Web Editing and Website Promotion with Lori Soard

Moderator is me, Mary Rosenblum, editor of this site, writing teacher, and author of three SF novels, four mystery novels and more than 50 short stories and articles.

Lori is Lori Soard, with a Ph. D. in Journalism and Creative Writing, has published over a thousand articles and short stories, as well as several novels and a 'how-to' book on writing nonfiction. In 1997, she opened wordmuseum.com, a multi-genre site for readers and writers. She is a co-founder of World Romance Writers and sat on the national board of Romance Writers of America.

Names in Blue belong to member s of the audience.

Moderator: Welcome to you all, and welcome to Lori! I'm looking forward to learning a lot!

Lori: I'm thrilled to be here, Mary. Thanks for having me.

Moderator: Thanks for coming! So, Lori, how did you get started? With writing or with websites?

Lori: I started with writing... Every writer needs a website but it was like pulling teeth because for years I avoided computers like the plague. I finally took a few courses at the local college, bought some software, made a lot of mistakes, and the rest, as they say, is history. Most of it was learning by error.

Moderator: You give me hope! I had never even downloaded software when I accepted this job! Maybe even I can learn to build a website. So what do you write?

Lori: Anyone can learn to do this. It does take a lot of patience. I write mostly romantic comedy and a lot of nonfiction. I have a book coming out in December through Thorndike called HOUSEBREAKING A HUSBAND. I think you can guess that it's romantic comedy from the title <G>

Moderator: I'm chuckling! I think dogs are easier. So just how does a know-nothing like myself get started here?

Lori: You might be right, but men are more fun LOL. I think the best way for someone who is very uncertain to start is to try out some of the free sites out there. Most of them also offer easy-to-use web-building software built right in. A few to try are: GottaDot.com Yahoo.com, AOL.com, Delphi.com. I also want to add that if you just go to a search engine and type in the words: "Free Web Space" A ton of resources will come up.

Moderator: Great resources! Thank you! Is the software pretty self-explanatory? Even for someone like me?

Moderator: Lori, you are very very generous. I suspect you'll be hearing from me, at least. And I can hear the sound of notes being taken!

Lori: LOL Anytime, Mary.

Moderator: So far, this sounds as if it's a VERY economical self promotion. So these sites don't charge you?

Lori: Just like anything, it's best to start small and work your way up as your career grows. I would start off with a free site and as you sell more articles or books or shorts. you might want to consider taking out your own domain name (around 20-30$ a year)

nikkisangel1: Are they safe??

Lori: Nikki, could you expand a little? Are the free websites safe? Safe from crashes? Not sure what you mean :)

nikkisangel1: Is your material safe??

Lori: Oh, I see what you're saying -- sorry for my dense moment there :). I tend to never put my entire book up on the web. One reason is because many publishers consider that published material and will then not publish your book. I think it is fairly safe to put a chapter up on the Internet for several reasons. First, it really is rare for someone to steal another writer's ideas. Now, that isn't to say that several people can't come up with the same idea. That happens all the time. But most of the time, they will have a unique twist on it that makes it all their own. Also, if you only have one chapter up, there isn't much of a chance of them stealing your entire book. They would never write the rest of the book the same way you would. Could it happen? Yes. Is it likely? No. However, if you have a unique idea and are worried, you can always not put the material up. List your biography, add a photo, list your published work, but don't put your work up there, if it concerns you that much. Always trust your instincts in this business.

jim: I heard that you can't control advertising on a free web site. I don't want porn ads on my site.

Lori: I don't know about all the sites out there, but I've never seen porn ads from the sites I listed earlier. I would say to read the FAQs to see the free site's policy on this issue. If they don't say, then email them. You certainly don't want to write a children's book and have a porn ad pop up. Your other option, of course, is to pay their fee to be ad free or to pay for your own webspace, which is really quite reasonable. You can get a small amount of space for under 10.00/month

nikkisangel1: Good I like that . Also can you add links to websites in your works as reference for others or do you need permission first?

