Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. In Author Portal → Book → SEO, click Generate with AI next to the meta description field. The AI reads your book's synopsis and produces a search-engine-ready description of 140–160 characters. You can edit it before saving, or regenerate as many times as you like.

Yes, on Established Author and Prolific Author plans. In the AI Webmaster chat, say something like “generate a logo for my book” or “create an author logo for me.” The AI produces a horizontal transparent PNG styled to match your book cover. Generated logos are saved to your Resource Library and applied to your site automatically.

Go to Author Portal → Resource Library to upload files the AI uses when building or improving your site. Supported formats include PDF, EPUB, DOCX, and TXT manuscripts, images (book cover, author photo, logo), and audio or video files. Free accounts get 50 MB of storage; Established Author gets 500 MB; Prolific Author gets 2 GB. Use clear filenames like cover.jpg, manuscript.pdf, or author-bio.docx so the AI can identify them correctly.

Yes. On the registration and login pages you will find a Sign in with Google button. Using Google lets you create an account or log in without setting a separate password. If you later need to reset access, simply use the same Google sign-in. Note that Google-linked accounts do not have a HostingAuthors password, so the "Forgot password" reset link will not apply.

On the login page, click Forgot your password? and enter your email address. We will send you a reset link within a few minutes. If you signed up with Google, you do not have a separate HostingAuthors password — use the Sign in with Google button instead.

Your podcast RSS feed URL is hostingauthors.com/podcast/your-author-url/feed.xml — replace your-author-url with the author URL shown in Author Portal → Author Hub. Submit this URL to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast directory. The podcast feed is available on the Prolific Author plan and pulls audio from published blog posts that have an audio file attached.

Your HostingAuthors bookstore accepts payments via PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. You connect your own payment account in Author Portal → Bookstore → Payment Settings, so funds go directly to you — HostingAuthors does not take a commission. You can enable one or more processors; buyers will see the options you have configured at checkout.

On the Established Author plan, your bookstore supports up to 100 completed orders per calendar month. If that limit is reached, new orders will be paused until the next month begins. The Prolific Author plan has no monthly order cap. Both paid plans keep 100% of your sales revenue with no per-transaction fee from HostingAuthors.

Yes. In Author Portal → Bookstore → Products you can add physical products such as paperback or hardcover editions alongside digital downloads. Physical orders generate a notification email to you with the buyer's shipping address so you can fulfil the order manually. Digital products deliver a secure download link automatically after payment.

When pointing a domain to HostingAuthors through Cloudflare, set the DNS record to DNS only (grey cloud icon) — not proxied (orange cloud). Cloudflare proxying intercepts our SSL verification and prevents the domain from being confirmed. Switch to DNS-only mode, wait a few minutes for DNS to propagate, then click Verify in Author Portal → Custom Domain.

Yes. Every element of your book page — background colors, heading colors, call-to-action button color, font, hero image, and footer — is fully customizable. Open the AI Webmaster (Portal → AI) and ask it to change your colors, or type the name of a color scheme (e.g., "dark navy and gold"). You can also use it to swap your cover image, author photo, or background image from your Resource Library. Changes appear live immediately.

Yes, on the Established Author ($9/mo) or Prolific Author ($19/mo) plan you can point a custom domain to your book page. Add the domain in Author Portal → Custom Domain, create a CNAME DNS record with your registrar, then click Verify. SSL is issued automatically.

Yes. If you have a book on SelfPublishing.pro with the same email address, open the book editor in your Author Portal and click the Import tab. Select a book from the dropdown and click Import. Your title, description, author bio, ISBNs, retailer links, and cover image are copied over automatically. A confirmation prompt warns you before overwriting any existing data.

Yes. On paid plans you can enable a bookstore for each book and add products (ebook, paperback, audiobook, bundles). Buyers pay via PayPal, Authorize.net, or Stripe — configured per bookstore. You keep 100% of the sale price; HostingAuthors charges no per-transaction commission.

Yes. In Author Portal → Book → Edit, scroll to the Press section to add a press kit and a press release. You can either paste in a direct URL or upload a file (PDF, etc.) from your Resource Library. Once saved, download links appear on your public book page so journalists and bloggers can access your materials directly.

On paid plans, visitors can subscribe to your mailing list directly from your book page. Subscribers receive a confirmation email and are only added after they confirm. Your subscriber list is managed through the integrated AuthorMailingLists.com platform — a link to your mailing list dashboard appears in Author Portal → Mailing List.

Yes, on the Established Author and Prolific Author plans. Visual statistics for your book pages and bookstore orders are available in your Author Portal dashboard. The free New Author plan does not include the statistics dashboard.

Yes, blogging and podcast publishing are available on the Prolific Author plan ($19/mo). Write and schedule posts in Author Portal → Blog — your public blog appears at /blog/your-author-url. For podcasts, configure your feed under Author Portal → Podcast and share the RSS URL with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast directory.

