Archive for the ‘Author Web Sites’ category

Charlie Huston’s Pulp Noir

March 24th, 2008

Best selling author and comic writer Charlie Huston introduces his web site with this blurb:

NEW YORK — I write pulp. I write noir. Open one of my books and you’ll see I’m not lying. I write about people killing each other and suffering or not suffering the consequences. I write about the halt and the lame and the addicted. So it should come as no surprise that this site is for [expletive deleted] grownups.

Then, Charlie does what he does best… he writes and by doing so he updates his web site frequently.

He uses his web site (which is actually a blog) to share his thoughts… but he also uses it to promote his interviews (even ones that take place in virtually), promote his latest work (Half the Blood of Brooklyn: A Novel) and to share positive reviews of his work.

Even without providing “promotional blurbs” of the books, you get a sense of Huston’s writing style through his blog. No doubt about it… the guy can write! Knowing that puts you one step closer to buying his books and becoming a fan.

Shawn Graham is an Author and Career Consultant

March 21st, 2008

Shawn Graham is the author of Courting Your Career: Match Yourself With the Perfect Job

Shawn is using a WordPress.com blog as his marketing home base and doing a nice job of writing relevant posts which are RICH with information his book’s potential readers will be searching for on the web.  He’s also got an Amazon blog which he posts to regularly.  (BRAVO!!!)

On his WordPress.com blog, posts such as “So you hate your new job” do a WONDERFUL job of spotlighting Shawn’s expertise. The first paragraph into the post, you can easily see that Shawn GETS IT! You’re instantly assured that this guy isn’t going to feed you some “pie in the sky” crap that doesn’t fly in the real world!

Shawn has also configured his wordpress.com blog to include an excerpt of the book and through two blogs has done an EXCEPTIONAL job of creating great posts and great content on his blog.  It shows… according to Amazon 79%  of visitors buy his book when they enter his page.

I’m thrilled to see he’s using an Amazon author blog in addition to his WordPress.com free blog account.  See, I have previous experience with the free WordPress.com blogs and it hasn’t been good. (Read more on that topic at Observations from a Quasi-Scientific Free Blog “Experiment” opens in a new window.)

Blogs are a GREAT publicity and promotion tool for an author… however, there are certain “mechanics” that have to be in place in order for an author’s blog to fulfill it’s role as the powerful marketing tool it has the potential of becoming.  Fortunately, Shawn is hedging his bet with his Amazon blog and other activities on Amazon.

Loucinda McGary writes Romantic Suspense in Exotic Settings

March 5th, 2008

How do I know Loucinda McGary writes Romantic Suspense in Exotic Settings…. her web site tells me so.

Ah.. but the question which then begs to be asked is this…. how did I FIND her web site?

The answer of course is through her blog. Loucinda blogs under the name “Aunty Cindy” which she has listed in a resource for authors who blog about blogging… Authors Blogs.

Now, if that sounds like a round-about way for someone to arrive at a web site… well, that is the way the web works.

Notice, I found Loucinda’s BLOG first. That’s because blog posts act like bait when you’re fishing for book buyers.