A powerful static site generator for fiction authors managing multiple pen names. Built with Eleventy (11ty) and Decap CMS, this system lets you create and manage separate websites for each of your author identities.

• 📝 Web-based Admin Interface - No coding required! Manage all content through an easy-to-use dashboard
• 👤 Multiple Pen Names - Create unlimited author identities, each with their own website
• 📚 Blog Management - Write and publish blog posts for each pen name
• 📖 Book Catalogs - Showcase your books with covers, descriptions, and buy links
• 📧 Newsletter Signup Forms - Collect reader emails with integrated Web3Forms
• 🎨 Custom Styling - Each pen name can have unique designs
• 🚀 AWS S3 Deployment - One-command deployment to static hosting
• ⚡ Fast Static Sites - Lightning-fast websites with no server required

See the Author Guide for detailed, non-technical instructions on:

• Managing your pen names
• Writing blog posts
• Adding books
• Publishing your websites

1. Clone and Install

   git clone <repository-url>
   cd AuthorWebsite
   npm install

2. Start the Admin Interface

   npm start

   • Admin: http://localhost:8080/admin/
   • Preview: http://localhost:8080/

3. Build All Sites

   npm run build:all

4. Deploy to S3

   npm run deploy:all

This system supports multiple pen names from a single codebase. Each pen name has:

• Separate output folder (_site_penname/)
• Independent blog posts (src/blogs/penname/)
• Unique styling (src/css/penname.css)
• Individual book catalog (src/_data/penname_books.json)
• Isolated build process

1. Profiles are defined in src/_data/profiles.js
2. Admin interface allows editing content through Decap CMS
3. Build process generates static HTML for each pen name
4. Deployment script uploads sites to separate S3 buckets

AuthorWebsite/
├── src/
│   ├── _data/               # Data files
│   │   ├── profiles.js      # Pen name configurations
│   │   └── *_books.json     # Book catalogs per author
│   ├── _includes/layouts/   # Page templates
│   ├── blogs/               # Blog posts by pen name
│   │   ├── rebeccaryals/
│   │   ├── janedoe/
│   │   └── johnsmith/
│   ├── images/              # Media files
│   ├── css/                 # Stylesheets
│   └── admin/               # Decap CMS admin interface
├── scripts/
│   ├── build-all-sites.js   # Multi-site build automation
│   └── deploy-to-s3.js      # S3 deployment automation
├── _site_*/                 # Generated sites (gitignored)
└── .eleventy.js             # 11ty configuration

1. Go to http://localhost:8080/admin/
2. Click Pen Names → All Pen Names
3. Add or edit pen name profiles through the visual interface

Edit src/_data/profiles.js:

module.exports = {
  currentPenName: "Rebecca Ryals",  // Active pen name for npm start

  profiles: {
    "Rebecca Ryals": {
      penName: "Rebecca Ryals",
      website: "https://rebeccaryals.com",
      email: "[email protected]",
      bio: "Author of urban fantasy detective novels...",
      genre: "Urban Fantasy Detective",
      social: {
        twitter: "@rebeccaryals",
        facebook: "https://facebook.com/rebeccaryals"
      },
      outputFolder: "_site_rebeccaryals",
      styles: "ryals.css",
      background: "/images/website_background.jpg",
      blogFolder: "blogs/rebeccaryals",
      bookList: "ryals_books.json"
    }
  }
};

Via Admin (Easy):

1. Go to admin interface
2. Select your pen name's blog collection
3. Click "New Blog Post"
4. Write using the markdown editor
5. Publish when ready

Via Files: Create .md files in src/blogs/penname/:

---
layout: layouts/post.njk
author: "Rebecca Ryals"
title: "My First Blog Post"
description: "A brief description"
date: 2024-08-24
tags: post
---

Your blog post content here...

Via Admin:

1. Go to your pen name's Books collection
2. Add books with cover images, titles, buy links

Via Files: Edit src/_data/penname_books.json:

[
  {
    "name": "Book Title",
    "series": "Series Name",
    "image": "/images/penname/books/cover.png",
    "link": "https://amazon.com/...",
    "description": "Book description",
    "isbn": "978-1234567890"
  }
]

📖 See the Complete Deployment Guide for step-by-step instructions!

Netlify is free and perfect for fiction authors - no technical knowledge required!

Option 1: Drag & Drop (No Commands!)

1. Build sites: npm run build:all
2. Go to https://app.netlify.com/drop
3. Drag your _site_penname folder
4. Done! Your site is live!

Option 2: CLI Deployment (One Command)

1. One-time setup:

   npm install -g netlify-cli
   netlify login

2. Deploy all sites:

   npm run deploy:all:netlify

3. Deploy one site:

   npm run deploy:netlify "Rebecca Ryals"

Benefits:

• ✅ Free forever (unlimited sites!)
• ✅ Automatic HTTPS/SSL
• ✅ Custom domains included
• ✅ No credit card required
• ✅ 30-second deployments

For authors with existing AWS accounts or advanced needs.

1. Setup

   # Install AWS CLI and configure
   aws configure
   
   # Create config from template
   cp deploy-config.json.example deploy-config.json

2. Deploy

   npm run deploy:all        # Deploy all to S3
   npm run deploy:s3 "Pen Name"  # Deploy one to S3

See Deployment Guide for detailed S3 setup instructions.

1. Create src/css/penname.css
2. Reference in pen name profile: styles: "penname.css"
3. Customize as needed

Edit templates in src/_includes/layouts/:

• base.njk - Main layout
• post.njk - Blog post layout
• home.njk - Homepage layout

Create .md or .njk files in src/:

---
layout: layouts/base.njk
title: "New Page"
eleventyNavigation:
  key: "New Page"
  order: 5
---

Page content here...

• Static Site Generator: Eleventy 3.0
• CMS: Decap CMS 3.0
• Template Engine: Nunjucks
• Styling: Vanilla CSS
• Image Processing: @11ty/eleventy-img
• Date Handling: Luxon
• Deployment: AWS CLI

The build system:

1. Reads active pen name from profiles.js
2. Filters blog posts for that pen name
3. Loads pen name-specific data (books, styles)
4. Generates static HTML
5. Outputs to pen name's folder

scripts/build-all-sites.js:

• Iterates through all pen names
• Updates currentPenName for each
• Runs Eleventy build
• Reports build status

• Author Guide - For content creators (non-technical)
• Decap CMS Docs - CMS documentation
• Eleventy Docs - Static site generator docs
• AWS S3 Static Hosting - Deployment guide

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Submit a pull request

[Your License Here]

Built with:

• Eleventy by Zach Leatherman
• Decap CMS by Netlify & community
• Web3Forms for newsletter signups

Need Help? Check the Author Guide or open an issue!