Dianne E. Butts About Writing
The Writing E-zine for Beginning and Intermediate Writers.
June 2007 ~ 64 Subscribers
"Building Your Author Web Site"
The question I've received most often from writers lately is, "I want a web site but I don't know the first thing about them. How do I start a web site?" Several years ago I had the same question...and I was totally clueless. But I started asking around until I started finding answers. I managed to get my own site up and running (www.DianneEButts.com). I'm no techno geek. If you are, you probably know a lot more about this than I do so if you're going to keep reading, plug your ears. But if you're a beginner, I can get you started and soon you can have a web site up and running, too.
To have a web site, you need three things:
a registered domain name
web site hosting
a program to build your web site
A Registered Domain Name: Your domain name is the URL people type into their browser to find your web site. Mine is DianneEButts.com. I just opened a second one at ButtsAboutIt.com. You will first need to find a domain that is not currently being used. Type your chosen domain name into your browser and see if a web site comes up. Then you will need to register your domain name with a company.
When I started my site, I paid as much as $40 to register my domain. Don't you
pay that much! I currently use GoDaddy.com - World's #1 Domain Name Registrar
and pay $8.95 per year.
Web Site Hosting: You will need a place to store your web pages where
people on the World Wide Web can access them 24/7. That is what a web site
hosting company does. When I started, I paid $20 a month--and it drained my bank
account! Don't you pay that much! I use GoDaddy.com Hosting Plans
and I pay $3.99 per month or less. With GoDaddy I get a whole year's
worth of hosting and domain registration for less than three months of what I
was paying before.
(If you're wondering, Why not use one of those free hosting services?, I'll answer that in my Q&A section of this e-zine below.)
I am very pleased with www.GoDaddy.com
customer service.
When I had trouble getting
my new web site,
www.ButtsAboutIt.com, up and
running, it took me a few phone calls to work out the kinks. But the GoDaddy personnel
are always extremely patient and helpful. They've always been able to get me
up and running when I'm clueless about what to do. With GoDaddy, the call is not
free (I use my "free" cell phone minutes), but that's how they keep costs
down. And I've never waited more than a few minutes to speak to a real person
(who speaks real English).
I was going to list some other hosting companies in case you wanted to shop around, but the ones I was aware of have apparently gone out of business! GoDaddy appears to be a solid company that will be around for a good long time.
A program to build your web site: Now, if you know how to write HTML code you
may not need a program. But then you probably know enough about building web
sites that you're not reading this. (Or you're reading it with your ears plugged.)
For the rest of us, I use a program to build my site. I use
Microsoft FrontPage 2002 [Old Version]
(Notice the upgrade updates any version of FrontPage to the new Expression Web. You might be able to purchase FrontPage inexpensively right now. Then with the $90 upgrade, you'd have the new version of Expression Web for a bargain.) If you're using FrontPage, ask your hosting company to enable the "FrontPage extensions." This won't be necessary with Expression Web.
Obviously there are other programs out there for building web sites. If you'd
like to explore other options, I keep hearing about
Adobe Dreamweaver CS3
Others have offered to build me a few pages for several hundred dollars. Turns out I bought the software, domain, and hosting for about half that. Now I can add to or update my site any time without paying someone for every upload. When there's a glitch, I'm pretty much on my own but I've always been able to search "help" or ask around until I've found the help I need.
Learning to do my own site has really paid off, and I continue to learn as I work with my site. Now you, too, have what you need to build, add to, and update your own site.
Section 2:
Q & A: Dianne Answers Your Questions about Writing
Q: I've seen some companies that offer free web sites. Any reason I shouldn't use one of those?
A: First, as you probably know, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Free services add advertisements to your site hoping to make a buck (or pennies) off your site visitors. This isn't always bad. I'm using a free service to publish this e-zine and they will add advertisements to it. But it's a good way for me to go until I see if this e-zine is successful and gains enough subscribers to go to a paid service. Keep in mind you won't have any control over what ads go on your site.
Second, the free services I've investigated ask that you not make a profit using their free service. I want to sell my book Dear America, books I've contributed to, my taped writing seminar, and my mini-books in my "Help for Writers" series through my web site, so a free service that prohibits this just won't do for me.
Q: "How do people find your web site if they don't know you?" (Karen Sperra, Wiley, Colorado. Member of Lamar Writers Group http://www.freewebs.com/lamarwriters/.)
A:
For starters, you'll have to let them know. Create a "signature" for your e-mail
that automatically adds a line with your information to every e-mail you send.
Put your URL on your business cards. (If you don't have business cards, get some
made very inexpensively here: Get 250 premium quality, color business cards FREE! Order today! Click here.
.
The cards and printing are free -- you pay for the shipping. It's still a really
good deal.) Send a notice to all your friends -- by e-mail or snail mail. Add it
to your bio's on articles you write. Add it to your letterhead.
If you want to make your web site stand out to search engines like Google, novelist Randy Ingermanson offers some great instruction in his special report "13 Tips To Make Google Go Ga-Ga Over You" available through his site www.MadGeniusWriter.com.
Sidebar
"Your Author Web Site: Who is it for?"
What would you like to do with your site? What is its purpose? What are you hoping to accomplish? Why do you want a web site? There are different types of sites and these answers will help you determine what type of web site you want.
If you want your site to showcase you and your work, it will be like an online brochure. You can give your bio, links to your pieces of writing that are currently online, and even post writing samples. (Do not post writing pieces you hope to sell! No editor wants an article that is available free on the internet.) Your online brochure will always be available for editors and others to visit if they like.
An online brochure-type web site may have its use, but it will likely get little traffic. People will visit once and then they're done. I don't know of many agents who will go to your site to find out about you, and never ask an editor to go check out your site to see if they want to publish any of your stuff! They don't have that kind of time, and assigning editors homework won't make a good impression.
