Flushed with success - kinda

[elingregory]

For the past month I've been fighting with a website, or rather a combination of domain registration [easy], getting it hosted [easy] obtaining access codes [pretty damn hard] and finally actually uploading content.

I really shouldn't be allowed out alone. I can understand losing content but I managed to 'delete' the home page.

Anyhow - now I've got it back, with content, and a few links and want to know what else to put on there. Bits of free fiction? Pictures of cats? Pr0n? Should I do a poll? Cuz, honestly, I don't know what I'm doing.

Also I have spent far too long messing about with it. So I'm going to bed with a notebook and will doze off making marks on paper like I did last night.

Comments

[melanietushmore.livejournal.com]

naww, computers are a pain.

how about...
home page, obvs
bio
gallery (book covers?)
links
reviews

and Clare London suggested at her v useful talk, the coming soon and books available page :)

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

This is about the fifth try to reply, due to LJ being a pig and eating all my comments!

Those are all excellent suggestions, some of which I can do now - home, bio, links - and some later. Not much point having a 'coming soon' page when I haven't got anything coming soon. Maybe a 'Fingers crossed' page? Also the only sort of reviews that don't store up a world of pain are unreservedly gushing so I think I might do a recommended reads one instead. :) thanks for the input. My head was spinning that night.

[melanietushmore.livejournal.com]

aw hun! :(

i dont think you have to be mega specific about things 'coming soon' if you dont want?
maybe just a vague whats happening... like 'hope to release novell soon/short stories'
?

and yes i did the same for reviews, pointed it towards goodreads XD

[gaycrow.livejournal.com]

Oooh, sparkly new web site!

melanietushmore's suggestions are good. I'd also throw in some free fiction. That's how I discovered Jordan C Price, and her amazing PsyCop series. Never looked back!

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Free fiction for definite. I'm looking at it now - and there's masses of it - thinking 'sheesh this stinks'but I'm sure i can find some bits that aren't too sporky.

I like the PsyCop stories. I'm also over the moon that M. Chandler is writing SOTT again - a prequel. And I need to read her Tales of the Black Oceans stories [displacement activity to give me an excuse not to write anythong of my own, much :D]

[erastes.livejournal.com]

Looks really good. excellent having your blog on the main page, don't forget to keep it up to date.

I'd add a paragraph in your bio about Beeeeez so people know what the header on the site refers to, and link to an excerpt of it on the samples section.

Also worthwhile adding the review widget from goodreads for your books, so people can see what other people think without having to leave the site

and MORE importantly - standardise the content of your book pages, suggest putting the buy links at the top of the page like you have with British Flash.

Looks good though - well done!

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

I wanted the About page as Home but it just wouldn't do that and I got into a terrible muddle. I'm looking for samples of WIPs now and everything I look at looks manky. I need to do some MAJOR revisions!

I'll tweak the books page as you suggest. I just copied the text across. If I have more stories to add to the 'buy here' I'll make myself a template so they are all in the same style. That'll make it easier.

Many thanks for the advice :D

[britalone.livejournal.com]

What about adding a couple of your drawings?

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

I've got a Deviant Art account for drawings, not that I upload them very often. But I will probably use some sketches as thumbnails and i'll make the digital images for the header as the focus changes. It's here (http://www.elingregory.com/) if you want a look. :D no rude piccies, honest.

[kayberrisford.livejournal.com]

heh, sadly, as you know, any advice I can give is minimal as you have been advising me :D

It all sounds great, though. One thing I'm going to get up at mine over the next month or so is some free reads :)

Pictures of cats are always welcome :D

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

I can just see mine hiding amongst the wisteria on the roof, waiting to ambush blackbirds. Not sure that's the right sort of pictute, though, unless I add a caption like "I haz a plan"?

The problem that I'm finding with putting up free reads is that now I've seen how a properly edited story works nothing I have is anywhere near good enough. I'm going to have to do a LOT of rewriting before i make it public even in excerpt form.

[kayberrisford.livejournal.com]

g*! I love cats. I need an icon of my lovely old moggy!

Actually, that's a worry that's been growing in the back of my mind too. I have two or three short stories I want to work on that might be suitable but, following everything I've learned from my editor, I'm a little nervous for the same reason!!

Just accepted and replied to your comment on my blog. Thank you!!

Now better get back to the wedding I'm hiding from!!!

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

I hope the wedding wasn't too traumatic.

[stevie-carroll.livejournal.com]

Go you! I need to sort all that kind of thing soon.

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Yes, you do, so I can link to it :D!!

[josephine-myles.livejournal.com]

I would put in excerpts from your stories in the anthologies - you could also put snippets from reviews in there. If you want to find links to all the reviews, you can check out the anthology pages on my website (http://josephinemyles.com/) (well, okay, I haven't yet put up those two from yesterday)

Deleting the home page when first setting up Wordpress is surprisingly easy. I've managed to do it... twice :/

I have a WIP page on my site. Not sure if it gets looked at very often, but it's there. A contact page is useful too. And one to put random links on to all those places you love - I need to create one of those myself. It's on my to do list...

[elin-gregory.livejournal.com]

Sorry for delay in replying. I've only just picked this one up.

Not sure if it gets looked at very often

From what I can make out most people feel like that bout their websites, but it seems that they are a 'must have' so it's good to make them as much fun as possible. I've been adding links to my favourite sites to a 'blogroll' on my front page plus the blogs of people I think won't mind. May I add yours to it? I enjoy reading your adventures in writing/publishing.

[josephine-myles.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I don't think you even need to ask if anyone minds having their site linked - the more inbound links, the better your Google ranking and the more chance of finding new readers :D

I'm not going to be working on my links page properly for another week or two (busy with trying to finish a novella), but I'll add a link to your site too :)