Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers

Do you have a blog or website that promotes your book?

As this is the Marketing and Promotion section, I think we should help ourselves out here first! Show off your blog or website and get feedback on it. If you dare. :)

It can be great to have fresh eyes look at what you're doing and see if there are any new ideas to be shared that would help drive traffic and/or increase sales.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by brokenwhole on February 20, 2010 at 6:05am

Hi hate to sound snarky, but you really need to use a spell-checker before you put things out in public, especially on a website devoted to writing. Perhaps you're just rushed, and making mistakes, although I scarcely think that could excuse the grammatical errors in your response to Anna's note. Might I suggest using Firefox for your responses in public forums? My own spelling is a little on the shaky side, particularly as I get older and I start to second guess myself on the correct spelling of words like "wine". Firefox underlines misspellings in form-entries (although it's dictionary is not 100% reliable), and has been a face-saver for me in keeping a blog. Best of luck.

Sean Falconer said:

Thank you for the imput I forgot to mention that the part that is on the site was not edited but the finished manuscript was. I apreciate the imput on the names of the characters as well I used the name Sylvin as a character because every online game I have ever played and there has been more than a few I have used that name Sylvin Nightshade. the name Mithradier I got from another character a friend alsways used I have read the tolkien books and honestly had not considered that it had been used as one of gandalfs names I do see where your comming from there. Thank you for your imput and I don't get mad I take all advice and constructive criticism with an open mind.

Anna L. Walls said:
Please, please, please don't be angry with me. I too published through AuthorHouse. I read your first paragraph and it made me wonder if you had it edited. I know AuthorHouse requires it, so I was amazed to see so many errors. I don't think I saw a single comma in the entire entry, and some of the sentences were quite awkward. And the names: Mithradier I think will always be connected to Gandalf for anyone who has read Lord of the Rings (forgive me if this is indeed the case) and Sylvin is the name of the elven race. Perhaps if you weren't writing about Mages and such, these names would be less noticeable, but I kept expecting Gandalf to show up. Granted, I only read the first paragraph, but still.

Again, please don't be angry with me. I hunger for such feedback on my own work all the time.

Willing to help
Anna

Sean Falconer said:
http://www.seanlfalconer.com/

I am working on getting this website completed it is pretty much in tact and I also have a bit of a preview to my book there. anyone interested in looking at it is certainly welcome to do so.

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on February 20, 2010 at 6:26am

I love Firefox for just that reason, but chat can be just chat. I'm picky about spelling, even in chat, and obviously you are too, BW, but I try to bite it in chat. Smiles.

brokenwhole said:

Hi hate to sound snarky, but you really need to use a spell-checker before you put things out in public, especially on a website devoted to writing. Perhaps you're just rushed, and making mistakes, although I scarcely think that could excuse the grammatical errors in your response to Anna's note. Might I suggest using Firefox for your responses in public forums? My own spelling is a little on the shaky side, particularly as I get older and I start to second guess myself on the correct spelling of words like "wine". Firefox underlines misspellings in form-entries (although it's dictionary is not 100% reliable), and has been a face-saver for me in keeping a blog. Best of luck.

Sean Falconer said:
Thank you for the imput I forgot to mention that the part that is on the site was not edited but the finished manuscript was. I apreciate the imput on the names of the characters as well I used the name Sylvin as a character because every online game I have ever played and there has been more than a few I have used that name Sylvin Nightshade. the name Mithradier I got from another character a friend alsways used I have read the tolkien books and honestly had not considered that it had been used as one of gandalfs names I do see where your comming from there. Thank you for your imput and I don't get mad I take all advice and constructive criticism with an open mind.

Anna L. Walls said:
Please, please, please don't be angry with me. I too published through AuthorHouse. I read your first paragraph and it made me wonder if you had it edited. I know AuthorHouse requires it, so I was amazed to see so many errors. I don't think I saw a single comma in the entire entry, and some of the sentences were quite awkward. And the names: Mithradier I think will always be connected to Gandalf for anyone who has read Lord of the Rings (forgive me if this is indeed the case) and Sylvin is the name of the elven race. Perhaps if you weren't writing about Mages and such, these names would be less noticeable, but I kept expecting Gandalf to show up. Granted, I only read the first paragraph, but still.

