Comments on: Website Help!

By: Barbara E Martin

Barbara E Martin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:03:20 +0000

These are wonderful comments for anyone starting up a website. What I was going to say has already been covered.

By: Stephanie Burgis

Stephanie Burgis — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:02:47 +0000

Ooh, thank you, Simon! Those are really, really good points.

By: Simon Haynes

Simon Haynes — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:08:09 +0000

BTW I’d suggest a google or Yahoo group for announcements – much better than messing with integrating blogs into your site. You can post to the group whenever you like and people are free to join or leave as they wish.

I use a separate page for each new news item related to the books, and I never change links or use dynamic content. Google loves static pages.

http://www.spacejock.com.au if you want to take a look.

By: Simon Haynes

Simon Haynes — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:05:57 +0000

Definitely a ‘Press’ page where you can put a bio, high-res author pic, hi-res cover shot, etc, etc all in one place. The number of times I’ve sent people to my Press page is incredible, from people organising school visits to journalists doing a feature. And they all really appreciate having the info to hand.

By: Stephanie Burgis

Stephanie Burgis — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:05:39 +0000

These are all really, really helpful responses. Thank you guys!!!

By: Naomi

Naomi — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:12:56 +0000

I have an abiding hatred for author sites which only contain an author bio, a list of their books, and where to buy them. GAH! If I’m a fan, I already know that crap. If I’m not, I don’t care.

Interaction. Feedback, forum, messagebox, some way for fans to contact you personally and have you talk back.

New material of some sort, weekly or monthly. A newsletter or blog.

Bonus material is a great idea. Short stories, linked to your books or not.

No-nos? Flash. Biggest PITA around for anyone with less-than-perfect computer and internet access, AND it’s limiting. Looks pretty, I’ll grant, but not worth it.

Now that I’ve said all that, I guess the first part of designing an author website is asking – Is this site for existing fans, or are you hoping to gain new ones via the site? Because the answer to that question changes what you need to do with it.

By: Phoebe

Phoebe — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 20:09:00 +0000

I agree with what’s been said. Books, press kit, links, and news/events are musts.

A few pet peeves: glam shots, music, hard-to-navigate site (for example, if events is nested within news which is a subheading of about me it’s going to be too hard to find), tell-all blogs.

As far as what makes a “nice extra” (and every author site needs a few nice extras), I think it all depends on the tone that fits you as an author.

For example, if you are a funny, whimsical writer then maybe it adds value to have Easter Eggs (hidden links that make it fun to mouse over the site) or an off the wall FAQ containing hilarious questions no one would seriously ask.

Or, if you’re more a serious type, then it might be cool to podcast essays or include copies of speeches given.

And of course an author could easily be both funny and serious–in fact, all my favorites are.

By: Karen Wester Newton

Karen Wester Newton — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:54:12 +0000

There’s all kinds of information out there on this. From what I have heard, the critical things are:

Update frequently! if you don’t people have no reason to come back.

Have enough visual elements to make an intersecting page, but nothing flashing or hugely graphic (i.e., slow to load).

Have links on how to find you on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

Have an email link for readers to contact you.

Congrats on the book launch!

By: Dana

Dana — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:48:38 +0000

What I don’t like to see — on an author site or any website — is clutter, backgrounds that make the content hard to read, and especially a lot of animated gifs. If it moves, KILL IT! It should load easily in deference to older computers. If there’s audio on the site it shouldn’t start automatically. Links to an author’s blog, Twitter etc. are a big plus.

By: Kathleen Foucart

Kathleen Foucart — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:41:30 +0000

This isn’t really essential, but I really love when authors have “extras”- pictures of the characters (not necessarily by the author!), “deleted” scenes or alternate/extended versions of scenes from the book, stuff that didn’t make it in the book but is fun to know… I love J. K. Rowling’s calendar that says “Happy Birthday” if it happens to be the birthday of any of her characters.

In terms of what I expect to see… If the author has a blog, I want to see a link to it. A page for “appearances” is helpful, though it could be part of an “about me” or “news” page. I like front pages to keep track of updated information, so I can tell right away if something new is going.

If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know!