Build Your Own Website: Who is Your Audience?

By Candy Gourlay

Over on the SCBWI Yahoo Group, it's Build Your Own Website Month. One of the first questions faced by any author considering an online profile, blog or website is Who is My Audience?  I thought this list might help ... With one MASSIVE CAVEAT: THE BOOK COMES FIRST. It's all very well getting through to these but have you got something they would want? Our priorities should be: 1. THE BOOK, 2. THE BOOK, 3. THE BOOK, 4. the website. A brilliant website will not get you a book deal.

Blogging agent Nathan Bransford
turned out to be an undercover
children's author

1. Agents - authors-in-waiting: when you send a query to an agent,  the fact that you have 2,000 followers might persuade them that this means 2,000 instant sales. But will they check you out? Well, some agents are more online than others. Some agents even turn out to be children's authors in disguise.  My agent is one of those who isn't at all online. Which means I really ought to spend more time on my book.

2. Commissioning Editors - Commissioning editors are all about the book so they might be interested in something like bonus materials about your story - IF they check out your website at all. They are very busy people. If they do come over, they might also be checking you out to see if you are some kind of weirdo. Commissioning editors are very worried about working with weirdos (this is why it helps top be subtle when you're stalking them; and do avoid sprinkling manuscripts with perfume or golden stars).

Commissioning Editor at work

3. Publishers - we-ell. I have been amazed to discover that most (not all) publishers in general have not in their heart of hearts really joined the digital world yet and are unlikely to be checking you out at first instance. But this is changing as we speak now that digitally with-it publishers like Nosy Crow are in the picture. Even my publisher - who was trotted out to represent dinosaurs at a digital comics panel last year -  has now got a blog. Oh, btw Publishers don't care if you are a weirdo because they don't have to have that much personal contact with you.

4. Other Writers / Illustrators - A brilliant audience - not only do they GET what your passion is about, they also BUY BOOKS. And they comment on everything because they're all there in their garrets, procrastinating. Unlike a lot of visitors to your site who will only drop by when they want to check you out or if they stumble upon you on Google, people like you are likely to read your every essay. And you can't underestimate the value of the friendships that come from meeting people with shared passions via your online profile. These are the people who will retweet your news, who will cheer you on, who care about your daily foibles. Hurrah for other writers and illustrators! This is why a lot of authors blog about writing or getting published. If you are not blogging about writing, you might consider a how-to, or tips on getting published. Not only will this be hugely appreciated, it will be "found" over and over again by other writers in search of publication.

5. Published Authors - I can't speak about published illustrators but in the beginning, I was really keen to get into conversations with my favourite published authors (indeed, any published author). But I noticed that they weren't keen to get into conversation with unpublished me. Fair enough - I guess famous people can't all pay attention to their stalkers. So I haven't really targeted published authors in my blogging. The best friendships I've made with published authors have been via conferences, workshops and face to face. Note: If you blog about books, published authors will come to you, comment and will click the 'follow my blog' button and talk to you on twitter. So if you really want to meet authors, book blogging might be the way to go.

6. Once you get a deal, Your Publishing Chain - by this I mean all the people who are helping make your book happen. The book designer, the reps who take the books to booksellers, the publicists, the marketing department. I think this is the stage when an author might consider bringing in a professional to make the website look its best. These guys SELL YOUR BOOK.

What do you want them to see? You want them to fall in love with your book and with YOU; you want to give them the ammunition to sell you, you are creating a buzz about who you are and the books you write. If they check you out and see a boring template with low-grade content, they will just click on to some other author. The size of your book deal doesn't matter - it's the EMOTIONAL impact you make on the people who go out there and sell your book. The website might be their only chance to have any contact with you. Think about it.