A better way to go is to have a site that is more about your site visitors than it is about you. What information do you have to offer your site visitors? What content can you provide that your visitors want? What additional information can you give away for free on the topics you write about? I'm working toward making my site at www.DianneEButts.com a real, one-stop resource for writers. I want to fill it with information writers want and need to help them in their own writing for publication endeavors. I already provide information on writing resources, coming writers conferences, writing opportunities, and more. I plan to add FAQ's, definitions of writing terms, and more. Your site needs to have interesting content that you can add to in order to keep your visitors coming back again and again.
Like all writing for publication, your site will do best when it serves the reader, not you the writer.
Section 3:
Helpful Resources
If you'd like to read more about building web sites, I have posted some previously published articles on www.DianneEButts.com. Click on "About Writing" then "Articles for Writers."
Can't afford a writers conference? Wish you could attend a seminar? Now you can, in your own home. My seminar "Writing for Publication: How to Find Markets and Submit Your Work" is available on three 90-minute tapes bundled with all the handouts for $24.99. On the "About Writing" side of my site, click on "Writing Seminar."
Get your business cards here: Get 250 premium quality, color business cards FREE! Order today! Click here.
For
the Christian writer, I recommend Marlene Bagnull's
Write His Answer: A Bible Study for Christian Writers, 2nd Edition
Dianne's Writing News
My
book is now available on Amazon.com: Dear America, - A Letter of Comfort & Hope to a Grieving Nation
My
devotion "Walk With Me" appears in the daily devotional, recently released
A Cup of Comfort Devotional for Mothers: Daily Inspiration for Christian Mothers
My article, "The Tabernacle: Silhouette of Messiah," will appear in the July 15th issue of The Lookout and will include an exciting sidebar about the current work going on to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.
Period.
It may be overwhelming to think about getting your author web site up and running, but you can do it. You're creative. You've learned so much about the writing business and the electronic world so far. You can do this, too. Keep it simple. Build a one-page site, or just a few pages. You can add content and more pages a little at a time. That's why it's called "building" a web site. You can do it! No buts about it.
Back Cover Copy
How to support this e-zine: When you click on links in this e-zine and on my web site, you are supporting this e-zine. If you plan to make any purchases from any of the companies listed in this e-zine or on my web site, if you would kindly return here or to the site and click through my links, you will be supporting this e-zine so I can continue publishing it. Thank you! Also, feel free to forward this e-zine in its entirety to others who may be interested. They can get their own free subscription at www.DianneEButts.com. Thanks again!
Bio: Dianne E. Butts has been writing for publication since 1989 with 200+ articles in more than 50 periodicals and over a dozen books. Her articles have appeared in Focus on the Family magazine, The Lookout, Light and Life, The Salvation Army's War Cry, The Plain Truth, On Mission, Bible Advocate, Live, Evangel, the Christian Motorcyclists Association's HeartBeat, The Quiet Hour, Christian Communicator, and www.SpiritLedWriter.com. Book contributions include stories in Chicken Soup for the Christian Soul 2, For Better or Worse: A Devotional for Married Couples by Marlene Bagnull, Beauty is Soul Deep, A Cup of Comfort Devotional for Women and Mothers, and Zondervan's New Women's Devotional Bible. Her work has appeared in Great Britain, Poland, Bulgaria, Canada, and Korea.
All material in this e-zine is copyright 2007 Dianne E. Butts. All rights reserved.
You may forward this e-zine in its entirety to other interested writers. Better yet, they can get their own subscription at www.DianneEButts.com.
For reprint rights contact Dianne at dbwrites@comcast.net, P.O. Box 8784, Pueblo, CO 81008.
Subtopic 1:
Pull Quote
"Each of you has been given a specific mission in the field of writing. You and I often feel inadequate to the task, but I learned a long time ago that the writing assignments God has given me cannot be written quite as well by anyone else."
Sally E. Stuart,
Christian Writers' Market Guide 2007:The Essential Reference Tool for the
Christian Writer (Christian Writers' Market Guide)
My Book:
Dear America, - A Letter of Comfort & Hope to a Grieving Nation
Subtopic 2:
Coming Conferences:
Write to Publish June 6-9, Chicago, IL www.writetopublish.com
St. David's Christian Writers' Conference June 8-23, Grove City, PA, www.stdavidswriters.com/home/html
She Speaks/She Writes, June 22-24, Charlotte, NC LeAnn@Proverbs31.org
Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference, August 9-11, Philadelphia, PA www.WriteHisAnswer.com
Writing Events
Script Frenzy - The Challenge: write a 20,000-word screenplay in a month! Get in on the fade-in. June 2007 is the first ever Script Frenzy event. www.ScriptFrenzy.org Sponsored by those crazy folks at National Novel Writing Month ( www.NaNoWriMo.org ).
Subtopic 3:
Writing Opportunities
Marlene Bagnull is collecting devotionals for a book she's compiling titled Train Up a Child: Devotional Thoughts for Parents. More info here: Writing Opportunities.
A Cup of Comfort is looking for more stories. More info.
Recommended Resources
It has been around a long time, and for good reason. I highly recommend
Writer's Digest. To learn more, click here:
If you're writing for the Christian market, you can't survive without this annual market guide:
A wonderful resource of encouragement for Christian Writers:
The standard for writers:
Visit www.DianneEButts.com for:
Daily Writing Tip ... on the About Writing page
Daily Cartoon...on the For Bikers page
Bible Verse of the Day...on the About Christianity page
Coming soon:
Want to use your writing to make a difference in our nation? Visit my new web site and soon coming blog.
Coming in the next issue of Dianne E. Butts About Writing:
Writing Query Letters