Simon Appleby, Bookswarm web design
SIMON APPLEBY
I run a micro-agency, Bookswarm, which for over ten years has specialised in working with authors, publishers and other bookish types. I starter my career in generalist agencies but started focusing on the publishing world in 2007. I have spent time working in-house for a publisher, and had the opportunities like writing an article for the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, speaking at publishing conferences and delivering training for the Publishing Training Centre.
TALK US THROUGH THE SERVICES YOU OFFER
We plan, design and build websites for our clients, mostly using WordPress - which means that clients can manage all the content themselves. Our process is designed to really dig in and understand the needs of our authors - what kind of market they're aiming at, what kind of content they want to create on an ongoing basis, how they use social media and e-mail marketing, and lots of other things borne of experience.
We also host and maintain our clients' sites - and we can handle domain name registrations too. We're a one-stop shop! Find more here.
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR CLIENTS
You've probably heard of some of our traditionally-published author clients: Dorothy Koomson, Jonathan Coe, Patrick Gale, Piers Torday, for example. But we have also worked with lots of authors who are self-publishing or who may be agented but not yet published. We have worked with authors all over the world, from Australia to California, New York to Egypt.
ROUGHLY HOW MUCH DO YOU CHARGE?
We have a standard author website proposal, which covers everything that's needed for £1,800 (excluding VAT). Empowered Authors get £100 discount on this price. We can also do more limited campaign microsites for less, and we can also help authors with incremental tweaks and updates to existing WordPress sites. We know we're not the cheapest, but our wealth of experience across a wide range of genres means we're worth it!
HOW CAN AUTHORS/PUBLISHERS FIND YOU?
You can visit our website at Bookswarm.co.uk
DO YOU HAVE AN EMAIL ADDRESS POTENTIAL CLIENTS CAN CONTACT YOU ON?
simon.appleby@bookswarm.co.uk
ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I am based in Essex and always happy to speak on the phone or meet people in London. We always exhibit at London Book Fair, so you can always arrange to meet us there too.