I have installed this on a few websites now and find it a fantastic plugin to use.  It’s easy, connects quickly to your Pinterest account and looks great on websites. Check it out for yourself!

Pretty Pinterest Pins

From the plugin page:

This plugin allows you to display thumbnails and links to yours (or anyones!) latest Pins from Pinterest in your sidebar. It is styled after Pinterest and offers a clean and modern look to show off your pins.

This widget is fully customizable, you can:

• pull the latest pins from any Pinterest user
• display only pins from specific boards
• choose the number of pins to display
• show or hide the image captions
• display a “Follow me on Pinterest” button under your pins

Features:

• Clean and Modern Look (like Pinterest)
• Looks great on light and dark backgrounds
• Captions scale and look nice with long or short text
• Semantic HTML
• Easy to Install: Simply add a Pinterest username and you’re good to go!

Have you installed this plugin?  Post back here and tell us what you think!

What to keep in  mind when creating/choosing your cover:

1. Your cover picture cannot be deceptive, misleading or infringe on copyright.

2. You may not encourage people to upload your cover to their personal timelines. (These are not wallpapers.)

The content of your cover has some specifics that are very important to read:

1. NO Calls to action — This includes “visit my website”, “like my facebook page” or “come see me at my next booksigning.”

2. No website or contact information in the image

3. NO purchase information.  — This means you can’t add “Purchase at Amazon.” or “Find me on Goodreads.”

SAFE BET: NO WORDS .

(Your name is probably okay, but that’s about it.)

These pictures are NOT for advertising.  What you CAN and should do with this pictures is set a tone. Use this terrific tool as a way to powerfully impact the visitor of your page with an emotion — not a sales pitch.

Are your books dark and mysterious? Find a dark and mysterious picture as your cover.

Are you light-hearted comedy? Find a light-hearted comedy shot.

And when making your selections, remember copyright infringement.  Don’t just google and grab – you don’t know where you’d be pulling from.   But it’s worth a few dollars to perhaps pay for a royalty-free image that helps you set a tone.  A few places you can look:

http://www.sxc.hu/ – Free images, but read each photographers terms first.

http://www.dreamstime.com/

http://www.123rf.com/

The ultimate goal of this photo should be to set the mood. Don’t try to be an infomercial.

Read the full guidelines here: https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php

And remember, violations could result in losing your Facebook page. It’s just not worth it.

PHOTOS

iStockphoto

Getty Images
Fotosearch
Fotolia
Feature Pics
Dreamstime
Big Stock Photo
123RF
Free Digital Photos
Free Stock Footage
Phoenix Clips
Footage Firm

AUDIO

Opsound
IStockPhoto
Sound Dogs
Partners in Rhyme
eStock music
QTR Note
Shock Wave
Pac DV
Incompetech
Derek Audette
CD Baby
Music Loops
Jimmy Gus
Stock Music
Music 2 Hues
In The Hands
Free Play Music
Royalty Free Music
Public Domain 4U
Ghost Notes
Jamendo

PLACES TO LOAD IT:
www.youtube.com
www.trailerspy.com/
www.dailymotion.com/us
www.vodpod.com/
video.yahoo.com/
www.metacafe.com/
www.dailymotion.com/us
www.vimeo.com/
www.veoh.com/
www.blip.tv/
www.revver.com/
www.brightcove.com/en/
www.bookshorts.blip.tv
www.bolt.com
www.dropshots.com
www.castpost.com
www.flukiest.com
www.ourmedia.com
www.Phafare.com
www.podesk.com
www.tubemobul.com
www.trueveo.com
www.in.com

And a link to the video you most liked from the day:

Swept: Love with a Chance of Drowning
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_qAoQth9Wk

Thank you again for being such a great audience!

Jeannie

This makes it so much easier to link your content to other pages on your site.   If you’re on a self-hosted version of WordPress, you can easily update from the link at the top of your dashboard that says: “wordpress 3.1.2 is available! Please update now.”  Click the “Please update now” and then choose Automatically update and voila! You’ll have the newest version.

The link ability will then automatically change when you’re ready to link a section of content.  As usual, highlight the content, hit the link button and click on the new line at the bottom of the window “Or link to existing content” — this will expand to show you the content you currently have.

