Websites

Websites are crucial IMHO for an author to promote their work.
1. a mini bio
2. events/appearances calendar
3. bookography that a reader may click on the image of the book jacket and read excerpts of any length
4. author recommended links

Photos and an attractive layout.

This is so weird. I was just chatting with a few friedns about doing a web site just for writing. So, thanks, this is a very timely post. I'm anxious to see what contributions you get.

BTW, are you thinking of a website from the 'ground' up, or, a blog? I was thinking of doing one on a blog, then moving to my 'own' when it proves I need one.

I have a website, but I was wondering about re-making it. I had a different style before and a marketing guru came along and told me what it should look like. But, now I'm not sure it reflects as I want it to. If you want to see it and give me feedback, I would love it! http://www.jennakayfrancis.com

I can't decide if it should just showcase my work, or if it should be fun and festive and interactive! I am not a webbie tech, so I have to use a WYSIWYG to make it. I have frontpage now.

Jenna

i have one ~ it's sorta schizophrenic. part promotional and part self-entertainment. there's a (very) short bio, information about some of my work, some online writing, a forum for discussion, and other randomness.

i like author websites that aren't just commercials for their work. i like to see other stuff: interviews, pictures of their dogs, etc.

: D

Where is it? I would love to compare other writer's websites, see which things on them appeal to me and to others.

Jenna

- Biography
- Bibliography with chapter excerpts, reviews, and pretty pictures
- Upcoming stuff: books, appearances, etc
- Writing tips (even if it's just a page)
- A blog about writing and/or life that's updated at least twice a month
- Good writing links
- Recommended books

- easy to navigate layout
- dark print on light background, no funny fonts
- no flashy graphics or cursors or such
- not width locked (or whatever it's called) so that I am forced to keep the window wide so I don't have to scroll sideways. I like to be able to keep the window narrow

Yeah, I'm with you on these, especially:

"- easy to navigate layout
- dark print on light background, no funny fonts
- no flashy graphics or cursors or such
- not width locked (or whatever it's called) so that I am forced to keep the window wide so I don't have to scroll sideways. I like to be able to keep the window narrow"

And I'll add:
-no teeny weeny font sizes, some folks have higher resolution. This goes for the blog too.

AND! The page should load quickly or I'll abandon it sight unseen. Yes, I'm talking to you Flash lovers out there.

I don't care for splash pages (entry pages), I prefer to open into the main page of the site.

Upcoming appearances? I wish! LOL But the part about a writing tips page is kewl. Never thought of that! I could do an expose on Point of View - my personal peeve. About the blog - I have a LJ blog thingie whatchamacallit, but should there just be a blog page at the website??? And what is the width locked thing?

jenna

i've always found writers "tips" pages to be off-putting, actually. sorta like "how to write" books. guess if you like one you'll like the other.

: D

You could have a link to your blog from the website, but I always like it better when the blog is part of the website.

The width locked thing... I don't know how to explain well because I am webpage igornant, but basically I don't want to see a horizontal scroll button at the bottom of the page. The page should be able to resize itself even if I want to make it narrow. I love Charlaine Harris' work, but her website drives me nuts.

http://www.charlaineharris.com/

I understand that the page has to stop shrinking at a certain point, but Harris' are far too wide to read comfortably. I don't mind if the background is wide, but putting text there is annoying. Stephenie Meyers' is much better about that.

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/index.html

I think an author's website is neat, but not necessary--particularly if making the website takes away from the author making new product for me to enjoy.

I've only bothered to look for maybe a dozen authors online, and that's mostly to find out if there are other books that I've missed. I can do that with a simple Barnes & Noble search.

So, as a reader, I don't think a website is necessary. At all. A good book will sell itself to me. Most author websites bore me.

As a writer, I think that a website can take too much time to develop and maintain, unless it's something that one enjoys.

I understand what you're saying. Unfortunately, I write electronic novels and I need a website presence to reach my readers. Wish I could have a print run of zillions and be in every bookstore in the world, but, alas, it's not happening right now.

