Jen K. Blom's Blog, page 11

Guest Posting ...

... today over at Project Mayhem.

How do you like your animals in MG?

SO. Surreal.

So I think I really am gonna have a published book out in the wild! Line edits are practically over, the copy edits are happening as we speak and holy comma soon I'll have a release date and everything! (I already saw a line drawing of the cover and my heart almost stopped)

All the majors are already showing POSSUM SUMMER for order (as you can see to the right in the sidebar there). *dies* Do me a favor, would you? Go to your local indie and ask for PS. If you do, I'll give you a possum cookie. :-D

This is just all so weird. Hopefully I'll soon have the approval from my editor and marketing department to announce a fabulous contest and be able to show the cover and everything!

I'm sorry, this is all I can do today. I am just too excited for words!

Weird is when...

... you blurb your first book.

*is wigged out*

*but in a good way*

How are you this morning?

Under construction :-D

Well, things are moving along very well.

How do you like the new blog design? I love it. If you click on the header above you'll be taken to the new website. There are still a couple bugs and we're working on those but on the whole?

I LOVE IT. I wanted something with a lot of white space, something that tied into my subject matter - kids and animals - and fun things for teachers and readers alike...which I have. YAY!

Astrid is just the major bomb. Let me know what you think!

Interview with the Web Goddess Astrid!!

Heya Astrid, Web Goddess Supreme!

So welcome to the blog of the website that is YOURS THAT YOU MADE FULL OF TEH WIN but will be unveiled on Friday!
Astrid: Thanks for having me, Jen. You are teh AWESOME :)
So I guess we'll begin, since every time I'm near you I get all fangirly and hysterical and that's good for nobody but me!
Astrid: *LOL* Do you realize that I'm speechless when I'm around you?
*blush* !! You charmer, you...all right! Here we go!

JKB: So what, in your estimation is the KISS OF DEATH for a person wanting to make an author website for themself?

AP: Oh, a lot of things. Mostly it's the design. Please don't do a website with Times New Roman and rainbow colors! Granted, some people do have the vision and the eye for it even if they never studied web design, but most of them don't. And their website just shouts incompetent!
JKB: I always liked the sparkly stars that followed the web cursor around, myself. *hee* Do you do website design as well?

AP: Yes. It's one of my many talents *LOL*. Well, I studied Informatics in my Bachelor, which means I can do a lot of magical things with computers ... and then I studied Digital Media, which means I could do even more magical things with design.
JKB: I'm here to vouch for your mad talents! My website is a triumph! Should we worry about SEO and CMS and all these crazy things when we go to make a website?

AP: I'm not so keen about perfecting SEO. I believe in providing awesome content for the website. Sure, you do need to care for the basic links, keywords, how you would put the information on your site, and be active on other people's site. But I don't think you need to hire an SEO consultant. It's better for authors to make sure that you provide great content, and let the search engine and people find you.
CMS (Content Management Systems) depend on how often you would like to update your site and how good your knowledge is on creating a web page. Nevertheless, I would recommend using a good CMS system so you could easily update the website, and actually encouraging you to do it often (which would result in a better SEO)..
JKB: When you fist told me these terms I think my head exploded. But now I can say them without twitching! What do you think the PERFECT website is for an author?

AP: It has to be easy to browse around, interesting, and exudes the personality of the author (or the genre of the book he/she is writing). One more thing, website design also has trends. It tends to be obsolete after 2-3 years. Not only from the technology, but also from the design. Just like there's new computers every 2-3 years, new color trends, etc. There are some exceptions, but in general you'd have to look at your website after two years (or ask an expert) if your website is still up to date.
JKB: So you're definitely saying timeless does not work as a website design, huh? *sigh* Do you think that author websites necessarily need to be in flash, or any fancy things?

AP: It's necessary to always think to yourself that "Form follows function". So it totally depends on your design, on how do you want to say things in your website. Most of the time, flash is not necessary for an author's website. However, do it the right way and you get a memorable site, like J.K. Rowling's or Haruki Murakami's. Just be aware that putting fancy things also means more cost.
JKB: Cost. Ugh. But then there are templates! Do you think that an author website "template" can work? What do you recommend on that?

AP: Yes. It provides a cheaper way to have your website properly designed. They won't cost as much as hiring a website designer for yourself and you can actually see how the final site would look like. The downside is, there could be other sites that use the same template. If this is your concern, choose a template that has a few things that you can customize, so you could still feel that it's YOU.
JKB: Lots of text on the website: love it or loathe it?

AP: Define lots of text *chuckles*. Take it this way, people who access a website usually have a very short attention span. So unless you're writing a short story or a novel on your website, don't do it.
JKB: So give me like five author websites you like. Any tips we can take from these?