WINDOWS USERS

Because these are Windows keystrokes, they work whether you’re in Photoshop, an HTML editor or WordPress.

If you’re ever in need of keystrokes to call up a specific symbol, search for your character map on your computer.  Find that here:

Start Menu > then All Programs >> Accessories >> System Tools >>Character Map

This will show you all the symbols and their keystrokes.

Here are the codes below to a couple basic special characters you might use.  To get these to work, press and HOLD the ALT key while you hit all of the numbers in order.

— Emdash symbol: Alt + 0151

© Copyright symbol:  Alt + 0169

® Registered Symbol: Alt + 0174

™ Trademark Symbol: Alt + 0153

MAC USERS

Not being a MAC user, I hope these are accurate. If you try them out and they aren’t please let me know.

© Copyright: Option G

® Registered: Option-R

™ Trademark: Option-2

— Emdash: Option-Shift-Dash[-]

http://deniserobbins.blogspot.com/2009/12/making-of-connect-dots-book-trailer.html

And here are the videos we’ve done for her:

CONNECT THE DOTS

(for which my husband produced the soundtrack)

Click here to view the embedded video.

KILLER BUNNY HILL

Click here to view the embedded video.

IT HAPPENS IN THREES

Click here to view the embedded video.

And be sure to check out Denise’s new book coming up as well.  Great cover!

NEVER TEMPT DANGER

She never thought of her “gift” as special, more like a curse.

As the one man who accepted her “gift” slid the diamond ring onto her shaky finger, Maureen saw his death flash in her mind an instant before the bullet struck. With his blood on her hands and a government research project in the balance, Maureen (Gilly) Gillman does the only smart thing she can. She disappears. If there was one thing Maureen had learned, it was Never Tempt Danger.

Special Agent Lucas Danger knows Maureen Gillman better than any other man. Assigned to find Gilly and her military robot prototype, Lucas discovers that his past has caught up with him. When the woman he loves collides with his secretive past, Lucas has to open his mind as well as his heart to save Maureen.

Who will get to her first?

Visit Denise at www.deniserobbins.com

Here’s the temporary design we used — taking the angel and devil images that are signature to her WIPs and Chains (that’s work-in-progress, for all those of you with a less-than-innocent mind).  Stay tuned for the real deal, but Heidi made me promise to keep this one around for future use.  (And check out the cover of her upcoming book — is he not gorgeous??)

Today’s post is going to center on the website for the aspiring author (the unpublished writer working his or her way to publication.)  The Unpublished Writer’s Website is a topic of controversy, apparently.  As I did a little snooping around the web, I uncovered very different opinions.  Some highly recommend having one, others tell you to focus only on your writing and forget about a website for now.  And other opinions weigh somewhere in between.  The truth?

They are all correct.

Do You Need One?

Deciding if you need a website at this stage depends on two things:  where you are in your career and what your goal in having a website is.

If you have not finished and polished and perfected at least one book, your focus is better spent on writing.  A website is not something you need at this point and in fact, it could possibly hurt you down the road.  If you create a site too early in the game, it might not reflect you or your writing in the best light.  The best thing you could do at this stage of your career is focus on becoming the best writer you can be.

But let’s say you have a finished, edited book.  It’s so polished, it shines and you’re ready to submit to agents and editors.  Is it time for a website now?

The answer depends on you.

First, you need to ask what your goals are.  Why do you want one?

• Are you looking for an agent and/or editor?
• Are you looking to network with other writers and authors?
• Are you looking to start building a platform or online presence for yourself?
• Are you looking for that perception of “Serious Writer” within yourself or from others?

If your sole reason is getting an editor or agent, stop worrying.   You don’t need to have a website to get the agent you want.  A reputable agent or editor will take you and your book on because they love your work.  Not having a website isn’t going to change their mind about requesting to see a full or offering representation.

But it’s very possible that agents will look at one if it exists.  When I talked to one of my clients, Kathleen Bittner Roth, about why she chose to have a website at this stage of her career, she told me, “All you have to do is read a few agent blogs and you’ll get the picture in a hurry—if they are interested in you, they will check you out. I am a firm believer that when you want something, you must act “as if” from the beginning.”

