I'm getting spoiled by self-published authors and the services that cater to them. Big publishers are increasingly disappointing in comparison. One of the most baffling aspects of big publishing is that publishers generally don't know who their readers are. Other than people … [Read more...]
Speaking at BEA Bloggers Conference, May 29
I'm delighted to be going to New York City in May to speak at the BookExpo America Bloggers Conference. I'll be on the Blogging Platforms panel, talking about how book bloggers can make the most of WordPress. Plus I'll be, you know, wandering around BEA for three days! I'm so … [Read more...]
Improving IndieBound
Earlier this week there was a post on The Written Nerd about IndieBound (formerly BookSense), inviting booksellers and bloggers to share ideas on how it could better serve independent bookstores. I'm writing to the marketing person, but I thought I'd ping you guys for additional … [Read more...]
Paged Media: web design for authors
The web design for authors posts I've been doing have evolved into an actual business. Paged Media is a web design company devoted to authors. You know me; the designs will be standards-compliant, CSS-based, accessible, and search engine friendly no matter what. We're also … [Read more...]
Authors discussing web design
Good discussion of what should go on an author's site over at LiveJournal. Of course, yours truly had to weigh in, but other people had interesting things to say too. My original comment exceeded LJ's character limit. I'll take that as the universe's subtle hint that I should … [Read more...]
Server log analysis
I'm swamped with work, and in my free time I've been writing madly. And I'm getting back to that in just a second, but I wrote this up quickly as a reply to someone and then realized that it was too long and I really should just post it here instead. I just went through, for the … [Read more...]
Things that make you look like an amateur on the web, part 3: just plain stupid
Misspellings. I know of at least one NYT bestseller whose name is misspelled in her page title. There's no copyeditor between you and your web audience. And search engines won't recognize you if there's a typo in your name. Script kiddie language. ("R U sexxy?" Probably … [Read more...]
Things that make you look like an amateur on the web, part 2: special effects
Mouse droppings. As annoying as pop-up ads — and the only way to get rid of them is to leave the site. Mystery meat navigation. Your visitors should never have to guess where to click. Transition effects. Java plugins or applets. These things are guaranteed to crash … [Read more...]
Things that make you look like an amateur on the web, part 1: images
(I realize lists of things you shouldn't do are less helpful than tips on what you should do, but let's get the basics out of the way first. I'll get back to the proactive stuff in a bit.) Backgrounds, borders, bars, and bullets taken from a free graphics site. You don't need … [Read more...]
Jonathan Strahan on author’s sites
Seems I'm not the only one with something to say… Provide information people expect. If you are an author and you are putting up a web page add a "News" section. In a fit of foolhardiness, actually call it "News". A website is a communications tool. Use it. Be clear, be … [Read more...]
