Noticing the comments (yeah should have looked there huh) there is a placeholder….
still no site…
This makes baby jesus cry. Just saying.
First posted Aug 4, 2007. No Website. Not much info as you can see below.
Three months later… and that hasn’t changed a bit. Except I have a mock up of the book, which has a cover. And now am annoyed so I will read it later after I am not so annoyed. Sorry that tends to screw with my enjoyment of the book.
go figure…
WEBSITES! Information about your books…. yes nifty idea no? I know, I know but the book doesn’t come out for 4 months. So why in the world would it be a good idea to get your name out there. Cuz readers don’t need to know about upcoming debut books.
Seriously people, make it hard to find info about you and all it does it make me move on to the next person. Now I admit I an decidedly not the ‘normal’ reader. But that everyday reader is more likely to pick up that Nora Roberts, Elizabeth Lowell, Linda Howard or whoever reissue from 10 years ago because they know of the name than a newbie author.
Or am I wrong about that? TT isn’t that big of a subgenre is it? Debut authors have a hard time breaking into the world… no?
First posted Aug 4, 2007
from Celtic Hearts Romance Writers:
Veronica Wolff has two books coming out with Berkley next year. They’re both time-travel romances set in 17th century Scotland: MASTER OF THE HIGHLANDS, based on the real-life laird Ewen Cameron, and SWORD OF THE HIGHLANDS, based on the life of James Graham, Marquis of Montrose.
I am very eh on time-travel but will try and remember to upload the cover later if anyone is interested. Hell to be honest I don’t recall seeing it but I may have passed over it cuz of the TT thing. Although to be fair I have read some TT I liked.
No website for Veronica Wolff and if she is the chicka who hangs at fog city divas who knows when she will get a website. ::coughMonicaMcCartycough::
Hey Sybil, I heard that! Sheesh, my website was up two months before my first book was out–I didn’t want it up much earlier than that because I didn’t want things to feel stale. I know, I know, you want info before that, but I did send you a blurb early. 🙂
And yes it is the same Veronica Wolff who posts at FCDs. I know she’s working on a website. 🙂
eek–I’m working on it! I just handed my second book in this past week, so that’s been consuming me. Plus I want to launch a better than eh web site. 😉 I’ll have a placeholder up at veronicawolff.com in September, then a site launched early October. I promise. 🙂
I can’t find a website for Linda Howard. I recently tried to find the order for her books and I was shocked she doesn’t have one. Or has Google let me down again and it’s really out there under some name that I couldn’t guess at?
Here’s my opinion about websites: Every single author– no exceptions– should have a site that, at absolute minimum says “Here’s my published books (in order, please)” and “here’s what’s coming soon, and when”. That is really not too hard is it? Maybe you could even add a blurb and a link about each book. That would be just dandy and ever so helpful.
Oh, and one more requirement… KEEP IT UP TO DATE!!
The fact is, if an author doesn’t seem to care whether I know about her work, then why should I?
Y’know, websites aren’t on sale at every corner drugstore. You have to find a designer, a host, think about what you want the thing to look like, give the designer time (or be the designer, not that I recommend it), test it and then load it. Oh yeah, and you have to write some content for it, too, for the people who want things like excerpts and covers.
But feel free to keep giving Monica a hard time. 🙂
I think Linda Howard purposely doesn’t have a website, some unpleasant-fan-related reason.
I agree that, ideally, an author should have a website with her own domain name, but even a free Blogger page would do. SOMETHING that can be Googled. Or even a *cringe* MySpace page (I can’t believe I just suggested that).
And if I can create a Blogger page, ANYONE can do it! A basic page is ridiculously easy.
No they aren’t. And that is understandable. But really you can set up shit easy enough for a simple web page and or blog.
Readers don’t need and often do not want the big bells and whistles of a website. Lisa Kleypas old site with the big picture you clicked on – cute idea – annoying as fuck all. As was the fact she NEVER UPDATED THE THING.
I say that with nothing but love for lisa, but really new site much better. (Still needs to be updated more often…)
Julie Garwood… high end site I generally wouldn’t go to if you paid me. Now I am not a huge ass Garwood fan so she less wiggle room. Of course I seriously doubt she gives a shit about my opinion.
Titles, summary, excerpts and backlist… shouldn’t be a hard things to do. Tell me what you are working on and tell me why I should want it. Otherwise why are you taking up space on the shelf?
WEBSITES… big fucking deal. And if an author can’t be arsed to put out their name, that is ok. I just don’t want to hear about the big bad hard world of publishing eating new authors.
And it does get to a point where you find yourself running down info that SHOULD be easy to fucking find. More and more I find myself wondering why. If author Z is putting effort into their work and getting it out there and it sounds interesting it makes more sense to read that book. Talk about that book. Hopefully like that book. Why work to find info on author b who is too ‘busy’ or ‘untalented in websites, promo, whatever’ to get their name out there.
There is no buzz without some work.
And really lets be for real. Yes Linda Howard had/has? issues with a fan/stalker/whatever the fuck. Linda Howard is Linda Howard. She could have a website if she so wanted. She is big enough to never dirty her hands with it. And there is more than enough crap in the world to be able to do it herself if she wanted too. As well as I am sure there are more than enough people who would do it for her. God created fangrrls for a reason other than to give mean girl bloggers something to poke at…
She doesn’t care, she doesn’t want one or she would. End of sentence. And as soon as a debut author becomes Linda Fucking Howard she too can decide not to make life easy on her fans. They may whine and bitch about it but as long as she stays ‘good’ to their minds they will buy. sez I.