Again, please don't be angry with me. I hunger for such feedback on my own work all the time.

Willing to help
Anna

Sean Falconer said:
http://www.seanlfalconer.com/

I am working on getting this website completed it is pretty much in tact and I also have a bit of a preview to my book there. anyone interested in looking at it is certainly welcome to do so.

Permalink Reply by Kay Elizabeth on March 2, 2010 at 3:51am

Anna, your first link doesn't work if you'd like to adjust it. It's the ocm at the end. :) I'll add the correct one here so no one misses the chance to check it out. :)

http://annalwalls.weebly.com/

I have a suggestion for that site. I would have details of your currently published book right there on the home page, plus a link to buy, and then link to the rest from the home page in the main section as well as the sidebar.

Does your sidebar have a character limit? Because I'd have assumed the book was called King of Right from that, and not King by Right of Blood and Might. You're not doing yourself any favors with the search engines by shortening it there if you don't need to.

For your unpublished ones build some excitement by adding when the publication date is estimated to be if you know, and a countdown ticker to that date. If you don't have a solid date, add something like Coming in Fall 2010 or whenever you think roughly they will be. You want any fans of King by Right of Blood and Might to take note of what's next. That's a very quick first impression. :)

Anna L. Walls said:

My website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.ocm - There I've posted the synopses for most of my books. There's also a little widget where you can read a sample of my book and the reviews it has received.

My blog is http://AnnaLWalls.blogspot.com - There I generally post samples of my writing from my different books, though that's not all I post there. The same widget for reading a sample of my book is here too. Recently I've started a blog novel on a second tab. THE FORTUNES OF MAGIC - look for the link under the fish tank. Give a little attention to my cat too.

That said, I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on March 2, 2010 at 3:55am

Kay Elizabeth said:

Anna, your first link doesn't work if you'd like to adjust it. It's the ocm at the end. :) I'll add the correct one here so no one misses the chance to check it out. :)

http://annalwalls.weebly.com/

I have a suggestion for that site. I would have details of your currently published book right there on the home page, plus a link to buy, and then link to the rest from the home page in the main section as well as the sidebar.

Does your sidebar have a character limit? Because I'd have assumed the book was called King of Right from that, and not King by Right of Blood and Might. You're not doing yourself any favors with the search engines by shortening it there if you don't need to.

For your unpublished ones build some excitement by adding when the publication date is estimated to be if you know, and a countdown ticker to that date. If you don't have a solid date, add something like Coming in Fall 2010 or whenever you think roughly they will be. You want any fans of King by Right of Blood and Might to take note of what's next. That's a very quick first impression. :)

Anna L. Walls said:
My website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.ocm - There I've posted the synopses for most of my books. There's also a little widget where you can read a sample of my book and the reviews it has received.

My blog is http://AnnaLWalls.blogspot.com - There I generally post samples of my writing from my different books, though that's not all I post there. The same widget for reading a sample of my book is here too. Recently I've started a blog novel on a second tab. THE FORTUNES OF MAGIC - look for the link under the fish tank. Give a little attention to my cat too.

That said, I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on March 2, 2010 at 4:04am

Sorry for the misspelling. I was being so careful to get weebly spelled right. I've done that before. I've never run into a character limit yet so I'll fix that title right away.

Your suggestion about a timer is one I will do as soon as there is something to count down. They are books I intend to publish but as of yet I have nothing set. As soon as one of them is in the works somewhere, there will be some sort of timer. Thanks for your input.

Anna L. Walls said:

Kay Elizabeth said:
Anna, your first link doesn't work if you'd like to adjust it. It's the ocm at the end. :) I'll add the correct one here so no one misses the chance to check it out. :)

http://annalwalls.weebly.com/

I have a suggestion for that site. I would have details of your currently published book right there on the home page, plus a link to buy, and then link to the rest from the home page in the main section as well as the sidebar.

Does your sidebar have a character limit? Because I'd have assumed the book was called King of Right from that, and not King by Right of Blood and Might. You're not doing yourself any favors with the search engines by shortening it there if you don't need to.