Jenna

For electronic novels a website, I think, is a must.

Your website, Jenna, has a lot of great promotional material. However, it's vague, has little cohesion/thematic unity, and does not represent you-the-author well. When I went there, I had no idea who the author was. Notice your name is not prominently displayed anywhere on the page? Also, every linked excerpt has a different background, and the fade effect between links is also random -- sometimes it's a straight fade from the corners, sometimes it's a fade in from the middle. (Making things size well in various browsers and etc. is a matter of coding with web standard codes which will work in all major browsers. It's simple when hand-coding, but not all WYSIWYG web page editors allow for it.)

I think the cloth-draped sword is a nice pic, and a great divider, but it's dulled by the repeating background. In my opinion, you could use a good side or top menu to link to the various books in your various series, your author info, and your Keep-'em-coming-back pages with interesting links, etc. I think your electronic novel covers could be used more artfully.

I know you didn't ask for a website critique, and none of this is intended to be harsh, so I'm leaving a link to mine for your response. :) You'll see I like the "clean" look used so nicely at LookingLand, a quick and easy side-bar for links, and minimal background to distract from the content. In summation, I think your website has all the elements of good promotion, but the presentation could be stronger. I wish you luck, and welcome your comments.

Found Things

I'm a web designer during the day. Since this is where my passions collide, I've written at length about it, although nothing in the last few months.

Short list:
- a COMPLETE bibliography
-- including short fiction
-- with series books marked as such and chronology made clear
-- not called "bibliography" if that link is adjacent to "biography" :)
-- with a printable version so us OCD types can take it to the library/bookstore
-- with excerpts
- bio, book/movie/TV recommendations, etc.
- upcoming appearances, and photos from previous ones if it's feasible to post them
- latest book cover on the home page, so I remember what it looks like when I go looking for it
- ways for me to stay in touch: mailing list signup, RSS feed, whatever

As a reader, that's the stuff I appreciate. Jennifer Crusie has one of the best websites around, if you want a good example. It's like having DVD extras for all of her books. There's commentary on the inspiration and/or publishing history of each book, trivia, at least one deleted scene, recipes for the books that involved specific foods, foreign covers, and so on. She also has her WIPs listed alongside her published books, which is a great way to build excitement about future releases.

I also really like Cory Doctorow's site, although he needs to learn to use Movable Type's archiving features. Endless scrolling! I'm tickled by the way the design stays consistent but changes color to match each book cover.

Now to switch hats... as a web designer, here are a few things I know.

I've read a lot of surveys about what keeps people coming back to a site, and the only reliable one is regularly updated content. So a blog is essential to building a site's audience, but it has to be updated on a regular -- not necessarily frequent, just regular -- basis to be effective.

And this is my hobbyhorse, but the design really has to look professional. There was an interesting study a couple of years ago on how people evaluate websites:

In the case of the Internet, the number one factor by which people actually judge Web site credibility was by their first impression of the visual design.

I haven't done any studies to see if readers judge authors' sites the same way they do businesses', but I'd bet good money that they do. (That's not to say one has to hire a professional designer. There are some very good free, professionally designed templates out there, not to mention all the great templates designed for blogs.)

There are two big things I think authors shouldn't mess with: splashy Flash junk and reader message boards. People have commented on Flash, and I'll just add that Flash design is generally more expensive than regular web design. Why pay more for something readers hate? As for message boards, it's just a huge time sink. Not only do you have to spend a lot of time maintaining order among the users, but you have to invest the time to learn all the board's administrative features... or you have to pay someone on an ongoing basis to do this for you. Seriously not worth it, especially if you already have a blog with comments enabled.

