Chapter 16: Best Author Themes to Sell Books

The publishing world has changed dramatically since the mid-1900s, going from print runs to print on demand to ebooks. Many of today’s most skilled authors are self-published gurus running their own e-commerce stores and selling their books directly to the masses. 

Finding author themes isn’t an easy task. The design has to showcase your genre as well as the unique titles that make you who you are as a writer. Branding is a crucial component of success. You want readers to remember your name and your books so they’ll tell others and come back for future releases.

You could limit your options only to those WordPress themes focused on books and writing. However, this would leave you with some pretty humdrum options. Instead, we expanded our search to include categories such as romance, science fiction and mystery. 

What to Look for in Author Themes

There are approximately 151,200 authors and writers in the United States, with an average growth rate of 4% annually. While some of the positions are for copywriting or other business-based positions, others are book writers creating content for publishing houses or producing on their own.

If you need a website to showcase your talents, some of the features you should look for include:

• About Page
• Shopping cart capabilities
• Blog
• Rich images for covers and headshot

An author page can be as simple or complex as you’d like. The overall goal is to sell stories, so you’ll definitely want something compatible with WooCommerce.

Writers often make very little when starting out so you’ll also want something with a free component and that is easy for you to update alone without the help of a web designer. WordPress is an excellent platform for the do-it-yourselfer.

Writers, Here Are Our Favorites

We spent some time looking at several categories, including themes for authors, portfolios and newspapers. After throwing out anything that didn’t offer a free component and considering what other author sites are like, we’ve narrowed the options down to give we think will be a perfect match for nearly any writer. 

Bookshop

Bookshop is the child theme of Author/Writer and offers a ton of flexibility with child themes, add ons and customization without spending more money. One thing we like about this particular design is that you can sell a variety of books by different authors, giving you a nice side income in addition to your royalties.

Upgrade to the premium author theme for only $39 and gain features such as responsive layout, theme customization, WooCommerce compatibility and unlimited color combinations. For $79, you can gain access to all their themes in a bundle, giving you even more options. 

Author Blog

The free version has some limitiations but still allows you to see how the theme functions and if it’s right for your needs. Upgrade to the Pro version for $57 per year or $197 for lifetime updates and gain some useful perks, such as:

• Featured book slider 
• Custom book pages 
• Book showcase widget 
• Author bio widget 
• Additional homepage layouts 
• Sticky menu

If you prefer to hear about the theme in a video, they offer one on their website that shows you how to utilize this design. 

Author Portfolio

Author Portfolio is an excellent free option for authors to showcase their backlist online. The minimalistic look is sleek and modern. You can customize these theme to match your genre quite easily by customizing colors or images. 

Upgrade to Pro for $59 per year or $99 for life and gain updates and support. With the package, you’ll gain additional layouts, support, book gallery and more customization options. 

Leona – The Book Authors Theme

Leona puts the full focus on the writer, their background and what makes them unique. We love the blog looking layout but the addition of a shop so you can sell your books as you connect with your readers.

The theme runs $64 with six months of support. You can extend the support to a full year for another $19.50. Some of the out-of-the-box perks of this design include:

• Showcase of current and upcoming titles
• Events area 
• Shopping cart feature 
• Samples of your work 
• Author bio widget 
• Promotional features 
• Blog

You can also customize everything from site favicons to icons to layouts. 

Our Winner: MyBook

MyBook gives authors a chance to feature their titles without spending a fortune on a theme. You will have to pay to use this particular one but it’s worth it for the easy editing features and easy installation. 

The top of the page features a showcase for your latest title with a call to action button. Next is an About the Author section with a spot for your photo to add personalization to the design. Utilize the themes dashboard to create a unique color scheme that matches the tone of your novels. 

Some of the more interesting features with MyBook WordPress theme include a sample book download area and predefined block layouts. You’ll also gain:

• Ability to move blocks around by dragging them 
• Mobile responsiveness 
• On the fly image resizing 
• Reset to global look 
• Newsletter block to collect contact info 
• WooCommerce compatible 
• WPML compatible 
• SEO friendly

A single site license runs $59 and comes with a year off updates and support but lifetime usage. For $179, you can join their club and get lifetime updates and support for all their themes. 

Choose the Best Author Themes for Your Books

Finding the right look to showcase your creative endeavors requires a bit of trial and error. Remember any WordPress theme can be customized with the right coding or upgrades to give you the personality you seek for your brand. 

The themes above are an excellent choice for most authors and will get your books into the world so you can start selling them. 

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