7. Book Bloggers - I only woke up to the wonderful world of book bloggers when I noticed  another author posting the feeds of all the book bloggers who ever mentioned her. Book Bloggers are great because they will support your blog by clicking on the subscription feed - this is because they are deeply embedded in the blog culture where it's all about supporting one another. They are also ardent tweeters and facebookers. Whenever my book is reviewed by a book blogger, my google alert goes crazy. This is because they tweet about their review (if it's a bad review, beware - another reason to write a good book) and post it everywhere on social media. And book bloggers embed the feeds of other bloggers on their websites. So their reviews appear on other blogs too. Here's a cool picture of a book lover

So what do book bloggers need from your online profile? I don't think in the first instance book bloggers might necessarily want to follow your every word on a blog (unless they become fans). But they will want information that might spice up their review, make it stand out amongst the rest. I built my TallStory.net site when I realized that CandyGourlay.com would get too fat to follow if I packed it with all the other things about Tall Story that people might be looking for. On TallStory.net, I have stuff one would consider bonus materials on a DVD. What is my most visited page? Interestingly, it's the page I made about the Philippines, which is where Tall Story is partly set. I also have a review page where I post excerpts of all my (good) reviews - it's like a thank you to the book bloggers. Google ranks according to quality links - and so when I put a quality link to the book blogger's blog on my site, it might help them build their rankings and traffic.

8. Booksellers - I'm not sure that booksellers have the time to check out the internet for every book they sell. What I do know is that I have had to communicate with booksellers and always, always have to send them a link about my book. I don't know what Booksellers would be looking for on an author's website but here's what I want them to think when they come to mine ... I want them to think, hey, this author matters.

I love this horror display at Foyle's in Charing Cross
which featured so many friends: from left to right -
Angel by Cliff McNish, Angel by Lee Weatherly
Dark Goddess by Sarwat Chadda, Morris the Mankiest Monster (????!!!)
by Giles Andraea and Sarah McIntyre

This might be because the content on my site makes them think. Or because my site has a look about it that's cool, that looks like it was built with care, that looks like you are getting some marketing support (even if you're way off your publisher's marketing budget). How your site is designed will also give them ideas about how they sell your book - on my book's homepage, I've been careful to write a good short, easy to repeat blurb about my book and highlight the key prize nominations and short-listings that might make the bookseller's sell much easier.

9. Librarians - librarians, like editors, are all about the story. Your website might nudge a librarian to read the book. If they like the book, they might return to your website for more material to help them recommend it! I haven't had that much time to work on my website's page targeted at parents, teachers, librarians and booksellers, but it's so important. I am lucky that I am a designer because I can knock out informational downloads easily like discussion sheets, worksheets, questions. What is hard is creating the content for these downloads. I am always checking out other author sites, looking for good ideas and scouting out librarians/teacher sites for clues on what they need.

10. Teachers - like librarians, teachers are all about the story. They are also interested in the writing process (or illustrating, if you are an illustrator). A component about writing is a good idea - I haven't really had the time to do one on my website but at the moment I'm working priority number two: THE BOOK (book two, to be precise). Children's authors often supplement their income with school visit work and so a good school visit page is essential - I really liked how horrror writer Tommy Donbavand created a downloadable flyer on author visits. (Note that his website is a blog with added pages!).

11. Parents and Children - if you write for teenagers then it's almost essential to run a blog - teenagers will expect it! They will want to comment on your thoughts and hang out there (if, that is, you canwrite content that appeals to them... like Scott Westerfeld whose fans sometimes comment in their hundreds).

On my website I have pictures of me as a child, and of my siblings
I would like to think that a child in Manila could look at
these pictures and imagine the possibilities when they grow up

If you write for younger readers, then you will have to juggle your content between parents who buy books and children who read them. Pay particular attention to your About Me page - on my CandyGourlay.com website I have photographs of my brothers and sisters as kids and I talk about how this one became a director, that one is an architect  ... as someone who grew up in the developing world, I'd like to think a kid in Manila looking at my website could imagine that they too could be anything they want to be.

Like teenagers, younger children want to engage with you in some way. But they wouldn't follow a blog. So it's a good idea to have a message board where they can leave messages for you.

That's all for now. I hope to continue blogging as Build Your Own Website month progresses over at the SCBWI talking shop. Till next time! 

Guest Blogger Maureen Lynas: If You’re Incompetent And You Know It Clap Your Hands.

