I am working on a new & improved website for authors 😎
Plus, a ton of other random updates...
Every 3 weeks, I share my notes on building Shepherd.com.
Join the rebellion and help me create the indie book platform readers and authors deserve! Three hurrahs for our 867 Founding Members who keep us independent and fund new features. Readers and authors can become Founding Members (both get special perks, and more perks are coming as we grow).
My mood is…
Apart from a week with a nasty cold, we are humming along 😎.
New website for authors
I am moving our current “for authors” website to a new platform. We’ve been using Squarespace, but it has become too limiting. I am switching over to Ghost, and I should be finished with this move in ~ three weeks.
Why am I switching?
The new design/structure makes it a lot easier to share more information and keep it updated.
The move will allow me to add sections for readers, publishers, and other book communities.
I hope that sharing more of this information will accelerate our membership growth, which is crucial to our ability to build Shepherd.
Here is a preview of the new roadmap page:
And a timeline of big events and features at Shepherd:
Best Books of 2024 update!
We hit over 2,000 reader submissions for the Best Books of 2024! It gives me a lot of joy to see everyone using it 😁. Plus, due to some nice mentions this month, we had an extra burst of 60,000 visitors.
I’ve already had great luck with the book recommendations. I read Dungeon Crawler Carl last month, and it is one of the best fiction books I’ve read in the last few years.
How are the new book series pages coming?
They are 99% done, but we hit a small roadblock.
The API provider we used to create the data that creates the concept of a “book series” in our backend was bought by a hedge fund, which promptly discontinued the product and raised prices. Weeeeeee!
So…
We are having to switch to a new API provider. I don’t know how long that will take, but it could be a month or two. In the meantime, we are finishing the last 1% of work so we are ready to launch once this is fixed.
What are we building over the next 12 months?
I did a live Zoom event with authors last weekend; here is a sketch of our roadmap over the next 12+ months. Sorry for my scratchy throat; I was just getting over a cold.
What else is going on?
We started working on the massive upgrade to our bookshelves. Once our part-time developers dig in (details in the video above), I'll share more details next month.
The designer and I are 50% done with the improved ad designs and integrations. I am excited to see how these compare to our baseline ads.
The designer and I are 75% done with some quick UX improvements to the book section of the website.
The designer and I are 75% done with some quick UX improvements to the book section of the website.
I finished a bunch of design specs in the last few weeks:
One is for bringing the Book DNA data into the book cards we use around the website.
One is for the upcoming TBR app for readers.
One is for updates to improve the Books Like pages for readers.
I am also about 50% done with the first part of the dev spec for the interesting facts and stories work.
I am feeling productive!
What is going on outside of Shepherd?
We are headed to Spain for my son’s two-week Winter break. I am ecstatic, as Spain is one of my favorite places in the world. I am looking forward to a lot of bike rides, sunshine, and delicious food.
What am I reading now?
I just finished…
A Soldier's Life by AlwaysRollsaOne—I love fiction about Ancient Rome, and this book moves Ancient Rome into a fantasy world (along with some LitRPG elements). I am really enjoying it and am about to finish book #3. I can’t quite tell why I am enjoying it so much, as the characters are not crazy deep, but the world has ensnared me.
Not Till We Are Lost (Bobiverse #5) - I love this series and Dennis Taylor didn’t disappoint with book #5. I can’t wait to see where it goes.
A Tide of Black Steel by Anthony Ryan - This is a fantastic fantasy book from an author I enjoy. The first 150 pages were a bit slow, but once I got the characters and world, I was hooked. He has created an amazing world, and I am looking forward to the sequel this summer.
The Russia House by John le Carre—My brother picked this as his choice for our family book club. It is my first John le Carre book, and I thought it was okay. However, my brother said this book wasn’t as good as his others. I am going to try The Little Drummer Girl next.
I am reading...
Damascus Station By David McCloskey - This was my pick for our family book club. I found this book through Shepherd.
Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It
by Ian Leslie - I am doing some research on curiosity as it is one of the big foundations of Shepherd in the coming years.
Have a great weekend,
Ben
P.S. From my favorite city in Spain!
