to make your own link page, tag me in a post so I can see the wonderful job you've done.
Never miss a new release, sale, or exciting update. Sign up here for my once-a-month newsletter: Electric Dreams Newsletter
I share news on tech innovations and how they affect us, publishing industry news, updates on my near-future thriller books, and recipes from my characters.