Lori: Technically you don't need permission to add a link to another website, however, most people think that netiquette says you should send them a note and ask if you can link to their website. This does something else, too, which gets into the promotional aspect a little. Often they will offer to link back. Reciprocal links can help boost your own traffic. This is a pretty common practice if it's an educational website. Let's say you're linking to something in the public domain and they have the works of Shakespeare at Indiana University. You probably don't need to ask permission for something like that.

nora: How does an unknown writer get the general public to visit her website?

Lori: Great question! I would suggest that you do several things. First, I'd offer regular contests. You can give away anything from a free personalized poem to bath beads to coffee to bookmarks. People love contests. The best traffic I had as I was building my name--and even today --was from contests. I would also link to other websites as I mentioned before. You can join reader and writer lists at places such as yahoogroups.com and put your web address in your signature line. Other things you can do: Have a bookmark or business card made and put your web address on it. Include it with EVERY piece of outgoing mail. If you send in a payment for your gas bill someone has to read that. Hand them out to everyone you meet. Sometimes you have to be a bit bold and self-serving when you're building your name. Just do it in a polite way :)

nikkisangel1 What about self help links. for ex I have an article for post traumatic stress and want to link help sites.

Lori: It shouldn't be a problem to link to them, however I still recommend you email them because they may link back and that will boost your traffic. It never hurts to ask either. You can always send a quick note that says, I plan to link to your wonder site for resources on self-help. Would you consider linking back? That was wonderful site :)

Moderator: That's great advice! So what are the problems you can enounter? I've visited some websites that load VERY slowly. Why?

Moderator: So what are some of the programs you'd recommend for the ambitious?

Lori: I started out with Frontpage. I like it because it's easy to use but does a lot. It's a bit pricey, I think around 150.00...been a while since I bought the full version. There is also DreamWeaver, which perhaps does a bit more than Front Page. You are usually either a Front Page user or a Dreamweaver. There are many other programs out there but, in my opinion, they don't hold a candle to these two. I wouldn't waste my time or money on them. You will have some built-in software with your computer. Word can build basic sites, and some folks have the Front Page express. This is fine for BASIC, however, FP Express doesn't do a tenth of what Front Page does.

Moderator: Wow! That's quite a selection.. So how much time do you spend maintaining a page, once you have it up? And how often should you make changes?

Lori: Time depends on how much you add. I spend about an hour a week on my author pages when I can't sucker someone else into doing it for me <G> If you are very prolific, you may have to spend more time... less prolific, less time... As for how often to make changes again, that is personal. I try to come up with a new theme every year or so. Right now, my website is The Asylum, and it has a crazy theme. It’s fun and light to go with the romantic comedies coming up. I probably won't keep it forever, particularly if I have a more dramatic book due to be released. The biggie that you want to change often is information you are offering, contests you're running. Make sure you update booksignings or other appearances. You want regular things to keep them coming back. A weekly column is a good idea...or a monthly newsletter is a good way to stay in touch. I also have a fan club, where I send news about talks such as this one or just news I want to share.

nikkisangel1 Ok, I would love to visit your site can we have the address?

Lori: Sure. I'd love to have you visit it. lorisoard.com

Moderator: So what about theme? Should a website have a theme, and why?

Lori: That's a good question, Mary. I believe that theme is extremely important, and I'll tell you why. If you visit a really unique website, do you tend to remember it? I sure do... And I'll probably save it in my favorite places if it's a lot of fun. I tend to go for light themes typically, but I've seen some themed websites that are awesome. Horror writers tend to be particularly good at creating these themed sites, also sci-fi, and I believe it's Rebecca Brandewyne (romance) who has a website set up like a castle with rooms. Getting the visitor to your site is only half the battle. You want him/her to keep coming back for more and more importantly, to remember you and your book or articles.

Moderator: Theme is clearly important! But graphics slow down the speed at which your site loads. So how do we get cool pictures and still load fast?

stephmc Did I understand you to say that you could bring your own domain name to free groups like Yahoo?

