An author hub is your public-facing storefront for recruiting advance readers. It's a simple catalog page at /author/{slug} that lists your books with retail links and a signup form for readers who want to join your ARC team. No coding, no third-party services—it lives inside Pendrilo and costs nothing to run.
The goal is straightforward: give readers a single, polished place to discover what you've written and express interest in reading early copies. In return, you build a roster of committed readers who'll leave reviews at launch.
Why You Need an Author Hub
If you're running ARC campaigns, you already know that building a reader list is half the battle. A public author page does three things:
It centralizes discovery. Instead of asking readers to hunt for your catalog across Amazon, Goodreads, and your website, you give them one place. Every book links to its retail listing, so readers can add it to their wishlist or check out your series at a glance.
It filters for serious readers. The application form (with a honeypot and optional screening question) weeds out spam bots and people who aren't really interested. You get applicants, not just curiosity clicks. You approve them into your ARC campaigns one at a time, so you stay in control of your reader roster.
It builds trust. A professional catalog page signals that you're a serious author managing a real program. Readers are more likely to apply—and follow through with reviews—when they see you're organized.
Setting Up Your Author Slug
Your slug is the unique URL path that readers will use to find your page. It's yours to choose once, and it stays the same for life. Think of it as your author URL: pendrilo.com/author/your-slug.
To set your slug, open Pendrilo and navigate to your Workshop tab. Look for the ARC section (member-only feature). You'll see a field labeled "Your author slug." Pick something short, memorable, and easy to type. Common choices include your last name, your pen name, or a combination—jane-smith, j-m-novak, or amelia-writes all work. Hyphens are allowed; spaces and special characters are not.
Once you set it, share that link everywhere: your website, email signature, Twitter bio, newsletter footer. It's your hub.
Linking Your Catalog
Your public page displays every book in your Pendrilo library. It pulls the book title, cover, and logline (a short private summary you write in your book details). Each book card links to its retail listing.
To add retail links, go to Workshop → Releases for any book. You'll see rows for each platform where the book is live: KDP ebook, KDP paperback, IngramSpark, Apple Books, Kobo, and direct sales. Fill in the retail URL for each format you publish on. When readers visit your author page, they'll see "Read on Amazon," "Read on Kobo," and so on, each pointing to the right place.
Your logline appears below each book's cover on the public page. Write something that hooks a reader—not a sales blurb, but a one-sentence snapshot of what the book is about. "A young archivist uncovers a conspiracy in her university library" works better than a paragraph of marketing copy. This is your chance to show readers what you write.
Building Your ARC Application Form
Below your catalog, readers see a form to apply for your ARC team. It's simple by design: name, email, optional screening question. That's it.
The screening question is where you filter readers. You might ask "What genres do you read?" or "Have you posted reviews on Amazon before?" or "Which of my books interests you most?" Leave it blank if you want to accept all applicants automatically; add one if you'd rather vet people by hand before they get access to early copies.
The form includes a honeypot (a hidden field that catches bot submissions) and an arithmetic anti-spam check, so you won't waste time deleting fake signups. When readers submit, you see their application in your Workshop → ARC section. You can approve or decline them from there, and they get an email confirming their status.
Managing Applications and Your Reader Roster
Every application lands in Pendrilo. Open Workshop → ARC → Readers, and you'll see all submitted applications. Click "Approve" and the reader joins your roster. If someone submits a nonsense application, click "Decline" and they're notified. It's that simple.
Once readers are approved, they're available to add to any ARC campaign you run. When you launch an ARC for a book, you link it to a Release (which has a release date). You pick which readers get access, and Pendrilo emails them a personal link to the finished book in EPUB, PDF, or browser format. They can read on their device, mark it finished, and tell you when they've posted a review. A five-email follow-up sequence handles the rest: invitations, gentle reminders, and thank-yous.
Your reader roster persists across campaigns. Add readers once; use them for every book you launch. You can also import beta readers who've already given you feedback, or add readers by hand if you've built a list elsewhere.
Customizing Your Public Page
Your author page respects the settings you choose in Workshop. If you upload a publisher logo and name, they appear at the top of your catalog. Your byline (set in Book Details) shows on every book card. The cover images you've uploaded render automatically.
You don't style the page yourself—Pendrilo handles layout and typography. What you control is the content: book titles, covers, loglines, retail links, and your screening question. Write clear loglines, keep your slug simple, and the page will work.
Promoting Your Author Hub
Your slug is useless if no one knows about it. Share it anywhere readers gather:
- Your website or author platform. Link it from your homepage or a dedicated "Join my ARC team" page.
- Email signature and newsletter. Every email you send is a chance to mention it.
- Book back matter. Add a line to your About Author page: "Want an early copy of my next book? Join my ARC team at pendrilo.com/author/your-slug."
- Social media. Post a link when you're recruiting for a campaign. "I'm looking for ARC readers for [book title]. Interested? Apply here."
- Goodreads and reader communities. Many reader groups welcome author posts about ARC recruitment.
The more places you post your link, the more applications you'll get. A public author hub only works if readers know it exists.
Connecting Your Hub to Your ARC Campaigns
Your author page and your ARC campaigns work together. Readers discover you via the hub, apply, and get approved. When you launch an ARC campaign for a book, you choose which approved readers get the book. They receive a personal link, read your work, and post reviews. You can track who's finished and who's reviewed using the buttons they click in their email or the book portal.
Over time, your roster grows. Readers who loved your first book are more likely to jump on your second. You're building a community, not just a list.
Setting up your author hub takes about 15 minutes—slug, retail links, logline, optional screening question. The payoff is a reliable channel to recruit readers who already know what to expect from your work. If you're serious about launches and reviews, it's worth the small effort.
