Does Your Website Need a Health Check?

People often create a website and update it only occasionally. Authors need to periodically check their sites to make sure they’re current (and interesting). New material (and your author blog), keep readers coming back to your site. Here’s my checklist for author websites.

1. Make sure your photo (author headshot) and biography are current. Your photo should be recent and professional.

2. Include a list of events (including online ones like Facebook parties) on your site. Make sure that you keep the list up to date. No one wants to see your events from 2010.

3. Check all of your links on your site to make sure that they still work. Make sure that you can move from page to page and your pages appear as you want them to look.

4. Fill out your “contact me” form and verify that you get the email notification.

5. Make sure that your newsletter signup form works correctly. You don’t want to miss people who are interested in your work.

6. Include all of your publications with buy-links. I have a page for books, novellas, and short stories. Put your most current book first or at the top. When you do links, include multiple outlets to share the love among book retailers.

7. Make sure you have a media page that has several biographies of different lengths (100, 250, and 500 words). Many authors include photos and book covers here. If you’re asked to do a presentation or someone’s doing an article or blog post on you, they’ll use the material on this page.

8. Make sure that you have links to all your other social media sites. Verify that they work.

9. Include your blog on your website (if you blog regularly). Again, people don’t want to stop by and see that your last post was in 2005. Pick a blogging schedule that works for you and try to stick to it. This is a great way to have fresh content on your site and to keep readers returning.

10. Remove any web pages that are no longer useful. Many of your web applications will let you deactivate or archive them in case you want to use parts of them later.

11. It is great to have someone create your site for you, but you either need a personal assistant or publicist to keep it current, or you need to maintain it yourself. Content from the last decade does not inspire readers to return to your site.

12. If you’re looking for new ideas for your site, visit other authors’ pages that are in your genre. Look at the color choices, layouts, and content. Look at the order of their pages (links or tabs at the top).

13. Look at your webpage on a computer, tablet, and cell phone. Most web services create pages that are “mobile friendly” and adapt to the screen on the device. But there are still some that don’t. Make sure your site looks professional on a variety of devices.

Social Media Sites Need Care and Feeding

Social media is all about networking, connecting, and relationships. Some authors create their sites to build their platforms and then ignore them. It’s important to have a presence in a lot of different places, and it’s time-consuming to keep them up to date and active. You need to be able to respond to comments and conversations. You also need time to like, share, and comment on others’ posts.

Here are some tips that help me balance writing, the social media monster, book marketing, and all the other things that life throws at me.

• Create a routine of when you check your sites. I check during breakfast, at lunch, and at the end of the day. in the evenings, I multitask and check on my social media sites during TV time.

• Schedule posts on your sites. This helps you to get ahead and have regular posts even when I’m not online. I schedule tweets after midnight for time zones other than the U.S.

• Create posts that stimulate comments or conversations. Ask your followers what they’re reading or what book they’d recommend. Talk about favorite characters, sleuths, and movies. Conversations and shares help expand your reach.

• Share information that is helpful to your followers.

• Make sure that you like, comment, and share others’ posts. Some authors forget that it’s not all about them.

• People love to be recognized. If you’re at an event or with others, make sure to take a picture and tag them. And look at the photo before you post it. Make sure that it’s flattering. No one wants to be the one with the goofy-look on her face.

• On a lot of social media sites, there are bots posing as followers. When you follow them back, they often drop you. There are applications (some free and some that have a cost) that help you see who is no longer following you. I go in and clean up my Twitter and Instagram followers about once a month.

• Look at your posts. They shouldn’t be all “buy my book.”

• Make sure that you’re not posting the exact same post on all your sites.

• Every quarter, check your biography on your sites and make sure it's current. The artwork, photo, and color/font schemes should be similar. This is your brand, and you want it to be cohesive. Make sure that you have a photo, banner, biography, and link to your website on all your social media sites.

Share the Love and Pay it Forward

I owe a HUGE debt of gratitude to my fellow Sisters in Crime authors who are so generous with their time and advice. This is an incredible gift (especially when I first started my writing journey). They offered great advice on anything from where to get a great headshot to which book events were best for mystery authors.

Here are some thoughts on how you can give or receive help from other authors.

1. If you read someone’s book, leave a review. It doesn’t have to be a dissertation. You can just say something brief like, “I liked this book.” Review numbers do matter in marketing.

2. Recommend your favorite author to your library. Many take book suggestions and add new books to their collection.

3. Like, share, or comment on authors’ social media posts. This helps with marketing and search results.

4. If you’re an author, look for other authors or bloggers who will let you be a guest in their newsletter or on their blog. This spreads your information to a whole new group of readers.

   I have a blog, Pens, Paws, and Claws, and I do #WriterWednesday author interviews about writers and their pets. If you’re interested in a slot, message me.

5. Buy a book for yourself or as a gift. One of my author friends goes to book signings, and she gives the signed book away on her site. There’s a sale involved and some social media publicity. When I buy a book, I usually take a picture of it and post it on social media and tag the author and/or the book store. Indie bookstores need your love and support too!

