Author Website

I've been thinking about creating a website for myself. I have friends who have author websites, and it definitely seems like a good idea once you're at a certain level of success. I mean if you have a book or a ton of journal publications, absolutely. Someone reads a piece in a journal, wants to learn more about you and your other publications, and can find out you easily online. Or if an agent reads something and is interested, the agent could track you down (that happened recently to a friend of mine!).

But it seems aspirational to do it now. I'm sure I don't need a website yet. I don't have a book, and my publication rate of essays, stories, and poems is about one per year, so I'm hardly in a situation where tons of readers are trying to find out more about me and where they can read my work.

But maybe that is the exact right time to do it. If I set up a site now, then when the day comes that I have a book, or when I start publishing multiple pieces a year, I'll already be easy for readers to find.

I don't know. I'm curious if anyone out there has thoughts about this topic. If you'd care to comment, I'd love to know what other people have done or are considering doing. When does it make sense to do it?