The best way to plan your own author website is to look closely at the ones that work. Not at their colours, which suit their books and not yours, but at the decisions underneath: what comes first, what they give away, how they answer the questions readers ask.
Here are fifteen fiction author websites, from bestsellers to indie series writers, across thrillers, romance, fantasy, mystery and literary fiction. Each one does at least one thing worth copying, and each ends with that thing in a sentence. We visited every site on 16 October 2026. None of these authors paid to be listed, and none of them uses Draft Margin. Sites change, so a detail or two may have moved on since.
1. Brandon Sanderson
Epic fantasy · brandonsanderson.com
Sanderson has written a great many books across several connected worlds, which makes “where do I start?” a real problem. His answer is a page that starts from the reader, not the books: readers who do not usually read fantasy are pointed to Steelheart or Elantris, fantasy readers to Mistborn or The Way of Kings, romance readers to Warbreaker, and younger readers to Alcatraz. A free fiction library offers two complete novels and a shelf of shorter pieces, with no signup in the way. On the home page, progress bars show how far along each book in progress is, which gives regular visitors a reason to come back.
Borrow this: if you have more than one series, write a “where do I start?” page that asks what the reader already likes.
2. Mark Dawson
Thrillers · markjdawson.com
The first item in Dawson’s menu is “Free Milton Thrillers”: two exclusive novellas in exchange for an email address, delivered through BookFunnel, with a list of the devices they will work on. A Reading Order menu has a separate guide for each of his three series. The John Milton guide goes in story order with a note on every book, names the natural starting point, and says publication order works too. He also sells direct from his own shop, including a signed bundle of the first three Milton books.
Borrow this: put your free book in the main menu, not the footer, and say exactly what the reader gets.
3. L.T. Ryan
Thrillers · ltryan.com
Three buttons sit at the top of the page: explore the books, “New here? Start here”, and meet the author. Further down, the site asks readers whether they are new or already partway through a series, and sends each to a different place. Every series has a numbered reading-order guide with “Start here” over the first book, a second route that weaves in the linked series, and the next preorder already in the list. The free first chapters end with links to the book, the reading guide, the newsletter and the first chapter of another series, so a reader who finishes one is never left at a dead end.
Borrow this: end every sample chapter with the next step: buy the book, read on, or sign up.
4. J.F. Penn
Supernatural and historical thrillers · jfpenn.com
“Get a free thriller and join my email list” is on the home page, in plain words. Book pages put buying direct first, with one sentence of explanation (“Buying direct supports the author most, and ships worldwide”), then Amazon and the other shops. Each lists its formats: ebook, paperback, foiled hardback, large print and audiobook. A Worlds page groups the books into seven storyworlds, each with a one-line hook, and the home page labels the first book of the main series “Start at the beginning”.
Borrow this: if you sell direct, say in one sentence why it helps.
5. Rachel Amphlett
British crime thrillers · rachelamphlett.com
The Reader Club page names exactly what joining brings: two free short stories, each by its title. A reading guide and checklist lists the books in publishing order and in series order. The most unusual page is a library request form: a document readers can download and hand to their library, whatever their country or format, with links to the BorrowBox, Hoopla and Libby apps. There is a page for book clubs too, and the newest book is the first thing on the home page, marked “Out now”.
Borrow this: give library readers a way to ask for your books.
6. Freida McFadden
Psychological thrillers · freidamcfadden.com
The newest book comes first, with an “Out now” banner and the next preorder beside it. Its page has the blurb, the release date, every format with its narrator, and buy links in tabs for the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and Canada, across eight shops. A content warnings page lists each book’s warnings in a section of its own, closed until you open it, under a spoiler notice, and each book page links to it. There are discussion questions for fifteen books, a printable booklist and a page about signed copies.
Borrow this: content warnings, kept one click away so they help the readers who want them and spoil nothing for the rest.
7. Jana DeLeon
Cosy mystery · janadeleon.com
“The latest from Jana” heads the home page: book 31 of the Miss Fortune series. Its page has the blurb, the release date, an excerpt, and a link to buy the ebook from her own shop, followed by Apple, Kindle, Nook, Google Play, Kobo and Amazon’s other countries. The series page numbers all 31 books, so a new reader knows at once where to begin. A Media Room offers a high-resolution author photo and around forty covers, ready for anyone writing about her, and her reader group has a name of its own.
Borrow this: number every book in a series, everywhere it appears.
8. Louise Penny
Literary mystery · louisepenny.com
Penny’s events page is genuinely current: festivals, a virtual bookshop event and a launch night with ticket links, livestreamed for readers who could not get a seat. The new book’s page groups its preorder links by country, including a way to order from Canada’s independent bookshops. Book club questions come as a downloadable sheet for each of 22 titles, behind a spoiler warning. Then come the extras readers share with each other: a pronunciation guide, maps of the village where the books are set, an archive of past newsletters, and the whole site in English or French.
Borrow this: one small extra for fans, such as a map, a pronunciation guide or a list of characters.