Lori: Have your friends test it too. I'm not sure that Yahoo offers that, however, there are websites out there that will let you use your own domain name. I believe hypermart is one of them. You still have the ads and the space is still basically at www.hypermart.com/yourname... But when someone types lorisoard.com, they are taken to your free website to get the best free space for YOU... It's really important that you spend some time on the Internet, researching the different free sites out there and seeing what options they offer, how much space, if you can use your own domain. do the ads pop up, are there porn ads, etc... Because there are hundreds of sites out there that offer free web space. They pay for it with the advertising that pops up :)

Moderator: So how do we get to be .com?

Lori: You used to always go to Network Solutions. However, there are many services out there now that offer domain registration for less money. I believe sliceofpromo.com offers it for 13.95/year. Net Sol is about 25.00 now, I believe. You've probably seen the pop up ads for the various registry services. If the free server (or paid server if you go that route) offers the ability to use your own domain name, often they will also offer the option for you to register through them. Just make sure it's a good deal :)

Moderator: I've seen the ads, but does that mean if I register through one registry, nobody else on the whole Internet can use that name?

Lori: As long as you keep it registered. Remember though -- many domains are already taken and if you try to get... maryrosenblum.com and it isn't available, you can try maryrosenblum.net, or maryrosenblum-writer.com, or mary-rosenblum.com, or any other variation :)

Moderator: Good point..

nvelwrter Does the speed of your computer have anything to do with it loading fast? or slow?

Lori: Yes, it certainly does. If you have a computer that loads fast and you're worried about people who might have slower computers and whether your page loads fast for them, I'd try to get a friend who has an older computer to test it out.

nikkisangel1 What do you do if someone asks a question on the web you can not answer.

Lori: No one can know everything. What I do is tell them that I don't know the answer, but will find it for them if at all possible. Most people are happy with that. After all, it actually takes more effort and thoughtfulness than answering something you already know and I get to learn something new too, which may show up in a book someday :)

mbvoelker Is a website just for book authors or will it help sell magazine stories and articles too?

Lori: If you mean sell to an editor, the answer is that it is very unlikely. The only way to sell to an editor is to submit your work to them, however if you want to sell information directly to the public you could offer it in electronic format, meaning they pay you and you send it, either in the body of an email or as an attachment, or if you're very advanced, you can offer a download online.

ronda weems I want to hear more about the book you have coming out.

Lori: Housebreaking A Husband comes out in December through Thorndike. It's about two adorable twins. A frazzled uncle, a neighbor who desperately wants kids and a whole lot of trouble. It's a light, funny book that I hope readers will enjoy.

Moderator: It sounds delightful and funny! Be sure to let me know when it hits the shelves and I'll let people know on the Calendar page.

Lori: I should mention that my editor was trying to fit a man into a doghouse for the cover LOL

annie So what makes a really good website?

Lori: Annie, several things, in my opinion. First, the main page needs to be easy to navigate. That means don't clog it up with too much junk. Think of it like a lobby. There are "signs" to other areas. These are your links to other pages that contain information. I have a bit too much on my main page right now, actually, so please don't use it as an example. However, if you look to the left side, with the links. this is the type of navigation you need to think of using. Set it up anywhere on the page you want. use your own style and creativity, but create different areas with information. Another thing a good website needs IS information. An empty website isn't very appealing. If you don't have information, check out some of the free content out there, I would even consider putting up some poetry or books that are in the public domain for readers to enjoy, if you don't want to put up your own work. Finally, keep it updated. Biographies are an easy place to get outdated quickly.

Moderator: I'll add to Annie's question. What makes a bad website?

Lori: Ewww....I don't want to accidentally insult anyone who might already have a website LOL. Let's see. I think the biggest boo boo is a site that loads too slowly. If I have to wait twenty minutes for a site to load or my computer freezes every time I try to go there. I'm probably not going back again. The Internet is fast-paced. People tend to lose interest rather quickly. You don't want to get them to your website. only to have them leave out of frustration, vowing never to return and certainly to never buy one of your books. As far as design, it will grow as your skills do. I wish I'd saved some of my early web building attempts. They were very ugly. Everything didn't always coordinate, but you grow as a web designer, just as you grow as a writer, it's just like anything, practice makes you better :)

Moderator: So if you use, say, a PC, I gather that it would be a good idea to get friends with a Mac and older machines to check out your site for problems?