I doubt anyone else in the world picks on Monica so I think it is my lot in life to be a pain in her arse 🙂
I know… I almost feel badly for her…
Thus sayeth Princess Potty Mouth. ;-p
Ok, I can see how an author would have to push to do the web stuff if writing is their thing and promo isn’t (not a good idea, but I understand it).
Can anyone explain to me why a publisher wouldn’t put a blurb up for “coming soon” books?
As in why they wouldn’t put them up farther out then they do? No clue. Without going and looking… off the top of my head I would say berkley has blurbs up like a month out or so…
The info is there and can be found. Sometimes it just takes digging. Unless it is harlequin… don’t even get me started on them. Of course it is understandable when Harlequin is putting out as many books as it does a month they might not have blurbs up but you can generally find the titles of their upcoming books three months out.
I have found UK Harlequin Authors are terrible about having websites. Maybe it just isn’t a big a thing on the otherside of the pond.
Or maybe it isn’t that big of a thing here. We are just odd ducks and no one else cares. I mean look at Monica McCarty… unknown name really… had a website go up like a month or so (I think) before her first release… saw three back to back releases… I saw and heard very little about the books. What I did see was because I knew of the books and looked.
They sold very well. Great covers, eye catching colors, in major stores, back to back releases… maybe it didn’t matter if people knew who she was or had read anything by her.
so really who knows…
Oh Sybil, trust me, Monica gets picked on 🙂
Well, thank goodness, Jami!
I agree that writers should have a website with at least bare bones information (Linda Howard aside–I think people are managing to find her books just fine). But FIVE MONTHS before a book is out, who is going to be looking for that website? Besides Sybil, I mean. Publishers don’t generally trumpet books that far ahead; they are promoting the books that are out now, and coming out next month, and maybe the month after. When you’re talking about someone’s debut book, no one knows that author exists until the book comes out, reviews start to go up, people start reading it and talking about it, etc. As long as the website is up by then, I don’t see how you can rag on someone.
Plus, websites can cost a lot of money (if you outsource the work) or a lot of time (if you’re insane enough to do it yourself). If a writer does it herself, she isn’t writing; if she isn’t writing, she doesn’t get paid. Do you want books, or websites?
Here’s my $0.02. I think an author’s minimum web presence should be what I list below. That web presence doesn’t have to be fancy – I couldn’t care less if it’s aesthetically pretty as long as it’s functional. There are TONS of great blog templates available and any of them would be perfect.
Author’s minimum web presence:
1. Home page with genre info and links to the below.
2. Very brief bio page with publicity pic and contact info. The contact can be an agent or publisher if personal info is verboten.
3. Book list page, in release order with dates, series and the like noted.
4. New Release page with excerpts, optional purchasing details.
5. WIP page with any info you feel comfortable posting. Whets a reader’s appetite for future releases.
6. Page for anything else you want: hobbies, links to authors you like, your pets, etc.
I see 1-4 as being most important, and 5 and 6 optional. It’s very difficult to review a book when 1-4 aren’t available. I like to see 5 so I can leave a tickler for people reading a review.
The single web element that I see as being more important than any other is the excerpt. The lack of an excerpt makes a buying decision difficult in the age of amazon.com. Internet purchasing keeps me from sitting down and flipping thru a book, seeing if I want to buy it. An excerpt gives me that virtual experience. I’m far more unlikely to buy a book that I can’t find an excerpt for, unless it’s an auto-buy author.
In my reviews, I prefer to link to an author’s website for excerpts and info, rather than the publisher. This is because I’d rather drive traffic to the author’s site in case the reader wants to learn more about the author.
I want both. And if I had my way I want it the moment the book is inked.
But sadly I don’t often get what I want… I do not know why that is…
Hi Ladies,
I was in search of a blurb and website for Master of the Highlands by Veronica Wolff. I came across a myspace page with no info and this blog.
The reason I’m searching for this information is that I own a review company (Night Owl Romance http://www.nightowlromance.com) and just got in a manuscript copy. When I tell my reviewers about what books are available I like to tell them something about the book and head them in a good direction for information on the release. I now know it’s a Time Travel Historical Scot romance, but not much more. I guess I could read it, but that’s a lot of work just to get a reviewer interested. I do thank you all for letting me at least know the genre to list it under and I hope more information is available soon.
A blurb would really help a reviewer choose if they want to review the book or if they just leave it on my shelf until closer to the release date.
Tammie King
Night Owl Romance
http://www.nightowlromance.com
Hi Tammie, I’d be thrilled to give you whatever info you need! My web site is going live this weekend. In the meantime, I’ll mail you with more info.
thanks,
Veronica Wolff
Hi again Tammie, I was unable to find your email address on your site, so hopefully this will answer your questions: Master of the Highlands is a time-travel romance, set in 17th-century Scotland, and based on a real-life Highland chief. National bestselling author Allie Mackay/Sue-Ellen Welfonder says, “Extraordinary! An accomplished storyteller, Veronica Wolff is the brightest voice to hit Scottish romance in ages. MASTER OF THE HIGHLANDS is powerful, riveting, and vibrant. A must-read page-turner destined to be a keeper.â€
Please just let me know if you need more info. And I do promise my site is going up imminently. 🙂
best,
Veronica Wolff
TGTBTU bringing authors and readers together in more ways than you can imagine 🙂