Starting Point

I didn't learn until I had completed a draft of my book that experienced authors say writing the book is 10% of the effort, finding a publisher is 30% and marketing it is 60%. I wonder if I would have written it if I had known that. Probably. Why we write is a strange question that perhaps we don't know the answer to. At this point I have written my book. Selected an epublisher and am setting up my marketing plan as I await the printing. The general advice I have found on the web is to have a web site that markets the book, a blog that points people to the book and a twitter account that points people to the blog. I have had blogs before using standard sites like blogger and enjoyed blogging until I run out of ideas on the particular topic I am blogging on. Having a web site is another kettle of fish. I tried one of the free ones once and I am sure no one ever found it. This time I purchased a package from a local company that offers a site and hosting for a very modest annual fee as long as you don't mind having their ad on your site. It's an unobtrusive ad so I don't think it makes much difference.The site package included five pages, a blog and a forum. I only used three pages: a home page explaining the site, a book page describing the book and an author page giving my background and experience. My book is non fiction so readers will presumably want to know if I am qualified in the subject before they buy. I chose to add the forum because my book is a self study book and I think some readers may like the opportunity to ask questions, share experiences and participate in group learning. More on my experiences in setting up the site later.