AP: J.K. Rowling www.jkrowling.com
This is the first author website that impresses me. It's very interactive, sort of like a mini game on its own. It's something I would always remember.

Sophie Kinsella http://www.sophiekinsella.co.uk/
Her website is true to her genre. Just from a glance you could see that she's a chicklit author. It's nice to read, and also very easy to navigate.

Terry Pratchett http://www.terrypratchett.co.uk/
His website is also true to his genre, and it's a combination of flash and normal text.

Haruki Murakami http://www.randomhouse.com/features/murakami
I think the website is not very modern in terms of the flash websites you tend to see right now. But on the other hands, it's very Murakami somehow. A little quirky mysterious fantasy-like.

Miranda July http://mirandajuly.com/
No one belongs here more than you http://noonebelongsheremorethanyou.com/
Very quirky, artist like website. Especially the book promo website, it's something different.

I have to mention this one, it's shared by one of my Swedish friends. This is not an author website but a book promotion site. Beware though, the book genre is horror.
Andreas Roman's Morkradd (Afraid of the Dark) http://www.morkradd.se/
JKB: How long does it usually take you to produce a website?

AP: It's like asking an author how long does it take to produce a novel. The unpredictable bits are the designing part. After the designs are done, then we could estimate the time. All depends on the complexity of the design, number of pages, and the technology used. I would say roughly 2 weeks - 2 months.
JKB: You write, too. :-D What important points did you want to bring through on your website about yourself, like writing and computering wise?

AP: I'm currently in the process of redesigning and revamping my website and my blog, so right now what you're seeing is my general blog. When I'm done, I'll be having parts of it dedicated on web design (tips, portfolio, templates), writing (books I've done, general thoughts), and travel.
JKB: So tell me. Was I super awesome to work with or what? :-D

AP: Totally! You have some great ideas already, and you're a very cooperative client. A dream client for a web designer :). Not to mention the cupcakes :-D. I hope you'll love your new website!

Astrid, how could I *not*? Thank you so much for answering all my questions!

So! Interested in Astrid making you a home on the net? You can contact her through her blog or her twitter right now - a new website and blog design is coming soon!

This. Friday. Is. October. First!

Heya guys!

How's it on your end?

This month...man, it got away from me! I had so much more planned, and then, well, I forgot to post it and schedule it. I am a loser. :-(

But my most Awesomest Web Goddess Astridita will be here on Wednesday to talk about author websites and what you do/don't want on them, so that will be ultra cool! Finishing off with a bang, so to say. :-D

And then of course there is Friday and a whole new look. I feel so sparkly and excited. :-D

Also, edits are completely FINISH...

YAY! Get your blog to go bananas!

- we have the lovely and talented Shelli Johannes Wells with us today, with an awesome post on marketing yourself through your blog!
Take it away, missus!
Getting your Blog to Go Bananas
Before I got an agent, I started my blog in 2006 and did sporatic posts - on and off. But I was frustrated because no one was visiting and I wasn't reaching anyone. Except my mother and my critique group. :) Then, once day after being interviewed on marketing and seeing all the comments/questions, I got the...

One. In. Four.

Warning: This is not a Rated G post.
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So Over the weekend a Mr. Wesley Scroggins of Missouri wrote an opinion piece. His opinion is his to share, and his to do with what he will. The part that infuriated the Hades out of me, MANY people, was this fact:
he equated RAPE to PORN.
RAPE. To. PORN.
And for this, he wanted to urge the good people of his town to ban Laurie Halse Anderson's SPEAK. Laurie responded. Then others did:
xxxX xxxX xxxX xxxX Read my buddy AS King's take HERE.
Saundra made ...

Fake it til you make it

You know, the further I get into this whole life thing...what with a baby (6 months old! What the frak?)...a book...the book's insides currently spilled all over my couch...a house...a life...and a husband...two crazy cats...a job...more books edited and being written on the horizon...
... I'm utterly terrified somebody's gonna figure out I'm faking this whole adult thing and oh snap I'm busted.
It's the funniest thing. I'm old enough to be an adult, technically. I gots all the side bits that ...

Lead up...on marketing angles

...wow!
How is this month already more than half over! How can that be?
I have some interesting people planning on stopping by, but in the meantime, I've been working on the finalizations to my beautiful new website, which will make its debut on the 30th of this month!
It has me thinking about market. As in, do you know yours? (I had to figure out mine!)
I've been doing a lot of work on the different marketing angles I can consider for POSSUM SUMMER, and I can't help but think this might help y...