Part Two of a series
Read Part One - Writerly Incompetence Can Be Cured

Noooo! by Fabbio

David Attenborough would probably describe the cry of the Lesser-spotted Red-faced Author as a wail, commonly preceded by a thump on the doormat or a ping in the inbox. It goes something like this –

NooooooooooOOOOOOOOooooooooo!

Two types of behaviour have been noted following this cry. It isn't known why some Authors exhibit the first and some the second. It could be nature. It could be nurture.

The first is a slump, possibly involving a wall to slide down and a floor to land on.

Thanks to Zygman for the image

The second is more violent involving throwing, thumping, stamping and usually punctuated with expletives.

At an early stage in their development, Lesser-spotted Red-faced Authors begin to flock together, forming

Collectives of Conscious Incompetence.

These authors know what it is that they don't know.

Or they think they do (they may only have scratched the surface of what they don't know. They may not have read How Not to write a Novel yet.)

At this point the cries of the Lesser-spotted Red-faced Author changes. The cries become longer, they contain words but often spoken so quickly as to be almost unintelligible.

I have to learn WHAT? HOWMUCH? REALLY?!?

But won't the editor check the spelling/grammar/punctuation? Isn't that their job? What do they do for their money?

Is the protagonist the goody or the baddy or is that the antagonist and what's an archetype?

What's a metaphor/simile/analogy and how do I know if I've mixed them?

What's wrong with stereotypes because isn't everyone a bit of a stereotype really, you know, like, whatever?

But why can't I use adverbs sneakily.

What do you mean, pace? What do you mean, structure? What do you mean, plot?

Sew speling is importent? Reely?

Eventually, as the Authors tire they often sob, 'Why won't someone just tell me how to do it and I'll do it!'

This is the moment in their development when Lesser-spotted Red-faced Author's can often be observed clustering together on courses. A flock of wannabes, a swarm of hopefuls - A pride before the fall.

Or they frequent the local bookshop or library (we don't have time for the destruction of habitat discussion here, unfortunately.) searching for the short cut to publication -

The How To Book!
The Writers Journey, Seven basic Plots, On Writing etc etc etc.

OR they scour the internet for

The How To Video!



See - Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell

Now, instead of writing, the hungry Lesser-spotted Red-faced Authors devour the hints, the tips, the gems that drop from the pens of that rare breed - the masters – the Greater-spotted Authors.

They learn how these superior beings plot, structure, create huggable protagonists and antagonists worth boooooing. They are in awe of their ability to create laughter and tears, to tell a gripping tale, to leave the ideas of their books in the minds of readers, long after the book has been closed.

'Ah!' they cry, 'Almond does it this way! Then I shall do it this way, for this is the way!'

Then.

'But no! Rowling does it this way,' they cry. 'I must follow the path of Rowling. For indeed this must be the way.'

'But lo! What is this I see? Donaldson does it this way and it is neither the Almond Way nor the Rowling Way. It is – ANOTHER WAY!'

And the cry now becomes, 'Aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh!'

But as the sound dies away a whisper can heard, a scary whisper, a challenge of a whisper. It goes like this- 'Maybe, just maybe, in order for each Lesser-spotted Red-faced Author to transform into a Greater-spotted Author they have to find – THEIR OWN WAY!

Some Lesser-spotted Red-faced Authors never recover from hearing this whisper. The challenge is too great. They've invested years in being a Lesser-spotted Red-faced Author, but they turn away from all of the paths and take up knitting fingerless gloves for nanowrimo victims. They vow never to pick up a keyboard again. The work goes in the drawer, the cupboard, the attic where it lurks.

The few who remain often experience shock, indecision, nightmares. They worry over their writing, they pull it to bits, pay for critiques, join crit groups, analyse, analyse, analyse. They despair of ever finding THEIR OWN WAY. They hate having to find THEIR OWN WAY. They peck and peck and peck at their work until they have lost sight of why they were writing in the first place.

And then, they get a bit of feedback. From a Plumed Publisher or a Masked Agent.

