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Let\u2019s say you send a query letter to a magazine or a book proposal to an agent. She reads it through and feels there\u2019s potential\u2014it looks like there\u2019s a match between you and her publication or agency. What\u2019s the next thing she\u2019s going to do, most likely?\n\nGoogle you.\n\nShe\u2019s going to type your name into a search engine and then click around the links that come up. "Let\u2019s see what we can find out about this writer..."\n\nWhat will she turn up? Maybe some articles you submitted to an online organization? Comments you left at someone\u2019s blog? Your Facebook and Google+ profiles? Maybe the race results from a 5K Turkey Trot you ran last Thanksgiving?\n\nIs that it? Is that all she\u2019s going to find?\n\nIf so, you may need to set up a permanent residence. Your virtual home.\n\nIf you\u2019re a writer working on building a writing platform, you need a website.\nHelp Industry Professionals Find You\nWhen you secure your own little plot of online real estate, an editor at a publishing house or literary journal can type your name into a search engine and find articles and \u201cAbout\u201d information that you compose, that you want him to see, that represents you well, that reflects your personality as a writer.\n\nYour author website is presented in your voice and features ideas, stories, and topics you tend to write about along with samples of your work\u2014everything you publish there serves as an online portfolio.\n\nIt\u2019s the hub of your writing platform. The foundation.\n\nOther platform efforts may be super-fruitful, but you still need to have one space where you control your image and content.\nHelp Readers Find You\nOf course, it\u2019s not just industry professionals who may search for you. Don\u2019t forget readers.\n\nWho are you trying to reach? What do you write, and who would read your work if you could just get it into their hands? Again, you want to establish yourself online with the kind of content that will draw those people and help them find you and your work.\n\nImagine if they were to find\xa0in a magazine\u2019s archives a story you wrote. It intrigues them, and they search for your name. If they find nothing else about you, that\u2019s a missed opportunity. You could have made a connection with readers, invited them into your space, and welcomed them.\n\nAll the other places you might start making friends online\u2014on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter\u2014they all offer various strengths and opportunities to connect. But to help people really get to know you as a writer, think about inviting them over to your place for a visit.\nA Website That Reflects You and Your Work\nYour website doesn\u2019t have to be fancy with lots of bells and whistles\u2014not at all. It can be simple. At the very least, you want a clean space that doesn\u2019t mislead people about the kind of writer you are and the kind of writing you produce.\n\nIf you write thrillers, you probably don\u2019t want a lot of white space with flowers in the header. If you write reflective, serious creative nonfiction, you probably don\u2019t want a hand-drawn comic strip like The Oatmeal featured front and center on your home page.\n\nAnd you want a way to get content out there from time to time, even if you aren\u2019t regularly blogging.\nA Simple, Flexible Online Home\nYou can set up a self-hosted website, which will require a monthly fee, but if resources are limited, don\u2019t wait. With all the free and inexpensive website options out there, there\u2019s no need to be a wandering troubadour with no permanent residence.\n\nCome up with a basic idea of how you want to present yourself to the world, and find a simple template that will allow you to create some content\u2014pages people can click on to get to know you, and maybe a blog feature that allows you to write and publish your own content.\n\nJust get started and soon you'll see what you\u2019d like to add or remove. Your \u201cpermanent\u201d residence online is not really all that permanent\u2014on your website, you can knock out walls and reorganize any time you wish.