Romance readers arrive at author websites from everywhere.
A social post.
A Google search.
An AI recommendation.
A friend’s text message.
A “if you loved X try this” recommendation article.
A Pinterest pin.
None of these entry points bring a reader to the same place with the same context.
Some arrive knowing everything about your world. Some arrive knowing nothing.
Some are in a book hangover from your last release. Some have never read a word you’ve written.
Most author websites handle all of these readers the same way: they arrive at a home page and are left to figure out where to go next.
The Start Here page solves this. It’s the welcome desk — the one page designed specifically to orient every reader, regardless of how she arrived, and give her a clear path based on exactly where she is in her relationship with your world.
What the Start Here Page Actually Does
The Start Here page has one job: remove the friction between a reader who’s arrived and a reader who knows where to go.
It does this through a three-path structure. Every reader who arrives at this page falls into one of three situations, and the Start Here page speaks to all three simultaneously:
Path 1 — The NTM Reader: “I just found you.” She knows nothing about your world yet. She arrived curious but unoriented. She needs the most basic orientation: what kind of author are you, what’s your most accessible entry point, how does she start. This path points to: your Start Here reading recommendation (typically Book 1 of your most accessible series), your Author Booklist, and your primary reader magnet.
Path 2 — The Reader in the Middle: “I’ve read one book and want more.” She’s been in your world but hasn’t committed to the full ecosystem yet. She needs to know what else exists and where to find it. This path points to: your full Booklist organized by series, your Reader Experience Hub, and your next-in-series recommendation.
Path 3 — The FTM Reader: “I’ve read everything and I’m waiting.” She’s fully committed. She’s in your world. She needs the deeper content — the extras, the behind-the-scenes, the community, the what’s coming next. This path points to: your Hub’s FTM content, your email list with its nurture sequence, your digital products, and any community space you maintain.
The Semantic Fingerprint on the Start Here Page
The Start Here page carries the Heart layer of your Semantic Fingerprint most prominently.
This is because the reader arriving at the Start Here page is still in evaluation mode. She’s asking: is this for me?
The Heart language — the emotional promise, the reader identity signals, the “if you’re the reader who…” framing — is what answers that question most directly.
The page opens with a short welcome paragraph that names the emotional territory of your world in Level 7 language: “If you’re looking for [specific emotional experience] — you’re in the right place.” This is the first sentence that tells her whether this world is hers before she’s read another word.
Then the three-path structure, with each path labeled in reader-state language rather than site-navigation language.
Not “New Here” / “Returning Reader” / “Superfan” — those are author-facing labels.
Instead: “Just found me?” / “Read one and want more?” / “Read everything and need more world?”
These are the questions in her head, reflected back at her.
Each path then carries Chemistry language in its description — the atmospheric signals that confirm this is her world: the heat level, the vibe, the emotional texture. This is where the NTM reader gets the final confirmation that the series recommended on Path 1 is the right entry point for the specific craving she arrived with.
What the Start Here Page Is Not
It’s not a home page. The home page is an impression — atmospheric, emotional, the front door.
The Start Here page is practical — it orients, it directs, it moves.
It’s not an about page. The about page tells her your story.
The Start Here page tells her hers — what her experience of your world will be and where to begin it.
It’s not a FAQ page. FAQ pages answer questions readers might have.
The Start Here page removes the need for questions by anticipating what every reader needs to know and giving it to her before she has to ask.
It should be linked from your main navigation — not buried, not optional, prominently available. The reader who’s looking for a starting point needs to be able to find this page within one click from anywhere in your ecosystem.
Building It When You Have One Book vs. a Full Series
With one book: the three-path structure simplifies. Path 1 leads directly to the book. Path 2 leads to your reader magnets and Hub extras. Path 3 acknowledges that she’s read everything and invites her into your email list for first notice when the next book releases.
With a full series: the three paths expand proportionally. Path 1 needs to address the “where do I start?” question directly — which series first, which book first, what if I want to try the world without a large commitment. Path 2 organizes the series in the most binge-friendly sequence. Path 3 becomes the gateway to your full digital products suite and community.
Where to Go Deeper
→ The Ecosystem Loop: How Every Page on Your Author Website Works Together
→ The 3 Questions Every New Romance Reader Silently Asks
→ The 7-Stage Reader Journey: From Awareness to Advocacy
→ BFF Playbook → ($97)
Shental is a 30+ year romance reader who has read 3,000+ romance novels and is the creator of the BFF Strategy™.