April 22nd, 2009
I’ve been thinking about my website content recently. Along with my book info and excerpts, I have my blog, free reads, story background info, photos, a video trailer and a couple of travel essays and articles. My next project is to work on a family tree for my Middlemarch series to add to my site.
Do you like extra content on author websites? Do you read it? If so, what sort of extra content do you like to see? What things do you like and dislike on a website?
Related posts:
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:02 am · Link
I like author bios, the kind that tell me more than author stats. I want to know where they live, how they live and what they are passionate about.
(as long as it’s not about politics)
LOL!
I also like short excerpts.
April 22nd, 2009 at 4:27 am · Link
Ooh interesting question, Shelley, I feel I should have more on my site but have no idea what!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 5:50 am · Link
I enjoyed your website. What I don’t like is authors that spend more time on their website that they do on their books. Some websites I have seen go on forever. Tell us what books you have written and give an exerpt if you wnat. Lots of the other ‘stuff’ can be in your blog – not 24 icons on your website. Sorry, guess I just got up a little sore from all this cold rain. :>)
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:16 am · Link
I like author bios and writing advice.
Your site is great, Shelley. I like how you have covers and titles of your books. Easy to navigate. Love it!
I agree, Karin. And sometimes a lot of graphics makes my computer freeze.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:42 am · Link
Wow– I’ve been away a few days and I’ve missed some good posts here!
I like your site, Shelley. It is easy to navigate. But I’ve seen some sites that are way too polluted with stuff and it gets confusing. Simple is best, I think because you want to keep readers coming back.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:06 am · Link
Great post, and once again..you mention something that I have thought about a lot lately.
I agree with the others…too many graphics or videos make it impossible for me to view. I’m still on dialup!
One thing I have been thinking about is character interviews from my book. I’ve seen others do it, and pull it off wonderfully. Some authors have a page set up just for their character to blog.
Writing tips, motivational posts to keep me writing, and posts that make me want to say “Me, too!” draw me in.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:43 am · Link
I love you and your work and so have fully navigated all nooks and crannies of your site. I love your free reads! And I also like the book shelf with excerpts, coming soon section and links to buy your books. The photos are interesting but you never update. LOL!
I’d love the family tree but then I love anything Middle March.
Hugs,
-Amy
P.S. You were so mean to tease me like that yesterday.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:24 pm · Link
I love free reads and info on wips. I don’t like sites where you can’t turn off the music.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:28 pm · Link
Maria – I always wonder what to put in a bio. These days you have to be careful because there are a few strange people out there. It’s not as bad for me because I have an ocean between me and my readers.
A lot of readers like excerpts. It’s a good way to get a taste of the writer’s style.
Christina – it is difficult to know what to have on a site. I ended up putting up stuff that interests me. When I started thinking about my site and filling out the designer questionnaire I decided I wanted to make my site fairly easy to navigate and that it should focus on my books.
Karin – I agree. An author should focus on their books. To me that makes sense. That’s why I wanted my latest releases on my homepage so that the focus is immediately on my books.
I’m crossing my fingers that the rain stays away in NZ for this weekend because I’m going to the rugby. I don’t think you’d like living in Auckland though. We get a lot of rain!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:33 pm · Link
Mel – thank you. Sometimes with a large backlist it’s difficult to know how to present the books. I’m always conscious of the problem with graphic downloads and know how frustrated I used to get on dial up.
Kaye – LOL – my blog is the one bit of promotion that I do try to keep up with. I’m terrible about visiting chat loops etc. It’s always difficult to balanace promo and writing. With me, the writing wins. It’s that simple.
Debra – I think character interviews are a great idea. Some writers set up MySpace and Facebook pages for their characters as well, especially if they have a series.
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:35 pm · Link
Amy W – I love teasing you, but now you’re teasing me back. That’s no good at all!
I’m glad you mentioned the photos. I have heaps I can add, but I’ve been procrastinating a bit. That’s something else I can think about during my holiday. How many new photos do you think I should add each month?
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:36 pm · Link
FAMILY TREE QUESTION
Do you think it’s a good idea to make the family tree so that the reader can print it out?
April 22nd, 2009 at 1:37 pm · Link
Jane – there’s nothing worse than music blaring through the speakers when you’re surfing at work or in the library!
April 22nd, 2009 at 2:24 pm · Link
i love your site it is easy to read and everthing has a place. I love websites that reflect the authors taste. I often look forward to sneak peeks on the website and also anthing that talks about previous books in a series. I am not one for a website with links that don’t work or coming soon that stays out there too long. I like extra stuff in the forms of the authors favorite blogs or recipes.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:57 pm · Link
Voronda – I agree with you about links that don’t work. If you come across any on my site please let me know!!
Now that I think about it all my favorite sites are the ones that clearly show the owner’s personality and go with some sort of theme. I definitely like an up-to-date coming soon page. I hate not being able to find out about an upcoming release.
April 23rd, 2009 at 10:15 am · Link
You’re welcome, Shelley.
Oh, I remember the days of dial-up.