Lori: Absolutely. I have to admit, I'm not always great at making my site compatible with Netscape Navigator. My MAC friends are constantly emailing me and saying, "Hey! Can't see half the page. It's blacked out." That is another thing. Get your friends to police you regularly. If you're making changes every month or so, it's easy to add something that looks great on your screen but looks horrid on someone else's. So, they should visit your site often and just be brutal enough to let you know that your site stinks if it does. Don't pick nice people for this task :)

Moderator: There are a LOT of things to learn about this, clearly. Are they any good sites or books that offer a lot of these tips?

Lori: Absolutely. First, take a deep breath. It really isn't as complicated as it sounds. Much of this you will learn as you go and remember -- you really can't mess up that bad. You can always delete the website and start over :) I would suggest for HTML resources, pageresource.com/html/index2.html. I have some sheets at my site: lorisoard.com/webclass/codes.htm, lorisoard.com/webclass/meta.htm. Those will increase traffic to your site, and the article explains how, and lorisoard.com/webclass/tables.htm... For books. I'd suggest the "For Dummies" guides. They offer several, including one for Front Page. They are easy to understand and broken down into sections. So if you aren't having trouble making tables. you can skip that, but you don't really understand how to create a meta tag you can go right to that section. The books can be used as a complete guide or for bits and pieces, which is what I like about them.

Moderator: Thank you, Lori! Those sound excellent and I'm sure you'll see quite a few of us at your site

Lori: Oh! That makes me think of something, Mary...may I add something?

annie Are the rules different if you want to sell things...like your books or just merchandise?

Lori: Let me answer Annie's question first. The only difference is in how you present the product as a writer . You are selling a product -- your books...your thoughts. You are going to focus in on that product- line. You are the maker. Let's say you're Ford Motor Company :) Your main page will say Ford, but you'll also want to highlight your models -- the T-bird, Mustang, F150, (or your books...). If you're selling merchandise, you still need to highlight the company name, then your individual product lines. You still need a hook. You still want to keep them coming back. That means more orders after all. You still want to offer information that will bring them there in the first place. Only the product differs. Now, what I wanted to add has to do with this a little. You need a tag line. GE brought good things to life. Ford is built tough (I think--maybe that's Chevy). Big companies have a tag line. I'm sure you can think of others. As a writer, you also need a tag line. Try to tie it into your books or your name. For example, my last name is Soard, which is pronounced Sword. I've been told by editors that they remember my last name because they think of a fighting sword, so, my PR gal and I came up with Lori Soard, author of cutting edge fiction. I can also change this to...cutting edge writing...for nonfiction. Take your time. Think it over and come up with something dynamite that describes you or your books. Sizzling romances. Bone-chilling horror, etc. Then stick it on your website, business cards... everywhere :)

Moderator: I suppose you could use it as the signature-line on all your email, too. That'll tax our creativity!

Lori: Yes...the goal is to create a catch-phrase that makes readers think of you and hopefully buy your book.

Moderator: How do I find good pictures for my website?

Lori: There are several things you can do, Mary. Many of the HTML editors (such as Front Page) come with images. My MS Word program has some really fabulous images/ There are also websites out there which offer images for free. Again, back to that handy google.com, type in "typewriter graphic" or "typewriter clipart", or whatever you're looking for an image of and tons will pop up. It can be time-consuming but worth the hunt. Also, there is a website called arttoday.com. They charge a fee but have TONS of images, and you can always buy graphics from your local office supply store on discs.

Moderator: What about pictures from a digital camera?...

Lori: Sure...

Moderator: Can they be used directly?

Lori: Also scanners. If you have a postcard with a great picture on front that you want to use, you just scan it in, save in jpeg or gif format (easiest with websites) and put it up on your site. I suggest you watch the size of the image here and how fast it loads, as sometimes when you scan or do digital images from your camera, that is when you get the higher resolution that takes forever to load.

