Comments on: Building a better author

By: Jeannie Eadens

Jeannie Eadens — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:53:31 +0000

Susan Mallery has a wonderful website with her complete backlist as a printable PDF. That’s saying a LOT, with all the books she’s written! http://www.susanmallery.com

I also really like Debbie Macomber’s site. It’s simple and homey, just like her writing, with fun extras like knitting patterns. There’s nothing flashy or distracting, it’s just easy to navigate.

By: LaShaunda

LaShaunda — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 22:04:21 +0000

I like pictures and when I do interviews with authors, I like having one with the interview. Contact info is a must. I can’t request an interview from you if I can’t contact you. If you don’t want to put an email address for you include one for your publicist or have a leave a comment page.

By: Francesca Hawley

Francesca Hawley — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:35:36 +0000

In addition to being an author, I’m also a librarian. I have avid readers come up to my reference desk and they’ve discovered a new book by an author who’s been writing since the 80s. They want a list of everything that author has ever written. Yes, they do. They also want a blurb about every single book. So if you have the cover on your site – make it link to a page with the blurb. If you write a LOT, provide me with a printer friendly book list that I can print out for my readers. Include Title, year published, ISBN – minimum.

I also second the idea of making the site look professional. If you’ve published twenty or thirty books you might have enough royalties coming in to pay to have the site designed. I have visited an author site and it was really primitive. The basics were there – but no links to blurbs, no printable book list…nada. It did make me question the author a bit.

If someone is a newly published author (like me) the blurbs are good, but the book list isn’t that necessary…yet. I mean if you only have two books out, why make a list? But include links and an ISBN number.

I can’t tell you how many times a library is asked to purchase a book for our collection or request a book through interlibrary loan and are forced to look this stuff up. Yeah, that’s what we do – but make it easy for us and we’ll love you forever. Really.

Francesca

By: Lori Devoti

Lori Devoti — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:08:26 +0000

Shreela, Ha, something I do! (kind of ) I say on my site #4 in my Unbound series, etc. But what I didn’t realize is a lot of category series readers like to also know what number the book is in the entire line. So, that might be something else for us category authors to think of putting on our sites…

By: Lori Devoti

Lori Devoti — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:05:21 +0000

Ah, the un-updated web site. I have been guilty of that—although we are talking a few months, not years.
I went to a WordPress site because it makes updating a lot easier and I STILL will find myself thinking…I need to update that site…I really need to update that site. My MySpace page is a full release behind right now. It is on my list…
So, I completely agree with the keep your site updated, but it’s a bit of another case of me being hypocritcal I guess.
It is just amazing how much time all of this stuff takes–but it’s about priorities, right? Skipping an hour of twittering maybe to up date the site? I could…should…do that.

By: Kimber Chin

Kimber Chin — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:18:41 +0000

But Amanda, would you rather the author publish crap? ‘Cause I’ve been seeing that more and more lately. An author is pressured to publish more and ends up churning out garbage.

I’d wait forever as long as the book was good.

By: Shreela

Shreela — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:42:13 +0000

I want to find series numbered clearly, or at least pub dates. I’m guessing it’s the pub houses that decide whether to list series in chron, or reverse-chron, but it’s not consistent. And unless the series are numbered, or listed with pub dates, I have to do yet more searching elsewhere to other sites to try and figure out your series order. Try to help your potential customers, not irritate them, thanks.

And I want to find published books in 2 clicks, 3 only if there’s many different series so that they have to be broken into sub-sections.

I don’t read author blogs much anymore; a gal can only take so much promoting (your own, as well as your buddies). I can handle if you write other genres. I might even like your other genre better

By: Karen

Karen — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:21:21 +0000

Please, please, please, update your web site. I’ve come across a half dozen author web sites recently where the author has a current book out, but her web site hasn’t been updated in 2-3 years. Those authors probably aren’t reading this article, but I’d much rather have a very basic web site that’s updated than a fancy one that’s still advertising a “new” book that came out in 2006.

And please make it easy to figure out how your books are related, especially if you have several overlapping series. If I haven’t read your books in a year or two, don’t assume that I’ll remember all the convoluted relationships between your various characters – just give me a cheat sheet of who’s related to who so I don’t feel so lost.

By: Lori Devoti

Lori Devoti — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:20:27 +0000

Second note on the same but different. I think this is a huge lie-to-ourselves issue for authors.
At NINC last fall Lou Aronica spoke on what makes publishers choose an author to push. And one of the big things he said was doing something well that makes you stand out AND doing that thing over and over. Being consistent.
Immediately after the session authors started talking around this…well, that could mean all my stories are heartwarming, it doesn’t matter some are historical and some scifi romance. Or whatever. Basically though I don’t think we wanted to hear what he had to say.
I am a big genre hopper–started in romantic comedy, then dark paranormal, now urban fantasy AND I have a paranormal YA with my agent. I can stretch and say there is some common thread between all of these…or drop the rom com and say the rest are all paranormal and that is true, but I don’t think it fits into what Lou was saying.
Yes, there are authors like Connie Willis and Neil Gaiman who write very different books and still get huge fan bases, but I think they are the exception not the rule.
Which doesn’t mean we all have to do the same but different thing–we just need to be honest with ourselves as to what we are doing and face that it may make breaking out harder.
At least that is my opinion.

By: Lori Devoti

Lori Devoti — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 02:11:09 +0000

Wow, sorry I went AWOL. For some reason I wasn’t getting emails telling me people posted replies. Got them first thing this morning then they stopped! I thought the crickets had landed.
Same but different…without naming names it is hard to specify. And it is horribly unfair to ask of an author because it is incredibly hard for them to do! There is a certain author whose series I love, but at some point I realized all the characters were the same–there were new characters each book, but they were the same casting–if that makes sense. So that was too much the same. Then again there have been authors whose series I LOVE and I hear they are doing something completely new they are really excited about…I’m usually not. Because I want that same type of book. It could be a new series in the same sub-genre and I’d be cool–I’m talking switching from say paranormal to romantic comedy.
On contests…you know I’ve had winners of contest never send me their addresses– more than once. I never know what to do then…
Angie, GRRM…hmm…that might just be who I had in mind. My husband starts pacing if you just mention that book!