Web presence is crucial to an author, it can help to establish your “brand”
and give folks an easy way to find out more information about you and your
books. An Author Web-site can be as important as writing the next great novel –
it’s your publicity, your promotion, your showcase.
Many authors don’t understand the difference between a blog and a website,
why they should have both, and when to start each. First, an author website is
where you go to learn more about an author and his books; an author blog is
where you go to get to know an author. The website is static content that
provides an easy resource ABOUT the author and it is updated as necessary. A
blog is continually refreshed with input from the author and a chance to
display writing style and newsy items about the author. Both serve a crucial
purpose and both get your name out there. The website helps you establish your
brand (you, the author), the blog helps you publicize your product (your
writing). Start your online presence earlier rather than later, build a buzz so
that when your product is available, folks will know to look for it.
Most people would not enter an unknown “store” without some kind of
descriptive signage or window display to entice. Consider your website to be
your window-display to pull a customer in off the street. This site has to
introduce you, explain you, feature you. The internet is one of the most
versatile, economical and far-reaching marketing tools available today. Just
like those newspaper ads that say “Your ad could be here today”, the internet
screams “Your website should be here today.”
Published or UN-published (so far), a good author’s web-site should
contain multiple pages. It CAN contain a blog which will help to attract
readers. You website needs a “home page” which should feature something that says YOU (book covers, you at
an event, possibly a graphic of the subject you specialize in). Use your
imagination and ask :How do I want my readers to view me?
There should be an “about me” page – remember that your readers are
interested in knowing about the AUTHOR
so you don’t need to include your life story, only the parts of it that
are relevant to your writing. Include a page for each major project (i.e.: each
book or genre). Show off book covers, blurbs, excerpts and acclaim. You will
definitely want to include a contact page with a listing of upcoming in-person
and virtual events where your fans can “meet” you, buy links, your (author’s)
email.
A very important and often overlooked page is your personal media room.
This media room literally is for the media. Include a downloadable author pic,
jpgs of your book covers, .pdf’s or .doc’s of press releases, industry sales
sheets for your books, .pdf’s of publicity (news clippings, etc) and a mock
interview of YOU. For your interview get a list of six to twenty questions,
include questions about your writing motivations, your preferred style, causes
if they are relevant to your writing subjects, where you see yourself in the
future, and advice you would give a new and aspiring writer – then answer them;
make sure the questions that you absolutely want to be asked are listed first.
You can also upload two or three unpublished “guest blogs”.
Your media room should be an easy research stop for any reporter who
wants to focus on you – the more work you can do for the reporter, the more
probable it will be for them to print (or broadcast) news about you. Expect that the info you make available to the
media may be used with or without further questions and contact. Include the
following clause in you media room: Permission is granted by (“publicist” name)
to use this photo for publicity purposes under the following guidelines…” and list
requirements. For downloadable documents .pdf is preferred but .doc is
acceptable too, just avoid formats that are not easily opened on someone else’s
computer and if possible “protect” the document so it cannot be modified. Use
your media room link on the bottom of your emails.
As a writer, expect that your life will become an open book (pun
intended), just know that if you provide sufficient information, you will get
to control most of what information gets out there.
Writing exercises: Write
down ten questions you would like to be asked for an author interview. Answer
each question briefly but honestly. Make sure that the questions (and answers)
are about YOU and are relevant to your writing career. Include family (if you
want) as they pertain to you as a writer (support, inspiration, etc)
Writing prompt: Describe
yourself AS YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SEE YOU. Be sure to include physical characteristics
(minor importance) and emotional/personality traits (more important).