Moderator: What about copyright?...

Lori: Most images are royalty free...

Moderator: Who owns the pictures on other sites?

Lori: However, if it isn't a free image site you should probably ask. Most people will tell you to go ahead as long as it isn't competition for them, but you don't want to get one of those nasty letters that says to remove the image immediately. I actually had to send one of those to someone who copied my entire site, but that's a whole other workshop. Sites like arttoday, or those that offer graphics for download, will usually put up a disclaimer about the images, either that they are free to use, or some will request a link back or credit at the bottom of your page as to where you go the graphics. If you buy a disc from the office supply, you have basically purchased the right to use those graphics. Same thing with those that come pre-installed on your computer. A postcard might be a bit iffy, but use your judgement. If you want a picture of a Hawaiian sunset at the top of your page then it's probably okay. However, if you are going to resell the picture – that’s a big no-no...

jim I would like to sell trans-o-grams to a few webmasters on a weekly or monthly basis to use as a contest or diversion. How do I offer the product?

nvelwrter I have word and it gives me so much trouble it is frustrating. Is that typical?

Lori: I think a lot of people get frustrated with Word at first. The main thing is to play around with it, use the help menu. it truly will get easier. If it's still driving you nuts then try one of the Dummies books I mentioned. I have several...I love them. If you try that and still aren't quite getting it, try the free servers with built in web page builders like the yahoo service. They are a bit easier to use and might help you get started until you feel more comfortable with Word. This all takes time. Remember to be patient with yourself. We all struggle with programs and there is a lot of help available out there, from newsgroups about how to use Word, to support websites, to discussion lists.

nvelwrter It loads so slow and I cant load graphics with it and I am not a newbie

Lori: It shouldn't do that. Do you mean when you're trying to load it to your website?

Moderator: One question, while we're waiting for Nvelwrter to respond… what about viruses? How much does your risk increase once you publish a website and what protection is best?

Lori: Usually, you get viruses from downloading attachments from email or visiting websites. However, I'm learning the hard way that these viruses are sneaky little buggers. I like McAffee, but it really is personal preference. No virus protector will catch EVERYTHING, but it should catch most things. Use whatever comes with your computer or whatever you like best, make sure you keep it updated, run it regularly, and viruses SHOULD be rare. I've had one in a year.

nvelwrter my word program loads in triple slow motion ..the drop down tabs and they have to do it twicw before I can do anything I hadn't heard of anyone else having that trouble

Lori: I haven't either. It should be MUCH faster than that. I would suggest you check a couple of things. Word is a pretty big program. If your computer is older, you may need to upgrade to more Gigs and RAM. If that isn't the problem, and the program came with your computer. I'd try rebooting the system. This is a pain but it will basically erase everything off your hard drive and restore it to the way it came the day you brought the computer home. If it didn't come with the computer try uninstalling and reinstalling. You can also try some things like Scan Disk (if you have Windows) and Defrag. I'm afraid I don't know much about MACs. If it STILL gives you trouble, I'd phone the computer manufacturer (if it came with) and I'd visit Microsoft's website and ask for help. It really should not be loading that slowly and you should be able to use the graphics with it. We pay a lot for our computers and the software should work. Unfortunately, it doesn't always happen that way. If you need to email me for follow up, please feel free to. I'll help however I can.

stephmc I think I get free web space with my e-mail account. Is that as good as going on one of the free web space accounts? Can I use my own domain name for this? (I'm sorry, but I don't really understand all this domain stuff. I thought that was how people found you.)

Lori: Hi, Steph. Absolutely use your free space with your email account. I forgot to mention that. Whether you can use your domain depends upon your ISP. Phone them or email them and ask them if you can use your own domain name with your webspace. What you'll need to get from them if you can is domain server information. Tell them you need the domain server information (names and numbers) so you can take out your own domain and point it to your free pages. Then when someone types in stephsWebsite.com, it will go to those pages you've created in your free space. Does that make sense?

Moderator: It makes sense to me! Can you use your .com address as an email address?