And that thought is echoed in some of the agent comments I’ve read. On the Pubrants blog, Kristin Nelson discussed a conversation she had with an editor about whether they visit unpublished author websites: “For both of us, the answer was ‘yes.’ When reviewing sample pages where we like the writing, we’ll often give the writer website a glance and see what’s there. I don’t bother if the sample pages haven’t caught my interest.”

So while it’s not necessary to have a website to gain the interest of an agent, be aware that they will look.  If you’re going to have one, make sure it is the best it can be.  That doesn’t have to mean professionally designed, but it does need to be professional, with good, informative content.

Who Is Your Target Audience?

You’ve heard the saying “Content is king.”   In order to make your content relevant, however, you need to understand who you are marketing to.  If your reasons for wanting a website span the four questions then your target audience breaks down into two main focus groups:

Agents/Editors

• Other Writers & Publishing World Contacts:

Most people visit websites with a “what’s in this for me?” mentality.  This mentality is a staple in the Features vs. Benefits aspect of marketing.  For every feature a product offers, it’s the benefit to a customer that sells it.  For example:  McDonald’s advertises a playground for kids and a happy meal with healthy options like apples and milk. Those are features of the store.  The benefit is a quick, cost-effective meal that provides good nourishment and safe entertainment to keep kids occupied.

The benefits sell to parents because it meets two of their most important needs: good food and an entertained child in a safe environment.

When you are considering what to include on a website, you need to think about what your audience needs:

If agents and editors are viewing your website, they are already interested in your work.  They are looking to see what else you offer and a little more about you.  Your website, for this audience, serves as an online resume.  Ultimately, they want confirmation of what they already think (which often means not having something on your site that proves that opinion wrong).

Other writers and authors are looking for someone to connect with.  They are also looking to network and learn more about you.  They are visiting because they’ve already begun to form an opinion about you and they want to connect further.

When it comes to your website, you are leading out of the gate – they already want more or they wouldn’t be there in the first place.  Now is the time to show off your best side.

What to Put on Your Website

The most basic element for a good website is function.  At its core focus, a website is a tool to inspire a specific action on the part of the viewer.  If you’re published, that action is easy: you want the visitor to click and buy your book.

As an unpublished writer, the action you are hoping to inspire is a little more vague: you are trying to instill a perception, an impression of you that stays when the visitor leaves your site. If you read last month’s post on brand, you’ll remember this phrase: Your Brand is Your Promise.  It is also their Perception.

It’s an important element of brand that is often overlooked.  A brand is not only set in your efforts, it is set in someone else’s opinion about what you’ve offered.  This extends to your website – the final judge is the person viewing.   Everything you include, from the design to the content, can help steer their perception of you.

Design

On the Pubrants blog (http://pubrants.blogspot.com/2008/03/talking-websites.html ), Kristin Nelson says, “Don’t have a website/blog unless it can be a professional one. The homemade sites look it and just make me cringe. It won’t keep me from asking for your full (or if I like the novel, offering representation) but it’s not putting your best foot forward and that’s never a benefit.”

I’m going to qualify Ms. Nelson’s statement (and hope she doesn’t mind).  When she says professional, I don’t believe she means it has to be designed by a professional.  It has to be professional.

What does that mean?  To me, the best litmus test you can give your website design is whether or not you would print it out and hand it to that agent or editor in person as a representation of you.  Would you be confident that you’ve handed them something that will steer their perception of you in a positive light?

When asked why she chose to have her site professionally made, aspiring author Kathleen Bittner Roth told me, “My response goes right back to acting “as if”. I have been a successful, self-made business woman and I learned way back that putting anything other than your best foot forward is going to cost you in the end. So, for me, a professionally designed website is cost effective in the long run and a wise business decision. Every writer has a dream of who he or she is (not wants to be, but is)  and I believe a person’s website is the perfect opportunity to present a visual representation of this dream—a good website is a multi-layered symbol of what and who you are as a writer.”

Kathleen touches on one element that can be vitally important in connecting with other writers or showing a good side to an agent or editor.  Sometimes, having a website changes your perception, and that cannot be undervalued.  You are your best advocate, so if having a website gives you more confidence and belief in your abilities, it’s worth it.