For your unpublished ones build some excitement by adding when the publication date is estimated to be if you know, and a countdown ticker to that date. If you don't have a solid date, add something like Coming in Fall 2010 or whenever you think roughly they will be. You want any fans of King by Right of Blood and Might to take note of what's next. That's a very quick first impression. :)

Anna L. Walls said:
My website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.ocm - There I've posted the synopses for most of my books. There's also a little widget where you can read a sample of my book and the reviews it has received.

My blog is http://AnnaLWalls.blogspot.com - There I generally post samples of my writing from my different books, though that's not all I post there. The same widget for reading a sample of my book is here too. Recently I've started a blog novel on a second tab. THE FORTUNES OF MAGIC - look for the link under the fish tank. Give a little attention to my cat too.

That said, I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

Permalink Reply by Kay Elizabeth on March 30, 2010 at 6:51pm

Keith, I don't think it sounds egotistical at all. I love reading the About pages of authors and getting an insight into their lives. I'm finding it hard to see what part concerns you about sounding egotistical actually. I think it's honest and upfront. Your book was written in the same vein, yes? Then I'd say it's fine. :)

If you want to post here or PM me the bit that really worries you I can try rephrase it for you if you like. You should never be unhappy with how your website represents you, Keith. It's where people will go and you want to feel it shows you in the best light possible. If you're not happy, change it. Simple as that. I'm sure your friend won't mind and wants your book to be as successful as you do. :)

brokenwhole said:

Okay, I take the dare. I just finished the first round of redeveloping my 3 year old website about an hour ago. Have loads more to do: need to change the design of my blog, and add a lot of content. But it's a step in the right direction, I hope. My main concern is the About page. I took the risk of using a testimony from a friend, and I'm worried that some might think it's egotistical. I was advised to use it by a web consultant with a lots of experience with writers. I do know that we have to do everything we can to maximise our potential of self publicity. But I'd truly appreciate honest feedback.

My website is http://www.brokenwhole.com

Thanks for the opportunity! Keith

Permalink Reply by Kay Elizabeth on March 30, 2010 at 6:57pm

Anna, it's so so easy to misspell something you've worked hard on for a long time. I've done it myself on my own sites and it's sat like that for years before anybody pointed it out. :) We read it so many times and know it by heart too! :)

That's great about the sidebar that there's no limit. It will make a difference if you refer to the full title anywhere and everywhere. :)

Anna L. Walls said:

Sorry for the misspelling. I was being so careful to get weebly spelled right. I've done that before. I've never run into a character limit yet so I'll fix that title right away.

Your suggestion about a timer is one I will do as soon as there is something to count down. They are books I intend to publish but as of yet I have nothing set. As soon as one of them is in the works somewhere, there will be some sort of timer. Thanks for your input.

Anna L. Walls said:
Kay Elizabeth said:
Anna, your first link doesn't work if you'd like to adjust it. It's the ocm at the end. :) I'll add the correct one here so no one misses the chance to check it out. :)

http://annalwalls.weebly.com/

I have a suggestion for that site. I would have details of your currently published book right there on the home page, plus a link to buy, and then link to the rest from the home page in the main section as well as the sidebar.

Does your sidebar have a character limit? Because I'd have assumed the book was called King of Right from that, and not King by Right of Blood and Might. You're not doing yourself any favors with the search engines by shortening it there if you don't need to.

For your unpublished ones build some excitement by adding when the publication date is estimated to be if you know, and a countdown ticker to that date. If you don't have a solid date, add something like Coming in Fall 2010 or whenever you think roughly they will be. You want any fans of King by Right of Blood and Might to take note of what's next. That's a very quick first impression. :)

Anna L. Walls said:
My website is http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.ocm - There I've posted the synopses for most of my books. There's also a little widget where you can read a sample of my book and the reviews it has received.

My blog is http://AnnaLWalls.blogspot.com - There I generally post samples of my writing from my different books, though that's not all I post there. The same widget for reading a sample of my book is here too. Recently I've started a blog novel on a second tab. THE FORTUNES OF MAGIC - look for the link under the fish tank. Give a little attention to my cat too.

That said, I'd really appreciate any suggestions.

