Hi Orry,
Nowadays having an internet voice, if I can call it that, is a necessity. If like me you find Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, somewhat exasperating then a Web site is a more logical route. At least you can take control and keep a focus on the promotional aspect of your work through the arrangement of your page layout(s).
The name and I guess the origins of my web site came from a dabble in self-publishing some twenty odd years ago. The advent of Publish On Demand (POD) being the trigger to create our family Web Site Caxton Quills.
My choice was to create a self publishing family web site, as behind the scenes there are a number of books in the pipeline from different member of my family, but not all feel ready to launch publicly. In between editing and knocking them into shape, I continue to write my own.
Col
For those of you who want to publish content which you can have printed but DO NOT want it visible in the Online Bookstore, then you can set a 'Public / Private' flag when you upload your book.
When set to Public it will be available in the store. When private it is only available to you. There is a further flag 'semi private' which allows you to decide who can see it - so chosen friends or members of your family.
A web site is part of what should be a complete set of 'visibility tools'. However relying solely on your own website will never bring the traffic and sales you desire.
Skoobebooks