6. Tell your friends and family about books and authors you like. Word of mouth recommendations are great.

7. Recommend an author’s book to your book club. Many authors will visit or Skype if you ask. I love talking to book groups.

8. Start a “what are you reading today” post on Facebook or Twitter. Tag the author. You’ll be surprised how many people will comment. You’ll get good recommendations, and a lot of social media action.

What else would you add to my list? Happy reading (and don’t forget to leave a review).

Getting Yourself Out There - Where Do I Start?

Not only do you write, but you have a lot to say. How do you find opportunities for author panels, workshops, and other speaking engagements? Note these are often an investment of your time, energy, and money, and you may not get to sell books at every event. But you are meeting people and talking about your work. A lot of times, I see my ebook sales spike after an event. People may not have bought a book at the event, but they did later. Here is what has worked for me.

1. Join a writers’ group. I’m a member of two groups that keep a database of volunteers who will speak to schools, colleges, libraries, and other groups.

2. Offer to speak at book clubs. Get the word out on your website and newsletter that you’ll visit or Skype with book groups. Tell all your reader friends. Contact your library and local book stores to see if they have book groups that would be interested in writer visits.

3. Get to know your librarians. Many are looking for programming ideas, and they need speakers or people to lead workshops. Our mystery group writes a murder script each year for our local library’s fundraiser. They have an event where the audience tries to solve the mystery, and the authors discuss and sign their books.

4. I speak to school groups and English classes because I want to encourage young writers. Usually, this isn’t an opportunity to sell books, but I always have bookmarks, pencils, or swag for each kid.

5. Connect with other writers in your area to see where they do appearances. See what they recommend. This gives you insight into venues, how the events do publicity, and the audience that you can expect.

6. Connect with other writing groups. They often need speakers or instructors for workshops and conferences.

7. If you attend a conference that has panelist opportunities, sign up. I love meeting fellow authors and talking about books. These usually have book signing opportunities too.

8. Google writing events or conferences to see what is offered in your area.

9. Be creative. I’m in several themed anthologies, and we did signings at wineries and wine shows or the book that was wine-themed. We have some pet expo signings lined up for our dog-themed anthology this year.

10. Talk to your friends who are in clubs and organizations. Many of these are looking for speakers for their monthly programming.

If there is a fee to register or a cost to rent a table, you need to weigh the cost and your investment of time. Think about sharing a table with another author to keep the cost down. Also, when I do handouts for workshops and speaking engagements, I always make sure my website, newsletter, and social media links are listed.

Reading is Research

I have always loved books and reading. Yes, this is my first library card from 1972. It opened hundreds of worlds to me. I’m always sad when people say that they don’t like to read. Reading is entertainment, an escape, a journey to new places, a portal to new worlds, and research. Writers must read.

Stephen King said it best, “If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write.” By reading other authors, you learn vocabulary, literary techniques, and genre conventions. Look at the way the words flow in a work that you like. The author creates the story and moves the plot along. It’s not a play-by-play of every detail that happened in someone’s ordinary day. Look at the dialogue. It’s not mundane chitchat. Good authors don’t tell their readers things. They show them. They are artists who paint a verbal picture.

Stephen King’s On Writing is one of the best “how to” books for writers. When I started writing, I read every book about writing that I could get my hands on. I spent more time reading those than I did writing. Over the years, I kept a few. On Writing is one of those. It’s good to learn new things about mechanics, but I think reading books in your genre teaches you more about the conventions (e.g. cozy mysteries don’t usually have graphic scenes or language; mysteries usually have a dead body in the first chapter). You learn how to use language, describe things, and which point of view to write from.

I love receiving books as gifts. This year for Christmas, I received two books about books, and I can’t wait to read them. I still have gift cards left, so I’m not done with the book shopping.

Are you on Goodreads? I like the annual book challenge. I need to think about my goal for 2019. I usually go with 26 (one for every two weeks of the year), but maybe this year, I’ll set a stretch goal. I like how the site keeps track of my totals for me and helps me to remember to leave a review. Plus, at the end of the year, I liked seeing all the year’s books.

What are you reading right now?

What's in a Name?

A lot goes into naming a character, especially for one in a series who will be around for several books. The name has to fit the character.

It should also be pronounceable. Or if you think it’s a difficult name, give the reader a hint of how you want it pronounced. I named a character “Roni” (short for Veronica) once. In my head, she was Roni (Rah-knee). Some of my beta readers called her “Rhoney” like “Rice-a-roni.”

Avoid naming multiple characters with similar names. It makes it hard for readers to keep them separate (e.g. Kris, Chris, Christian, Kristen, Christie).

My friend, the late Kathleen Mix, had a trick for naming characters in her books. She made a character list, and only one character per book could have a name with the same letter. She could have an Anastasi, Brooke, and Caitlyn, but not an Alfred and an Annie.

When I hear an interesting name, I jot it down and add it to my working ideas list.