On the twelfth day of Christmas an agent said to me-

My, you have potential
BUT
Twelve tales of telling!
Eleven kids a-cursing!
Ten metaphors mixing
Nine drafts is nothing
Eight edits later
Seven plots a-pacing
Six super similies
Five stereotypes!
Tut tut.
Four pigs - too many
Three's just right
Two's not enough
and your hero should solve his own problems.

Encouraged by this show of interest our desperate Lesser-spotted Red-faced Authors check their abilities against How Not to Write Novel and discover that, joy of joys, they have actually learnt something about writing, because they can go, I don't do that, don't do that, don't do that, definitely don't do that, oops, maybe I do that, don’t do that. Yay!

This is a time of celebration for the persistent Lesser-spotted Red-faced Authors. The cry goes up, 'I'm not as incompetent as I thought I was!!!!! Hurrah!'

They have realised they have created Stephen King's writer's toolbox. And having a full toolbox is excellent. It should be celebrated, polished, exhibited.

But a chisel is just a chisel. A hammer is just a hammer. A Black and Decker Cordless Compact Chainsaw is just a Black and Decker Cordless Compact Chainsaw. As every worker probably gets sick of being reminded, it's what you do with your Black and Decker Cordless Compact Chainsaw that matters.

Coming soon – I’m so flippin' competent, I'm not even thinking about it!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Maureen

Maureen Lynas is an ex-teacher and literacy consultant who believes that with a bit more work and a load more willpower, resolve, fortitude, doggedness, tenacity, persistence, diligence, grit and determination, she will eventually win a publishing deal for Boggarty Bog’s Tasty Teeth. Or Kissy Wissy. Or Hatty’s Splendiferous Hats. Or one of the many other stories in her ‘finished’ folder. Maureen is currently feeding her writing obsession by associating with members of SCBWI British Isles and has taken on the role of North East Regional Advisor. You can see Maureen’s reading scheme at the Action Words website

Read part 3 - Happy New Competence 

The Fine Art of Procrastination

By Teri Terry

Procrastinate
Verb
DELAY, put off doing something, postpone action, defer action, be dilatory, use delaying tactics, stall, temporize, drag’s one feet/heels, take one’s time, play for time, play a waiting game…
(Mac desktop Thesaurus)

I once bought a book called ‘The Procrastinator’s Guide to Success’, but I never got around to reading it. This sounds a good opening line, but it is actually true! After many dusty years, ignored on my book shelf, it was sold in a garage sale (UK translation: like a car boot, but it takes place, surprisingly enough, in your garage).

So you might think that this writing game might be tricky for me. There are no deadlines, other than self-imposed; no demanding boss, other than my conscience; no co-workers watching if I spend the day on social networking sites instead of MS Word, though Facebook friends sometimes help with a welcome kick.

And it is true that some days I will go to lengths to keep away from the blank page.

Like polishing my collection of ducks:

Or cleaning lime scale off all the pots and pans (with a heated solution of vinegar – it works a treat, just don’t breathe in):

Once, I even gave Banrock a bath:

I don’t believe in Writer’s Block. Everyone who writes has days when they stare at a blank page for hours, and the list of reasons why can be individual, and longer than a novel.

In the past I was very hard on myself when I didn’t get on with it. I’d lecture myself about how lucky I was to be able to work part time so I could write, and write I was going to… whether I wanted to, or not.

But somewhere along the way: I had a light-bulb moment! Procrastination isn’t always what it appears to be….

Much of the time when I can’t convince myself to get on with it, there is a reason. Something is wrong with what I am writing, and if I ignore this and push on regardless, it is a bad idea.

It is usually due to one of these:

• I haven't been listening to one of my characters, and they're getting stroppy
• I've started off on some tangent that has nothing to do with my story
• there is something seriously wrong with my plot, and surgery is required

Or even:

• I've gone off on a tangent, and it is better! And I need to stop, reassess, and rewrite the rest to match

And taking time to polish the ducks, scrub the pots, or even put an unfortunate bunny through the delicate cycle while I think about it, is time well spent. Otherwise it may not be just a few pages or chapters that are heading for my ‘cut’ file, but much, much more. And who needs that kind of pain?

Taking time to think is not procrastination.