Permalink Reply by Kay Elizabeth on March 30, 2010 at 7:22pm

C.A. the best advice I can give you is buy your own domain name and put Wordpress on the site. It's so much more than a blog nowadays and you can customize the look very easily with templates. Wordpress is ideal for new website owners and you can download it free from http://wordpress.org/ for installation on your site.

I always say don't be tempted to put your book's site anywhere that you don't have full control over it like blogger or wordpress.com. If you have any kind of falling out with them or they feel you've violated their TOS in any way, they can pull your whole site and all your work is down the drain. It's always much better to have it on your own domain where you call the shots.

That said, you're just starting out and learning the ropes so you could get yourself a blog at wordpress.COM for free and use it simply as a learning platform. Your site's URL would be whatever username you choose plus wordpress.com, like this: username.wordpress.com. I'd use that to figure out how it works and then create my own site on my own domain. It doesn't even need to be about your book. You could use it as a personal blog and learn how the admin side works that way first.

When you're ready to get your book site up you need to choose your site name and register it online. It won't cost you more than about ten dollars a year to own that name and you can register it for one year upwards. It's simple to do. Just google it.

After that, get recommendations on a host. Choose a different company to host your website than to register the name. It makes it easier to switch hosts in future if you have to later when you don't bundle those together. What your hosting provider does is maintain and provide you with your internet access every month.

Hope that gets you started! :) Just ask as you go along and we'll help best we can.

C. A. Lofton said:

I do not have either a blog or a website at this time, however I am planning to get a website. Do you have any suggestions on how and where to start?

Permalink Reply by Jaye Murphy on April 14, 2010 at 7:09am

Hi, I don't have a blog, but I do have a website (that I have actually been having technical trouble with the past two days; I think everything is okay now). Nevertheless, I would love for you guys to take a look at it, read my excerpts, my one review, the whole set up. Would love feedback.

www.jayemurphy.webs.com

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on April 14, 2010 at 7:24am

Looks really nice. I like the book-look. Too bad you can't turn the pages. I invite you to check out mine. http://AnnaLWalls.weebly.com

Jaye Murphy said:

Hi, I don't have a blog, but I do have a website (that I have actually been having technical trouble with the past two days; I think everything is okay now). Nevertheless, I would love for you guys to take a look at it, read my excerpts, my one review, the whole set up. Would love feedback.
www.jayemurphy.webs.com

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on April 14, 2010 at 9:06pm

I took a look. It is very lovely. I wonder why it is so not centered but then that's just my wanting all things centered, balanced, even etc. At any rate, it looks very nice, and it was quite east to navigate. Good for you.

Yolanda Gaston said:

Hi! I do have a website created for my book. It is www.seasonsandelements.com. I do have a blog but I don't update it. I figured between Facebook, Authors Den, the website, and writing - I can't spread myself too thinly. I'd love some fresh eyes to take a look at the site and let me know what you think. On the site I do have a few poems posted as well as the synopsis from the book and some reviews.

Thanks in advance!

Permalink Reply by Anna L. Walls on April 14, 2010 at 11:50pm

It looks alright. It's just that I expect to see things on the right-hand side. Things kinda like the add on the right here only that's not necessarily the only thing shown on the sides of sites. You do have a couple strips of shades of cream so it's not totally bare. Take a look at my blog to see what I'm talking about. http://AnnaLWalls.blogspot.com Then again, you probably already know what I'm talking about.

Yolanda Gaston said:

Thanks for looking at the site! When I created it on my screen everything looks centered. I guess it looks different on other screens. Problem is I don't know how to correct it lol. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again for letting me know! At least now I can work on fixing it LOL

Anna L. Walls said:
I took a look. It is very lovely. I wonder why it is so not centered but then that's just my wanting all things centered, balanced, even etc. At any rate, it looks very nice, and it was quite east to navigate. Good for you.

Yolanda Gaston said:
Hi! I do have a website created for my book. It is www.seasonsandelements.com. I do have a blog but I don't update it. I figured between Facebook, Authors Den, the website, and writing - I can't spread myself too thinly. I'd love some fresh eyes to take a look at the site and let me know what you think. On the site I do have a few poems posted as well as the synopsis from the book and some reviews.

Thanks in advance!