If a professionally designed website isn’t in your current budget, there are a number of templates and easy-to-create options out there that will give you a functioning, professional and simple website.  Keep it simple if you’re building it yourself.  If you want to leave it to the pros, visit other writer and author websites and look for the ones you like.  There will usually be a designer’s link somewhere on the site, and you can see their portfolio and style and pricing.  I recommend researching at least a few before deciding.

Focus & Content

The other aspect is the focus of your site and what content to include.  This brings up the question about blogs: should you have one?

If building a platform and networking with other writers and authors is part of your focus, then a blog is a great opportunity to do just that.  One example of a successful, well-focused blog is The Lovestruck Novice (http://thelovestrucknovice.blogspot.com/), started by aspiring author Sarah Simas.  When I asked her why she decided to start the blog, she told me, “I wanted to create a site other aspiring authors could swing by and get in the mix with published authors. In the interest of making the blog unique, I decided I’d “grill” my author guests with questions on writing and the publishing industry in a fun, high energy, and entertaining way.”

Her blog is a mix of her own entertaining posts on her writing and life, interviews with authors and with other “novices” to watch.   Focus and content wise, Sarah has done a wonderful job of creating an environment for her audience and establishing her own personality.  Building a platform was a part of her goals, and she’s doing just that.

However, a blog like Sarah’s takes a lot of work.  She posts three days a week and spends from 3 ½ hours up each week writing, posting and promoting.  Making a successful blog takes time and effort.  This type of commitment may not be what you’re looking for at this point, in which case a blog is probably not what you want on your site.

So sans blog, what other options do you have for content?

There is a world of options when it comes to relevant content to put on your website.  Remember the audience and their goals:  form an impression and connect with you.

Start with the basics:

About You – Your site should include a few paragraphs about you, how you started writing, and what you write.  If you include a photo on this page, it should be a professional, nice one.  Again, professional doesn’t imply you paid to have it taken. It means you look professional in it.

Work/Books/WIPs –Your website should give a snapshot of what you’re working on.  Include working titles, genre, word count.  Whether or not you include blurbs and summaries of your WIPs is up to your comfort zone (and for a look at both sides of this, see this post (http://jeannieruesch.com/wordpress/?p=2940).  List content finals or wins.  List any articles you’ve published or other related work.

Contact Information – Be sure that there is an easy way to contact you on your site.  Include an email address or a contact form.  And if you’re active on social networks, include links to those as well – and include them prominently.  These are actionable links by your visitors and ways you can connect more personally with them.  Make it easy for someone to find you.

And make your site personal by adding other content:

With a focus on your writing, you could embellish your sites with facts, tidbits or interesting stories.

• Include fun research facts you’ve discovered.  Chances are if you found it different or interesting, someone else will too.
• Make playlists of songs that inspired you while writing or that match the tone and emotion of your stories, like you’ll find on Adrienne’s site (http://adriennegiordano.com/bookshelf/).
• Pick out elements that are highlighted in your book – recipes, pets, causes, an historical era, whatever you can pull from your site, and build a page or section of your site around that.

And before you say, “I don’t know what would be interesting enough…”—think again.  Yes, you do.  Do you write sassy, strong heroines?  Make a section of your site about strong women you admire. Do you write alpha males? Focus a section of your site on alpha males in the world – perhaps with a focus on the careers of your characters.  Dig into your stories and find what makes them unique, find what inspires you within them and build that into your website.  It offers even more compelling ways to connect with you as a writer.

And don’t underestimate connecting as a person.  Even two people who have nothing in common can talk for hours about a favorite TV show or movie.  Put some personal touches on the site:

• Try a list of your favorite things: books, music, television shows, and movies.  When considering “favorites” to include, look for things that connect people, rather than separate them.  Unless it’s part of your platform, staying away from politics and religion is always a good idea.
• Include links.  It’s wonderful for both networking with others and your search engine results.  Offering a links page to helpful resources, other authors, chapters, research sites, or whatever else you want to focus on offers a chance for those websites to link back.
• Do you have a hobby or additional job that would provide useful information to other writers? By all means, create a page to share your expertise and knowledge.

Ultimately, think outside of the box.  Kathleen Bittner Roth did that by adding an “Unbook trailer” to her site (http://kathleenbittnerroth.com/).  Without a book or need for a book trailer, she found a unique and entertaining way to add content to her site.

