Hello all!
So during this period of cutting back whilst Hubby is on unexpected time off, I've been pondering the usefulness of my website. I opened the site over a year ago, and haven't exactly burned up the Web with hits on it.
It's something I think every author/writer thinks about when trying to build a career without benefit of a six figure advance. So, basically, if your name isn't Paris, Snookie, or Kardashian, you're wondering about this yourself.
Fledgling websites, generally created by authors who aren't Internet builders, and built on templates such as 1and1 or Intuit offer, are not terrible, but they aren't terribly awesome either. I pay $8 a month for the site, and it sort of shows. My goal has always been to flash it up once sales of my two books take off.
Ahem...those of you who PROMISED you were going to buy the books...I'm waiting!
So while I'm still an otherwise employed author, does it pay to have a website bearing my name?
Some would say yes. Your name in Web world is always a good thing, unless you're the HuffPost headline for some bad behavior. (Wait, that's only bad if you're teaching Sunday School or running for President.) Some would say that it's simply the right professional step for an author to get their name out there.
Some would say no. With blogs, facebook, twitter, and myspace (Does anyone still maintain their myspace? I love mine, but only because I spent a year making it perfect. I haven't been there in eons.) maybe we have enough of a presence, especially since with Pay pal, you can set up a blog to accept payments.
I'm not ready yet to close my site. It's nice, I think, to have a .com that's simple and simply yours. So much better than the web address for this blog, which clearly I created in a haze of pride for my first book and no concept of what a pain in the neck such a long address would be. Thank goodness for bookmarks.
A year from now I may change my mind. But a year from now I hope to have two Elsie books and a new novel out in the world. Maybe more than one person a day will grace the doorstep of www.sarahjbradley.com
NOW AVAILABLE!
A HERO'S SPARK: the final book in the Wicked Women series!
You know, I think blogs do the same thing websites do. Just one more thing to maintain. So far, I'm just keeping my blog and seeing how it goes. (That and because I can't find the time to set up the dang website. LOL!)
ReplyDeleteShould I ditto my facebook post?
ReplyDeleteIs a blog site that much different in setup from a regular website? Maybe you can combine this one and that one, and make one. Bad math, but that's my logic! lol!
I'd be hesitant to get rid of it, because you own the name, and aspire to make more of it in the future; and, at just $8/mo, you probably spend that much on coffee! :-) Is that better logic?!? :-)