Ten years ago, at BookExpo '99 in LA, I was chatting with a well-known bestselling women's fiction author I admired, and we were both all excited because we'd just gotten -- dun-da-da-DAAAH! -- email. This was the creeping slow dial-up web of yesteryear, but we thought it was Star Trek and agreed that it was going to revolutionize the process for writers, editors, agents, and everyone else associated with the making and selling of books.
"My only worry," she said, "is that it'll be like 'video killed the radio star.' Now in addition to writing books, we'll be expected to look nice on screen."
Little did we know...
Website is totally last century. These days, authors are expected to have a "web presence." The problem is, social networking, twittering, facebooking, blogging, etc end up sucking us in and killing a lot of typing time. I have in me only just so many keystrokes per day. How best to use them?
Yen over at the Book Publicity Blog has a great post this week, examining "What kind of web presence is right for an author?" One size definitely does not fit all, and Yen breaks it down every venue into pros, cons, and whom it's best for. (Or who it's best for. Or for whom...oh, damn you, ever-changing Chicago Manual of Style! You know what I mean.)
Check it out. And keep your eye on the "Feed Me" sidebar for wise and witty updates from Yen at the Book Publicity Blog.
(And if the song is now stuck in your head, click here for the Buggles.
Comments
and speaking of social media...joni, someone told me you used to be on The Well! i have been way too active there (tho ironically not in the writing confs except for byline) since '95 or so.
DO NOT ENGAGE
Words to live by.
Thanks for stopping by, Yen! Your blog is terrific. Highly recommend it to all emerging authors all the time.