To summarize, for the unpublished author, your website is a place to build a bridge between you and your target audience.  For agents and editors, it means presenting yourself professionally.  For other writers and connections within the publishing world, it means offering a common ground.  If you keep that in mind, you can’t go wrong.

What’s the next level you can take your website to once your author bookshelf has books stacked and your readership base is growing?   You have a website that’s been focused on your author brand,  you offer updates and new information often, but you want more interactivity, you want to reward your readers with a deeper connection to you and your work.  How do you do that?

Now is the best time to truly shift the focus of your website.  In other stages of your career, your website was a place to show yourself  to other writers, agents, editors, reviewers and while some of that may still be true, your ultimate goal should be enhancing the reader’s experience: immersing them in your world(s) and offering more connection to you, the author.

The Basic Needs

Before the bells and whistles, you have to make sure you’ve got the basics in order. Basic needs for an established author’s website are mostly in line with everything else we’ve discussed – a solid design that enhances and evokes your brand, a clean navigation and easy-to-use site.  As you gain a larger readership and write more books, there are a few added basics that every site should have:

A simple, printable book list.

This doesn’t need to be fancy, but it should list all the books you’ve written.  If you’ve written series or connected books, they should be listed in order.

A coming soon page.

This is across the board for any author, but as an established author, it’s imperative.  Your readers will come to your site looking to find out when your next book is out.  As soon as you know, let them know.  Provide details on release dates, blurbs, cover, and whenever possible, a sample of the first chapter.

An easy way to contact you.

An established author is going to have fans write to them or want to connect somehow.  Have a contact page that gives all the options you offer.  A contact form, an email address, a mailing address (PO Box, please), any and all social media connections you have.  Everywhere you want a reader to contact you, list those options.

Bells & Whistles

You may ask why you need to enhance your reader’s experience through your website.  Aren’t the books enough? Or your Facebook page or twitter, or your blog?

Yes and no.  Some readers won’t ever visit your Facebook page, your twitter account, or your blog.   But your website is the one place everyone will come when they want more: more of your books, more information, more connection to you.

We’re writers, but we’re also readers. If you’ve ever met one of your favorite authors, then you know that in some ways, to a reader, an author can be like a celebrity.  Readers feel connected from your books, and just like we’re all curious about what our favorite celebs are up to, we like to know about our favorite authors.  That connection helps to build a reader’s loyalty, their trust.   And offering more for them on your website shows the reader that you value them – that you realize that your career wouldn’t be what it is without them.

So, what sorts of bells and whistles can you add to enhance their experience?  We’ll study some examples of bestselling authors and what they share with their readers:

Epilogues, Deleted Scenes & Other Short Stories

Giving more of your stories is a great way to draw your readers to your site and keep them immersed in the world you created.  One fabulous example of this is Julia Quinn’s 2^nd Epilogues for her Bridgerton series.  Her tagline for these is terrific: “Because happily ever after is a whole lot of fun.”   The offer the “story after the story” for one of my most beloved series.

Another author who has done this is Susan Elizabeth Phillips, who offers an epilogue to Heaven, Texas.

You can also choose other routes, such as deleted scenes.  Caridad Pineiro offers deleted scenes from a number of her books, as well as free reads.

Readers love more of their favorite stories.  It’s why series, especially in romance, are so successful.  When we fall in love with the characters, we want to keep reading about them.  These are great options to give a little more to your readers.

Micro sites

A micro site is a glimpse into the world of your books.  One example is Brenda Novak’s LAST STAND series.  She has a micro site available from her website (it requires flash to see) that showcases this series – the lead heroines, cases, chapters, and all wrapped in the design idea of the “offices” of the Last Stand – which works with her series premise.

If you have connected books or long-standing series, a micro site dedicated to your book’s world and characters is a great way to get your readers that much more involved.

More Information About The Author

Readers love to get to know their favorite authors.  There are a ton of different ways you can do this.   One I think is particularly enjoyable is on Lisa Gardner’s website.  She has a video called “A Day Living with Lisa Gardner.”  The video is funny, in tone with her books, and a great way to make readers laugh.

Other options, outside of the traditional “About me” paragraphs can be quirky Q&A.  Kristin Hannah does this on her website, and it’s different and fun.  (And she apparently hates onion rings.)

