 |
| The 24% was Goodreads and Amazon |
A few weeks ago, I was playing around on the
poll taking option on Twitter. I wanted to get a sense of how readers
track their favorite author's latest releases. With only 57 respondents,
it's not like this was an in depth study by any means. But are readers really using FB more than an author's
webpage to find out about their new releases? Given that FB can be
hit or miss, it did give me something to ponder!
I thought I'd start this discussion with a
tour of the Jungle Red Writer's author websites. Feel free to check them out
and give us pointers on what you like and what you don't like. We can take it.
Right, ladies?
So, Reds,
what is your website address? Do you maintain it yourself or have a webmaster
do it for you? Do you find your website to be a way to reach out to your
readers?
JENN MCKINLAY: www.jennmckinlay.com I
maintain mine, which is one of the reasons I chose to have it hosted through my
Author's Guild membership. As Ingrid so wonderfully put it earlier this week, I
am a "control enthusiast". They have templates, which makes it very
easy to customize, and they have a support team who field questions when I can't
figure out how to do what I want. I do find it
a very handy tool to reach my readers, mostly because I use the newsletter
feature to send out quarterly(ish) notes to readers to keep them apprised of
books coming out, signings, etc.
HALLIE EPHRON: www.hallieephron.com I
structured this web site back when my first suspense novel came out. My
daughter did the visual design and I hired a programmer who implemented it in
WordPress. It's super flexible. I add new books as they come out; new events,
new reviews go right up. And that keeps the cost way down -- all I pay for is
hosting and my domain name and my expert swings by if something breaks (they
"upgrade" the software) or I need some new bell or whistle. Now if I could
figure out how to pay myself...
I
think of my website as my portable PR kit. I want to make it as easy as
possible for readers to find me at events or contact me or the wonderful
publicist I get to work with at Morrow. And, of course, buy my books!
LUCY
BURDETTE: www.lucyburdette.com and for the previous
series, www.robertaisleib.com.
Oh lord, I know they need work! My Lucy website is through Wordpress and I
picked a theme which is too complicated. I
will be happy to hear suggestions--or maybe I'll end up choosing an author's
guild template and starting over...
DEBORAH CROMBIE: www.deborahcrombie.com
My hub designed my website. I love it. It's
clean, easy to navigate, has a gorgeous photo of London as the background, and
all my books in order. Also, you can expand or print the maps from
any of the books. However, we argue about who gets to do the updating, so
moving that to the top of my list!
INGRID THOFT: I
hired a woman who specializes in author websites to create mine at www.ingridthoft.com I
update it myself, which usually means, that I screw it up and my husband, the
software developer, fixes it! One thing I
love about my website is the photograph that serves as the backdrop. It
shows Boston from a somewhat different angle, and it's so atmospheric. The
Boston-area photographer, Bob Lussier, let me purchase the right to use the
photo on my bookmarks and business cards. I love it so much, I gave
prints of it to my agent and editor when LOYALTY was published. I'm on
the fence about how important websites are to readers, and I'm eager to hear
some feedback today!
HANK
PHILLIPPI RYAN: www.HankPhillippiRyan.com (Next
life, I am getting an easier name.) I have a web designer and maven, the
wonderful Maddee James of xuni.com, who has worked with me on three
incarnations of it: the Charlie McNally look, the Jane Ryland look, and the
"Hank is an author" look, which it has now, and I love. I mean love.
As for the inner workings, I have no idea. I send her calendar /schedule updates,
she puts them in. I send her announcements, she puts them in. There's all
kinds of bios of all sizes, photos of all types of me and the books, press
kits, tons of info for readers and writers. And reporters! And an easy contact
button--that comes directly to me!
But yeah--I
do ever go to an author's website? I've gotta say, unless I am writing an
article about them, or interviewing them, or just curious about what they look
like---not too often. What do you all think?
JENN:
Because my agent strongly encouraged me to update mine (i.e. add BUY buttons
for the books), I read a lot of articles on author websites. Here are my
top three favorites (if you know of others, feel free to share):
So, tell us, readers! Do you visit
author websites? If so, why? What are you looking for? Have you seen any author
websites that knocked your socks off?
