Imagine a major newspaper editor you never queried
e-mailing to ask you to write the cover story for an
upcoming travel section.
Imagine the editor of a glossy literary magazine
published in Portugal contacting you to ask if he can
print some of your work.
Imagine the head of a statewide women's organization
calling to ask you to be the keynote speaker for their
conference.
All of these things and more have happened to me
because I have a web page and newsletter on the
Internet. As we discussed in last month's column, any
writer hoping to publish and make money must let the
world know he exists. The Internet is a 24-hour store
with no geographic limitations. While you're sleeping,
it's selling your work for you.
Web Sites
The first thing anyone looking for information these
days is going to do is search the Internet. Be there.
Can't afford it, you say? Yes, you can. My two sites
cost less than $25 a month. Sure, you can pay big money
to have a pro design and maintain your site, but you
don't have to. Numerous companies, including
http://www.geocities.com, http://www.Homestead.com, and
http://www.aol.com, offer space and fill-in-the-blank
templates. You can establish a web presence today and
gradually build on it. Many companies let you claim
your own domain name. My Homestead site, for example,
is http://www.suelick.com.
Most Internet Service Providers offer open web space
where you can build your own site from scratch. You
could take a course or buy one of the many web-building
books on the market. Creating Web Pages for Dummies by
Bud Smith and Arthur Bebak not only explains everything
in plain English but comes with a CD-Rom that allows
you to sample a variety of page-building programs.
What should your pages have on them? Include your
photo, a short bio and description of what you do, a
list of published works with links to those available
online, samples of your writing, and information on
scheduled readings, workshops or talks. Include a link
to instantly e-mail you. You can set up sales pages for
your books and classes and can even arrange to have
people pay online with credit cards.
The best sites provide something of value to visitors.
Links, bibliographies, and useful information about
your specialty will all draw people to your site.
Whatever you put online, make sure your spelling and
grammar are perfect. Beware of blinking icons and other
whimsical art that may be more distracting than
helpful. And keep your pages up to date. Web searchers
quickly click away from pages that haven't been changed
for months.
Search engines find web sites by locating keywords
found in titles and page labels called meta tags. The
more keywords you include, the more people will access
your pages. You can help the process by touting your
site everywhere you can. Add your web site address to
the signature of every e-mail you send out. Print it on
your business cards and on your letterhead. When you
publish, put it in your bio.
Each year Writer's Digest Magazine holds a contest for
the best writers' websites. Check
http://www.writersdigest.com for information on the
contest and study the winning sites. Why not learn from
the best?
A word of caution. If you put your own writing on your
web site, it is considered published and you have used
up your first online rights. You might want to offer
just a sample to tease potential readers into asking
for more.
Newsletters
Anyone can start an online newsletter. As with web
sites, you could hire someone or you could use one of
the many templates available, but you can also do it
all yourself. A newsletter can be as simple as an
extended e-mail or it can be as complicated as an html
web page that you send to everyone on your mailing list
or notify people when the new issue is available.
What goes in the newsletter? This is not your Christmas
newsletter where you babble on about your trip to
Europe or tell what the kids are up to. This is a sales
tool with value added. Columns, advice, upcoming
events, and useful links will draw repeat readers. If
you specialize in a particular subject, share the
latest information with us.
Don't go on too long. Busy readers appreciate a
newsletter that doesn't take forever to read. Again, be
careful with graphics. The more you add, the longer it
takes for your page to show up on the screen. And don't
forget to advertise your newsletter on your web site
and your web site in your newsletter.
Include a link for people to subscribe or unsubscribe
so that you can build a mailing list. If it gets beyond
your ability to handle, there are listserv companies
that will do the job for you--for a fee, of course, but
imagine the sales that could result.
How often should your newsletter come out? Mine is
monthly, and that deadline comes up all too soon. Be
careful not to commit to more than you can handle or
wear your readers out with a newsletter that seems to
show up every other day.
Speaking of every other day . . .
Blogs
"Blog" is short for Weblog. Essentially a blog is an
online journal where the creator offers a running
account of his life, thoughts, news updates, or
whatever. Most give readers a chance to comment,
turning it into a forum. I haven't blogged yet, but
lots of famous writers have blogs, including Dave
Barry, Anne Lamott, and Madonna. A quick search will
lead you to thousands of them.
As with web sites, there are templates and guidebooks
for blogs. Check out http://www.blogger.com or read The
Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice for Creating and
Maintaining Your Blog by Rebecca Blood.
Before you begin a blog, think about what you will say
on it, who will want to read it, and whether it would
be better to save your words for a polished piece for
which you actually get paid. But blogs can be fun, and
it's another way to get your name out there. Just make
sure you mention your web site and newsletter on your
blog and your blog on your web site and your newsletter
and . . . You get the idea.
Now claim a spot on the Internet and get yourself
Googled.
Copyright 2005 Sue Fagalde Lick
About the Author: SUE FAGALDE LICK is a former newspaper editor turned full-time freelance writer. She has published four books, countless articles and many poems and stories. She teaches writing workshops online and at Oregon Coast Community College. Visit her web site at http://www.suelick.com.
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