You can Google the social security baby name lists by year. This helps if you want to know what names were popular in a particular year.

When I’m watching sporting events, I look at the rosters for interesting names (first and last).

Keep a character list for each book. This helps me from repeating names. I tend to name a lot of minor characters Bob and Joe for some reason. I also record character traits in my chart, so I can keep them consistent book to book.

I will often pay homage to pop culture in some of my character names. There are references to Van Halen and Wham! in Secret Lives and Private Eyes. In “Diggin’ up Dirt” in To Fetch A Thief, the nosy neighbors are named in honor of a namesake from the TV show “Bewitched.” My PI, Delanie Fitzgerald gets her last name from my favorite American author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and her agency is named for Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon.

What else would you add to my list about naming characters?

My Proofreading Tasks

I appreciate my beta readers, critique group, editors, and proofreaders. They help me spot things that are hiding in plain sight in my manuscripts. I can read and reread chapters and miss mistakes. Here are some steps I use when I’m self-editing to make sure that I catch as many of these little gremlins as possible.

1. Always run a spell check after any edits are done. This gets rid of most of the run of the mill typos.

2. I keep a list of words that I overuse (e.g. was, were, that, just). I do a search and destroy for these.

3. Every time there are major edits, I print out a copy of the WIP. I find more errors when I proofread on paper than when I do reading the on-screen version.

4. Sometimes, I’ll use a particular character’s name or the corresponding pronoun too many times (especially in the same paragraph). When I print the WIP, it’s easier to spot repetitive words.

5. I check character names (especially if I changed a name during the editing). Look for alternative spellings of names too (e.g. Marcia/Marsha; Steven/Stephen). I write two series with female sleuths, and I’ve been known to use the wrong character name in the WIP. I do a quick search to make sure I didn’t make that mistake again.

6. Create a chart of all your character names and locations. This helps me keep names straight, so I don’t have three Bob’s in the same book. It also helps me keep details like eye and hair color straight.

7. I reduce the page view to 25% on my document and check chapter lengths. In the early stages, I’ll end up with a four page chapter and one with twenty page. This helps to keep them about the same length.

8. During major edits, I reread the first and last paragraph in each chapter to make sure that it grabs the reader. At the end of chapters, you don’t want the reader to decide that it’s a good stopping point. Make them read past their bedtimes.

9. Go through your WIP and look for mundane dialogue. It’s hard, but you need to cut it. It doesn’t move your story along.

What works for you when you’re proofreading? What would you add to my list?

13 Things You Should (or Shouldn't) Do on Social Media

I’m doing a workshop next spring on social media, and I’ve been thinking about things that authors should and shouldn’t do on the different platforms. Here’s my list so far.

1. It is a great time saver to link your social media accounts, so that you only have to post once. However, the audiences and their interactions are different on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. For example, some encourage lots of hashtags. If you post a meme to Facebook and it autoposts to Twitter, it shows your comment and a link. Your Twitter followers have no idea what it is unless the open the link. If possible, I think you should tailor the post to the social media platform.

2. Unless you have a REALLY good reason to do so, don’t use the automated direct messaging on social media sites. It’s a quick way to annoy followers. I can’t tell you how many automated DMs I get a week with a link to buy someone’s book.

3. If you’re an author, make sure you follow the 80/20 rule. No more than 20% of your posts (maybe less) should be “buy my book.” People are interested in conversations, building relationships, and interesting content. They’ll tune you out if you blast buy my book messages constantly.

4. Try to be timely with your social media responses. It’s odd when someone responds to a post or comment from months ago.

5. Avoid posting things that aren’t meaningful or interesting. Some cleanup applications will post after you clean up non-followers. The post will read something like, “I deleted 115 followers and added 38 today.” These are only advertisements for the cleanup app.

6. Do not respond to negative reviews. Don’t get into a social media battle. It’s public, and once it’s out there, it’s hard to clean up. You are your brand. Be careful not to damage it.

7. Think before you post something. Don’t respond to someone in anger. You can delete it, but it may not be gone forever. Old tweets and posts can come back to haunt you.

8. If someone posts something negative on your site, you need to monitor it and decide whether to delete it. I facilitate several group sites, and we have to review posts from time to time to make sure they represent the views of the group.

9. Don’t be a leech. Authors will often post something about their book on their sites or blog, and another author will comment with links to his/her book. Only include your information if there is an invitation to share links. Don’t hijack someone else’s post.

10. Help others celebrate. If there is a cover reveal or a new book, share it.

11. If you’re struggling to find things to share, post a picture or information about interesting places or events you’ve attended. If you’re at another author’s event, post a picture of him/her and the book. Make sure to tag others. If you have pets, include them.

12. People love to see that you’ve tagged them, and often they will comment or share the post. This helps both of you with your social media reach.

13. If you’re using a picture of others, make sure that it’s flattering. I have one friend who never looks at the picture closely. No one wants to be the one with his/her eyes closed in the group picture.

What else would you add to my list? Any social media pet peeves?