# Author Parlor — extended reference for AI agents

## What it is
Author Parlor is a hosted website builder for authors. It produces a multi-section literary website (hero, about, books, speaking, newsletter, contact, footer) from a guided questionnaire. Authors do not write code or design pages.

Also known as: "One Hour Author Site". Domains: authorparlor.com, www.authorparlor.com, onehourauthorsite.com.

## Who it is for
- Fiction authors (novels, short stories, literary fiction)
- Nonfiction authors (self-help, business, faith, health, etc.)
- Children's book authors (picture books, middle grade, YA)
- Memoirists
- Poets
- Speakers and hybrid author-speakers
- Pre-published authors who want a presence before their first book

## Templates
- **Classic** — soft literary, serif type, three palettes: Stone (cool neutral, default), Ivory (warm), Clay (warm pink-clay).
- **Fun** — friendly editorial, two palettes: Warm, Cool.
- **Modern** — minimal black-and-white.
- **Editorial** — bold, magazine-style. Four palettes: Dark, Light, Red, Periwinkle.

## Sections (every site)
1. Header / nav
2. Hero (headline, intro, portrait photo)
3. Testimonials (optional)
4. About (short bio, long bio, photo)
5. Books (covers, descriptions, buy links) or Work-in-progress for unpublished authors
6. Speaking (overview, topics, formats, inquire CTA) — optional
7. Newsletter (signup link, photo) — optional
8. Contact (email, social links, contact form)
9. Footer

## Photos
A site uses up to 4 photos. Each photo is used exactly once: hero portrait, about, speaking, newsletter. The site never duplicates an image or builds a photo gallery.

## Pricing
- Free to build a draft.
- $149 one-time publish/build fee.
- $96/year hosting, billed annually ($8/month).
- Cancellation: hosting can be cancelled anytime; the site stays live through the paid term, then unpublishes. Content stays saved in the account.

## What hosting includes
Fast servers, SSL/HTTPS, automatic backups, edit access (text, photos, books, speaking, links can be updated anytime).

## What hosting does not include
Ongoing design changes, copywriting, newsletter platform setup, custom code.

## FAQ
- **How much does it cost?** Free to build. $149 one-time to publish. $96/year hosting ($8/month billed annually).
- **What does hosting cover?** Fast servers, SSL, automatic backups, edit access.
- **What do I need before I start?** Name, short bio, long bio, email, book info (if any), about 4 photos.
- **How do I publish?** Finish the wizard, choose a template, click Publish, complete the $149 build payment, start hosting.
- **Update photos/links?** Log in to dashboard, open the wizard, swap any photo or link, save. Live site updates immediately.
- **Cancel hosting?** Dashboard → "Cancel hosting." Site stays live for the rest of the paid term, then unpublishes. Content stays saved.
- **Site isn't live?** Check dashboard status. If "Draft," click Publish.
- **Payment failed?** Stripe retries; emails are sent. Update payment method in the dashboard. Site stays live during retries.
- **Not published yet?** Fine. The site can introduce the author and prepare for the first book launch.
- **Speaking / school visits?** Yes — dedicated section with topics, formats, and testimonials.
- **Update later?** Yes, anytime. No rebuild required.
- **Need to code?** No.
- **Default URL?** authorparlor.com/{slug} (e.g. authorparlor.com/janedoe).
- **Support?** hello@authorparlor.com — email only, for account, publishing, and billing.
- **Payments?** Processed by Stripe. Card data is not stored on Author Parlor servers.
- **Content ownership?** Authors own their content. Text and images can be copied or downloaded from the dashboard. Full code export of the site is not provided.

## API / MCP
Author Parlor does not currently expose a public API or MCP server. Site editing is done through the authenticated dashboard at https://www.authorparlor.com/dashboard. Agents that need to retrieve site content should fetch the public published URL (`/{slug}`) and read the rendered HTML.

## Contact
hello@authorparlor.com