Get Behind The Scenes

Readers love to delve into the world of how you created their favorite books.   Look for ways to bring out special details that aren’t anywhere else – more than just settings, character bios.  Look for unique tidbits.

One of my favorite authors, Karen Rose, offers trivia on how she created her books: http://www.karenrosebooks.com/krose-trivia.htm .  It’s a great insight into how some of my favorite characters and stories came about.  I love reading these, as a writer and reader – it’s fun to see where she gets her ideas and how my favorite books come to life.

One of the best workshops I attended at the National RWA Conference was on how a cover was created. It was run by the amazing Kate Duffy, and she walked us through the variations of a romance novel cover – we saw the different versions, the changes and why they were made. It was fascinating.   While you may not be able to offer something like this to your reader, there are other details you can offer.  Things that you changed along the way and why.

And as someone who always watches the “How it was made” section on DVD movie releases, I love knowing what’s behind the scenes.   I love seeing the special effects in movies, and readers love knowing what went into making a book.

Fan Clubs

Fan clubs can be a tricky thing.  They can be called a number of things: fan club, registered readers group, etc, but it boils down to your loyal fans looking for a deeper connection with you.

On Eloisa James’ website, her “registered readers get: a whole level of eloisajames.com available only to registered readers. On these pages you will find short stories, extra chapters to Eloisa’s books, special bulletins from Eloisa, photos and other exclusive items.”  As well as advance notice of news and books.  Her website also has an “easter egg” hunt ongoing, and registered readers get hints on the game.  Her fan club is a place to play and get the inside scoop.

This level of connection has to be unique, because these days, readers can connect with you in a variety of ways: facebook, twitter, other social media.  What you offer in an exclusive group is essentially a bargain: I’ll give you, the reader, special access in exchange for your email address and agreement to send you updates.  It’s the author’s way of remaining connected to the reader and rewarding loyal readers with ways to make them feel special.

Interactive Additions

One good way to get readers active on your website is a forum or message board.  However, use caution with this because boards can take time to build, and if they aren’t kept up with fresh content, can quickly become stale.

I love the concept that Eloisa James & Julia Quinn joined their forums together into one.  It’s a great way to connect with readers of the same genre and build a stronger base for activity on the board.

Taking Your World Into Theirs

The next step would be to provide options that bring your written world off your website and into the everyday world of your readers.   There are a few ways to do that, from simple and inexpensive to luxurious and interactive.

Bling

Bling is always good for giving goodies to your readers.  This can be a variety of things from buddy icons, wallpapers, to downloadable/printable bookmarks and more.  Buddy icons can be used on message boards, forums.  Wallpapers can grace your reader’s computer

Games & More

Another option is to look into 3D games such as Second Life, and build a world that your reader can navigate through in 3D with their own avatar

Or look at creating a game about your books.  At the “Nora” level, taking the next step involved actually creating a game based on the world and characters in her Bride Quartet series, where you can “be” a character and truly interact with her world on your own time, away from her website.

Other options include apps for phones and more.  These get expensive of course, so choose what fits within your budget and always, what enhances your brand.

It Has to Work.

There are no limits to how interactive you can get with your readers.  But something to keep in mind with the addition of new perks, new games, new information, more details and more interactivity, is the most basic needs of a website: Keep it simple.

Your navigation needs to expand and grow with your new features, but overall you want to be sure your readers can find things without much effort.  Brenda Novak says, “I think the key to having a good web site is making the information quick and easy to obtain, while making the site as interactive as possible, with content that constantly changes. As the site grows, so does the amount of content, and it’s imperative that it be organized in an intuitive way so that it doesn’t frustrate the visitor. Otherwise, it becomes a waste of time and effort.”

Frustrating the visitor can be easier than you might think, especially when your website is full of information.  Your main navigation should have easy, recognizable headers such as “about”, “Books”, “extras”, “Contact”, “Links”, etc…  Look across most author websites and you’ll see the same navigation titles.   Don’t get cute here, don’t try to think up something original – this isn’t the place for it.   The more content you offer, the simpler your navigation needs to be.

So load up on the added features, get interactive with your readers but remember to keep your website simple, focused and professional.

Originally published at Romance University.org – Be sure to visit to read the comments for more indepth Q&A.