9. Kristen Ashley
Romance · kristenashley.net
A Coming Soon block shows the next book with its date and a preorder link. The Reading Order page explains how her connected series fit together, so that characters who appear in each other’s books arrive in the right order. It pairs particular titles (read Breathe before Rock Chick Revolution) and notes which series are more explicit. A printable booklist with publication dates is kept up to date, the events page has dates and ticket links, and a press kit offers full-resolution headshots in two orientations, covers and a contact for press enquiries.
Borrow this: if your series cross over, say which to read first and why.
10. Pippa Grant
Romantic comedy · pippagrant.com
“Get a free novella!” goes to BookFunnel, where joining the newsletter is a checkbox the reader can leave empty: generous, and honest. The Reading Order page offers four views: by series, by story timeline, by publication date, and by “Miniverse”. Best of all, a Find Your Next Read page filters the books by format, series, kind of hero (grumpy, single dad) and trope (enemies to lovers, fake relationship), which is exactly how many romance readers choose their next book. There are printable checklists, a chart of how the books connect, a map, and a page for buying from independent bookshops.
Borrow this: if readers of your genre shop by trope, let them browse by trope.
11. Elsie Silver
Romance · elsiesilver.com
The newest book, first in a new series, is the first thing on the home page, followed by a Series Starters shelf showing book one of every series side by side. On the books page, every title has its blurb and buy links split by country, including a proper British list (Waterstones, Blackwell’s, Hive, WHSmith and Bookshop.org’s UK shop) as well as the American and Canadian ones. A free novella can be read or listened to through BookFunnel, and the press page offers a downloadable media kit, dated this year.
Borrow this: a shelf of series starters, so a new reader can choose where to begin at a glance.
12. Ilona Andrews
Urban fantasy · ilona-andrews.com
The Start Here page gives three ways in: a short summary of each series and its tone, an “If you like…” guide, and a nine-question quiz. Its advice is disarmingly frank: for one long series, it suggests starting with the third book, because “the first two are meh”. A release schedule says what is coming next with an honest timeframe (“second half of 2027”) and the status of every series. About 35 free stories can be read on the site, grouped by series, with no signup.
Borrow this: candour. Telling readers where a series really gets going earns more trust than any review quote.
13. Lindsay Buroker
Fantasy and science fiction · lindsayburoker.com
A For New Readers box points straight to two free series starters, one fantasy and one space opera, alongside the reading order and the full book list. The novels are grouped by genre and then by series, with a note on where each novella fits, and the first Emperor’s Edge book has a three-chapter excerpt with links to five shops. Because she writes in two genres, she runs two newsletters, and the science fiction signup page names every bonus story a subscriber receives.
Borrow this: if you write in two genres, offer two mailing lists.
14. Will Wight
Progression fantasy · willwight.com
A page called Buying Will’s Books explains plainly where each format is sold: ebooks on Amazon or through libraries, audiobooks on Audible, and a new run of trade print editions. It goes on to bookshops in other countries, library apps, requesting the books from a library, and ordering from a local bookshop. A “Where do I start?” section names the first book of each series, and the blog posts monthly.
Borrow this: if your ebooks are exclusive to one shop, explain where to find them before readers have to ask.
15. Ann Patchett
Literary fiction · annpatchett.com
The site is deliberately small: six items in the menu. Book pages send readers first to Parnassus Books, the bookshop she co-owns, for signed copies, then to Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble, the publisher, Libro.fm for the audiobook, and a link for international orders. Her appearances page lists dated events months ahead, and the media page sorts years of interviews and essays into three plain headings: Read, Listen and Watch.
Borrow this: a short menu. Six items is plenty.
What the best ones have in common
- They answer “where do I start?” Most of these sites have a start-here page, a numbered series list or a reading order, and the best explain their reasoning.
- The newest book comes first, with its date and a way to buy or preorder it.
- The free book is named. The sites that grow their lists say exactly what a reader gets for an email address, by title.
- They link more than one shop, often grouped by country, so a reader in Leeds or Toronto is not sent to the wrong Amazon.
- They serve the trade with a press kit, photos and covers that can be downloaded, and a contact.
- They give fans something to share: a map, a checklist, a quiz, content warnings, book club questions.
Even the best have rough edges
Nearly every one of these sites had something out of date, broken or unfinished on the day we looked: a link to the wrong book, an event from last year, a placeholder nobody replaced. That is not a criticism. It is what happens to any website kept by a busy author, and it is the most useful lesson on this page: put a date in your calendar twice a year to click every link on your own site.
Doing the same on your site
Most of what these sites do well comes down to a few habits rather than an expensive build: a page for every book, series in numbered order, the newest book first, more than one shop, and a mailing list with a named reason to join. Our guide to making an author website goes through each of them, whatever you build with.
On Draft Margin, several of them happen on their own. You fill in your books and series, and the theme numbers the series, puts the next release on the home page with its preorder links, and gives each book its own page with its shops and sample chapters. You can open the live demos, with real books in them, and it is free: here is why.