I wrote a 95,000-word novel. I queried fifty literary agents. Most didn't reply. Those who did said debut authors are a hard sell against established names. These are people who would have taken 20–30% of my earnings — and they couldn't see a way forward.
So I built my own way. Using conversational AI (Claude Opus 4.6) and a technique called "vibe coding" — where you describe what you want in plain English and the AI writes the code — I created a complete author platform in two days. Here's exactly how.
What You'll Build
Everything below was built in a single weekend with zero coding experience.
What You Need to Start
- A Claude Pro subscription — your AI development partner (claude.ai)
- Your completed manuscript — in .docx or plain text
- A hero image — something visually striking for your landing page
- A book cover — or let Claude help you design a text-based one
- A credit/debit card — for the domain and Stripe setup
- A web browser — Chrome works best
Your Domain
Pick something memorable that connects to your book or author brand. I chose homomachina.ai because it's the name of my series and the .ai extension fits the AI consciousness theme.
I used Squarespace Domains. Other good options: Namecheap, Cloudflare Registrar, Porkbun. Go to your chosen registrar, search for your domain, and purchase it.
Building Your Website with Claude
Open claude.ai and create a new Project. Give it a clear name like "My Author Website." Projects help Claude keep track of your work across multiple conversations — essential when you're iterating over several sessions.
This is where vibe coding shines. You don't write code — you describe what you want and Claude builds it. Start your first conversation with something like:
"I want to build a personal author website for my novel. I want it to feel literary and elegant — not like a tech startup. Dark, warm tones. Beautiful typography. A large hero image at the top with the book title overlaid. Below that, a manifesto about the book and its themes. Sections for about the author, the book description, and how to buy."
Claude generates a complete HTML file — your entire website in a single file. It handles the structure, the visual styling, and all interactivity.
Look at what Claude produces. Give feedback in plain English. Go back and forth until it feels right:
"Move the title higher on the image."
"Make the font warmer — I like that brown tone."
"Remove that grey line — it looks random."
"Can you make the title slowly fall down the page, pause, fade out, and reappear at the top?"
Claude handles every change instantly. I went through many rounds of refinement — colours, typography, animations, spacing, mobile layouts. Each round takes minutes, not hours.
homomachina-deploy) so you always have the latest working version saved.Through conversation, ask Claude to add all the supporting content your site needs:
- An About the Author section with your bio
- A contact form for reader enquiries
- Legal pages — Copyright, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use, Governing Law
- A compelling book description with a free Chapter 1 preview
Claude builds these as overlay panels that slide in from the navigation menu. Everything stays in one HTML file — clean and simple.
Going Live with Netlify
Go to netlify.com and sign up. The free tier includes everything you need: hosting, HTTPS security, and custom domain support. You won't need to pay for hosting.
This is almost absurdly simple:
- In Netlify, go to Sites → Add new site → Deploy manually
- Take your local folder (containing your
index.html) - Drag and drop the entire folder into the deployment area
- Wait about 10 seconds
- Your site is live on the internet
Netlify gives you a temporary URL. We'll connect your custom domain next.
- In Netlify: Site settings → Domain management → Add custom domain
- Netlify provides DNS nameserver addresses
- Go to your domain registrar and update the nameservers to point to Netlify
- Wait for DNS propagation (15 minutes to a few hours)
Once propagated, your custom domain serves your site with free HTTPS. Professional and secure.
Every time you want to update your site, the cycle is the same:
- Make changes with Claude → download the updated file
- Replace the file in your local deploy folder
- Drag and drop the folder into Netlify again
Each deploy takes seconds. I pushed updates dozens of times as we perfected the look and feel. There's no penalty for frequent deploys — iterate freely.
Payment Integration with Stripe
Go to stripe.com and create an account. You'll provide your personal details, bank account for payouts, and tax information.
