http://pagedmedia.com Because authors deserve professional websites. Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:59:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en We adore The Book Publicity Blog. Check out all the great posts: What kind of web presence is right for an author? What not to have on your book website Why a pre-publication web presence is important Promoting author events on calendar / listings sites What’s a book blog tour? How to get started on Twitter Don’t ... http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/the-book-publicity-blog/ Jia Gayles, Promotions/Public Relations Director of The Knight Agency, has some fantastic advice regarding online promotion for authors, covering virtual book tours, using online event sites to find local groups, starting a website on the cheap, and using Facebook and Twitter effectively. http://pagedmedia.com/how-to/online-promotion-advice-from-jia-gayles/ The Fangs, Fur & Fey community on LiveJournal asks readers what they think about author websites. Lots of great comments so far. http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/fangs-fur-fey-on-author-sites/ The wise readers at Dear Author have come up with 10 Author Online Promotional Don’ts. http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/10-author-online-promotional-don%e2%80%99ts/ We turned over the Hungry Monkey site to author Matthew Amster-Burton much in advance of the book’s launch, and what with one thing and another, I forgot to post about it (even though I did put the site in our mini-portfolio). But it seems I am actually somewhat timely in ... http://pagedmedia.com/client-news/not-quite-new-site-hungry-monkey/ I’ve been working with Edward Willett for the last several months to consolidate his extensive web presence — separate blog, podcast, and site — into one big WordPress-powered site. There was a lot of copy-and-paste work to do, and we divided that work between us, doing a little bit here ... http://pagedmedia.com/client-news/new-site-edward-willett/ Over on my blog, I’m soliciting comments about IndieBound, especially in terms of how authors choose to link their books on their websites. Come share your thoughts! http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/linking-to-indiebound/ Today I stumbled across a marketing tip: use LibraryThing to find reviewers for your book. I’m ambivalent about the idea. On the one hand: that’s clever. On the other hand: that’s essentially spamming the LibraryThing user. What do you think? http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/using-librarything-to-find-reviewers/ Getting into Twitter? Here’s how to customize your profile background and upload it to Twitter. (via this enormous list of tutorials, services, and inspiration galleries) http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/custom-twitter-backgrounds/ Building a Better Author — Lori Devoti has a great list of helpful things authors can do for their readers, including tips for improving websites and contacting readers when a new release comes out. http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/building-a-better-author/ We are so excited to announce that Linda Warren (one of our first clients) is a finalist in Romance Writers of America’s Rita contest. Her September 2008 release Texas Heir (a Harlequin American Romance) finaled in the Contemporary Series Romance category with eight others. Congrats, Linda! http://pagedmedia.com/client-news/linda-warren-finals-in-rwas-rita/ Writer Unboxed has a lovely post from author J.A. Konrath on self-promotion. Of course, I was most interested in what he has to say about websites, and I wasn’t disappointed: 2. Provide Internet Content. People are looking for two things on the net; information and entertainment. They aren’t looking for advertising. If ... http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/how-does-ja-konrath-self-promote/ The Writing Excuses podcast tackles author websites — 15 minutes of smart authors talking about what their colleagues do wrong (and occasionally right), what not-yet-published authors need to do, etc. (Here’s a transcript, if you prefer.) http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/writing-excuses-podcast-episode-17-website-marketing-for-authors/ In my spare time (!), I’ve been reworking a very simple content management system that was abandoned by its creators several years ago. If you’re a minimalist, or your host doesn’t let you have a database, check out Whisper. http://pagedmedia.com/announcements/whisper/ Free Tools to Create an Online Survey — need to survey your readers? These services let you put up surveys quickly and easily. Watch out for the limitations on the free versions; some of them make you upgrade to paid if you want (for example) more than 10 questions or ... http://pagedmedia.com/marketing/free-tools-to-create-an-online-survey/