Lori: Again, it depends. If you take out your own webspace and pay a monthly fee more than likely you can use...lori@lorisoard.com (don't email me there, I don't use mine). If it's free space, you'll have to check with the ISP or provider of that space. Some offer it, some don't.

Moderator: So what about search engines? That's how people find you. How does Google discover that you exist and add your name to their service?

Lori: It's important to make sure you're listed in search engines, although a low percentage of my traffic actually comes from there. I mentioned meta tags earlier. Meta tags can improve your placement in the search engines because they help those systems define your website. You can read detailed info on how to create them at lorisoard.com/webclass/meta.htm and most HTML editors offer meta tag creation to actually get placed in the search engines. You need to use one of the free services out there such as addme.com or addpro.com. I also suggest going to the bigger search engines and searching to see if they have a form you can fill out to have your site added, do the more detailed description and such and search for smaller search engines. There are hundreds out there. Try to get listed on as many as possible. It can't hurt.

Moderator: Great information, Lori. So tell us about wordmuseum.com?

Lori: I actually don't own Word Museum any longer. I sold it so that I can write full-time, however it is a multi-genre site for readers and writers. It's now owned by a group of seven people and seems to be pretty active, a nice place for writers to visit. I still have some articles over there :)

Moderator: So if you're not published yet, what can a website do for you as a new writer?

Lori: This is something I feel very strongly about. Start getting your name out there even before you're published. You will start building a reader base/fan base right from the first and these people will be invaluable to you later on in your career. Not only can you use these early fans as sounding boards, but they tend to be extremely loyal. Those people who were on my fan list BEFORE I sold a book buy every book that comes out. They send me notes about what they liked or would like to see in the next book. This type of feedback is something you don't always get from newer readers. Many are too shy to tell you that your hero was a wuss and the next book better be deeper. That sounds harsh, but I prefer to hear what they don't like. It helps me grow as a writer and most of them buffer it with what they liked as well. A big part of writing truly is name recognition -- with editors -- with readers -- so, start building that now and you'll be a step ahead. Oh, and you'll have time to perfect your website :)

Moderator: And I want to put in a bit of inside POV here, too... As a SF writer who attends SF conventions, really cool websites get mentioned among the writers and editors, even if the owner is unpublished.

Lori: Yes, that's true. And remember that writers are readers too...were usually readers first before they wrote:)

Moderator: Lori, this has been terrifically helpful! We're getting to the end of our session, folks.

Lori: I can't believe two hours have passed already!

Moderator: If you want to ask Lori some final questions, do it now. I have to say that you've really encouraged me to actually start a site.

Lori: Oh, good. I'm so glad to hear that. Just think of it like playing the piano -- you wouldn't go out and play Beethoven at Carnegie Hall without practicing. W ebsites are the same way. Practice makes you better.

stephmc Earlier you said something about "backing up" your website. How do you do that?

Lori: Steph, it depends on what software you're using. I would keep a copy on my harddrive and another on a zip or other disk. There should be an option for "publishing" or copying the files within your website. Choose that and then choose the folder you're placing it in - either on your harddrive or your disk. The best thing to do is to create the website on your harddrive save to a disk as well and THEN publish to the web if you're using a free editor at Yahoo or elsewhere, I'd simply use my browser to visit my own website to back up each image by right clicking. Then choose Control Save under File and save the HTML file itself (basically background info and text) It may be time consuming but if Yahoo crashes and loses your information -- not likely--but it is possible, you should be able to load the HTML files and graphics back into the free space.

nvelwrter I have a site on msn and yahoo and I have really enjoyed them

Lori: It's a great free option and a good place to start :)

Moderator: You've convinced me! I will definitely start working on this. These days, it does seem that people look to the Internet first for information, and your reasons for creating a website as an unpublished writer are excellent!

Lori: Yes, it's never too early to start, Mary. Get your name out there... someday it may be a household name.

Moderator: Thank you very much for taking the time to go into so many details for us. I will definitely be asking you back for another visit in the future.

Lori: I'd love to come back. Anytime.

Moderator: Thank you so much for coming, and thank you all for all your valuable information Have a good weekend all! Night!