One last thing: keeping track of the traffic to your site will give you a lot of good information about your readers. Sign up for Google Analytics -- they're backlogged right now, so it'll be awhile before you hear from them -- and use that information to find out which parts of your site are effective (what links to most people click?) and to see if your readers are clustered in any specific areas (useful for planning appearances). There are a lot of other ways to track this kind of thing, but Google's is free and requires almost no technical skill. And tracking traffic behind the scenes is a great deal more professional-looking than sticking a counter on your home page. More accurate and informative, too.

Wow, sorry that got so long. Clearly I need to get blogging about this stuff again.

I really appreciated your in-depth comment.

I don't have an author website yet, but I'm planning one for the not-too-far-off future.

Thanks!

Great links, thanks.

Wow! Thanks! I am working on a new website now. Stayed up way too late for this old body last night working on it. I am trying to incorporate some of the ideas here, plus been taking a look at the websites recommended. Thanks!! This has been very educational!

Jenna

This is umbelieveably informative and helpful, mind if I friend you?

Not at all! I --just-- got a WordPress/LJ crosspost thingie working so you can actually see the updates to my site. (I never post here directly, I just use the account to comment on other people's stuff.)

Websites for Authors

I found this blog by a comment made on another list that one professional writer had re-designed his website because of these comments.

My own homepage suffers from decades of professional writing in a number of fields, and I know it must be re-designed soon.

Any comments the people here would care to make would surely be welcome!

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
http://www.simegen.com/jl/

Re: Websites for Authors

I happen to be that writer mentioned above. I read all your comments and applied what I had read to my own web site, finding that it failed your ideas in so many ways. After spending a few days digging through OSWD (Open Source Web Design) templates, I found one I liked and adapted it to my own needs. Then I made sure that I included most of the elements you all mentioned; at least those that applied to my site.

If you get bored and want to see what you sparked, feel free to check out the site you inspired.


CHRISTOPHER W. WILCOX, SR.
Science Fiction & Fantasy Author
http://ChristopherWilcox.wcpauthor.com

Re: Websites for Authors

Wow! I really like your website design. Crisp, clean, easy on the eyes. Very nice. Shoot! Now, I gotta do mine again! Thanks a lot! (heehee)

Re: Websites for Authors

Hi Jacqueline! I thought I recognized your name! Ok, since I was the one who started this thread by needing to redesign my own website, I'll give yours a go through!

First thing I wonder in looking at it - is this a website for Sime-Gen or for your own books? I would almost have an entry page that could direct you to A)your own works and B) SIme-Gen things. Course you also have the Star Trek (yea, go Trekkies) stuff. My first impression (Ok, I'll be blunt - I hate blue type! - there I said it LOL) is that it's a little busy and I can't tell where to go. I am a very simplistic person, which is why I did my front page with links to each of my pages. I don't like traveling sidebars, but that's just me. And I know that embedded links are what most people do, but to me that's like an invite to just go away. I mean, you're reading along, and wham, there's an embedded link, and whish, there goes the reader to visit that site. They may never come back. I know, I'm probably in the minority there, as embedded links seem to be done everywhere now. I like lists, as well. Make me a list of books and reviews and such, and I'm a happy person. Can you tell I'm a Virgo? LISTS!! Yes, must have lists!

Ok, those are some of my first impressions. As I said, I started this thread because I didn't know HOW to do a good website, so I am hoping that others will review this and take a look at my new website and see if I have improved or I should go and get real help. *heehee*

Re: Websites for Authors

Jenna:

Thanks for the comments -- very helpful and about what I observed but from a different perspective.

Of course the question "Sime~Gen OR your books" makes no sense since S~G is my biggest series of prof. novels. The whole domain is based on those novels and the millioins of words of fan fiction they have generated.

I do have all the ingredients listed by the pro web designers above, but there is just so much sprawling over so many subjects that it makes for clutter no matter how its arranged.

I'm looking for the key to arrange all of this in a sensible order.

This version though is a vast improvement over the previous 3 or more attempts. I want the next version to be as big an improvement again so a lot of thinking is going on.

So thank you for the input.

Jacqueline Lichtenberg
ambrovzeor@aol.com
http://www.simegen.com/jl/