- In the Stripe Dashboard: Product catalog → Add product
- Set the name, description, and price (I chose $15 one-time)
- Create a Payment Link, then select the Buy Button option
- Stripe gives you a small HTML code snippet — copy it
Go back to Claude and paste the Stripe code:
"Here's my Stripe Buy Button code. Please embed it in the Subscribe section of my menu, and also below the book description."
Claude places it in the right spots and styles it to match your site. The Buy Button shows your price, accepted payment methods, and handles the entire checkout — you don't need to build anything else.
Uploading Your Complete Book
Upload your .docx manuscript to Claude and describe the reading experience you want:
"This is my complete novel — [X] words, [Y] chapters. Convert it into a beautiful online ebook reader as a single HTML page. Match my site's styling. Include a progress bar, chapter navigation, a table of contents sidebar, and formatted dialogue."
Claude processes the entire manuscript and produces an HTML file that functions as a complete ebook reader — in my case, roughly 764KB covering 16 chapters with styled dialogue, scene breaks, and a book cover page.
Check everything carefully. Claude's output will include a cover page, copyright and dedication, clickable table of contents, all chapters with proper formatting, a sticky navigation bar, progress tracking, and a "Return to beginning" link.
Ask Claude to fix anything you spot — misspellings, formatting issues, cover image swaps, dedication changes. Each fix takes seconds.
"Create a password gate for the book page. When someone visits /book/, they see a styled password input. The correct password unlocks the full novel."
Claude creates a password-gated page matching your site's aesthetic. It's not military-grade encryption — it's a clean, simple barrier that's perfectly adequate for a book purchase.
After paying, customers need to receive the password. Ask Claude to create a "thank you" page at /success/ that displays the password in a copyable box with a link to the book.
Then in your Stripe Dashboard, set the Success URL to https://yourdomain.com/success/
Your local folder should now look like this:
├── index.html ← your main site
├── book/
│ └── index.html ← password-gated novel
└── success/
└── index.html ← post-payment page
Drag the whole folder into Netlify. The complete customer flow is now:
Review Copies & Marketing
One of the best features: send anyone a review copy by sharing the link and password directly. They skip Stripe entirely and go straight to the book. One email or DM is all it takes.
Want to rotate the password after a review period? Ask Claude to update it, redeploy, and the old password stops working. Paying customers automatically see the new one.
Pair your website with a Substack newsletter to build community. Share your journey, post excerpts, write about your book's themes. Your website sells; Substack builds relationships.
Create a pinned post on X/Twitter or your social platform of choice. Keep it punchy — your free Chapter 1 is your best marketing hook.
The Complete Cost Breakdown
Compare this to an agent taking 20% and a publisher taking the rest.
Every dollar of revenue — minus Stripe's small ~3% processing fee — comes directly to you. No agent. No publisher. No 18-month wait for a release date someone else chose.
Tips From the Trenches
Use a Claude Project. It keeps context across conversations. When you hit the context limit, start a new chat within the same project and paste a brief summary of where you left off.
Keep a local deploy folder. Always maintain a clean copy of your site files. Download every update Claude produces.
Test after every deploy. Netlify publishes in seconds. Push early, push often, check everything in the browser.
Zip files if they open in Chrome. HTML files sometimes display in the browser instead of downloading. Ask Claude to zip them for you.
Don't overthink the password. Client-side protection isn't hack-proof, but it doesn't need to be. You're selling a book, not guarding state secrets.
Use continuation briefs. When switching chat sessions, ask Claude to create a summary of everything built so far — keys, file structures, decisions. Upload this to the next chat.
Offer Chapter 1 free. It's your best marketing tool. Let people read the opening and decide if they want more.
What's Next: Expanding Distribution
Why Do You Need Agents and Publishers?
Especially when they won't take you on anyway. The tools exist right now to write, design, publish, and sell your book directly to readers. The barrier isn't money. It isn't technical skill. It's the belief that you need someone else's permission.
You don't.
See It Live → homomachina.aiWant a more detailed walkthrough? Reach out — I'm happy to share everything I've learned. Happy publishing.