Yes, on the Prolific Author plan. In addition to per-book content, you can publish blog posts under your author profile at /blog/your-author-url. These posts are separate from individual book pages and are a good place for writing updates, news, and reader-focused content across your whole catalog. The AI Webmaster can also draft author-level blog posts for you.

Yes. The Established Author plan supports up to 10 book pages and the Prolific Author plan supports unlimited book pages. Each book gets its own URL (e.g., hostingauthors.com/your-book-title). On paid plans, your other books are cross-linked on each book page so readers can discover your full catalog.

The Author Hub (available on paid plans) is a central profile page at hostingauthors.com/authors/your-name that showcases your bio, author photo, and links to all your books in one place. Individual book pages (hostingauthors.com/your-book-title) focus on a single title with its cover, description, reviews, and buy links. Think of the Hub as your author homepage and each book page as a dedicated sales page.

Yes. In the book editor (Author Portal → Book → Edit), select which retailers to display on your book page. Supported retailers include Amazon, Audible, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play Books, eBookIt, and Goodreads. You can provide a specific URL for each retailer, or leave it blank to use a search link. You can also add a link directly to your HostingAuthors bookstore.

Yes. In Author Portal → Book → Reviews you can add reviews manually (reviewer name, rating, text, source, and optional URL) or import them directly from Goodreads in one click. Reviews appear in a dedicated section on your public book page and can be reordered or removed at any time.

Yes. Go to Author Portal → Book → Media to add links to articles, interviews, podcast appearances, TV/radio spots, or reviews. Each entry shows a title, type badge, and clickable link on your book page so visitors can explore your press history.

Yes. In Author Portal → Bookstore, open the discount codes section to create a promo code with a percentage off, an optional usage limit (or unlimited uses), and an optional expiry date. Shoppers enter the code at checkout and the discount is applied automatically.

Yes. You can choose annual billing when subscribing or upgrading. Established Author is $90/year (about $7.50/month — saving ~$18 vs monthly). Prolific Author is $190/year (about $15.83/month — saving ~$38 vs monthly). Annual plans renew automatically and follow the same cancellation policy as monthly plans.

Yes. In the AI chat (Portal → AI), type something like "build my website" and the AI will read your uploaded book cover and files (or scrape a URL you provide), generate your copy, choose colors from your cover, and create a hero image — all in one step. You can then ask it to adjust anything you want to change.

Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service are available via links in the site footer. The privacy policy explains what data we collect and how it is used. The terms cover author content responsibilities, subscriptions, and hosted pages.

Click Register (or sign in with Google) to create a free account. Then go to your Author Portal, click New Book, and fill in your title, cover, and description. Your book page is live immediately at hostingauthors.com/your-book-name. Upgrade your plan any time to unlock more features.

Yes. After you create an account, HostingAuthors may send you a small number of helpful setup reminders — for example, a prompt to add your first book, a notification when your book page is live, or a suggestion to complete your author hub. These emails are tied to your account activity and stop once setup is complete. You can always contact us at hello@hostingauthors.com if you have questions.

Yes. The Learning Center at hostingauthors.com/learn has step-by-step how-to guides on setting up your author site, using the AI Webmaster, configuring a custom domain, and more. The FAQ page covers common questions by topic. For direct support, use the Contact page to reach the HostingAuthors team.

The New Author plan is permanently free and includes one full book page with cover, description, FAQ, reader reviews, media mentions, purchase links to any retailer, and a customizable color theme. It does not include a custom domain, author hub page, mailing list, custom logo, bookstore, or blog and podcast. You can upgrade to a paid plan at any time to unlock those features.

There are three plans. New Author is free and includes 1 book page. Established Author is $9/month and includes up to 10 book pages, a custom domain, author page, mailing list, and custom logo. Prolific Author is $19/month and adds unlimited book pages plus a blog and podcast feed.

AuthorPass is a benefit program from SelfPublishing.pro. If you have an active AuthorPass subscription there, you can activate a free Established Author plan on HostingAuthors using the same email address — no payment required. Look for the "Claim your benefit" link on your Author Portal dashboard.

Go to Author Portal → Subscription and click Cancel. Your paid features remain active until the end of the current billing period, then your account reverts to the free New Author plan. No refunds are issued for partial months.

The AI assistant (accessible at Author Portal → AI) is a built-in chat tool that can read and update your book page content, suggest improvements, help with bio copy, and answer questions about your site — all without leaving the portal. You can also tell it to "build my website" and it will automatically generate colors, copy, and images from your book cover or a URL you provide.

Better SEO helps authors get found more easily, present books more professionally, and build a stronger long-term online presence.

Go to Author Portal → Author Hub → Social Links to add your Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Goodreads, or TikTok profile URLs. Links set on your author profile apply to all your book pages by default; you can also set different links per book. They appear as icons in the author section and footer of your public pages. The AI Webmaster can also add or update your social links — just tell it which platforms and profile URLs to use.