Constant Content

Hi,

Just wanted to pick some of your brains. Do you have your own website to showcase your writing, and as a place to refer those who may request samples of your writing?

Do you think a blog service could work for a setup like that? Just a place to keep some samples on display? Any idea how much/year it would cost to secure a fairly basic website? Recommendations?

Forgive me for the bombardment of questions, I just know there are a lot of wise writers here who can shed light on them! Thanks in advance to those who care to respond!

=)Julie

Hi Julie,

I do not yet have my own website, but I have seen several writers who use a free blog to put up samples. One downside I see to this is that it makes it look like you are a "starving artist" (which may be the case, but is not the image you want to present to your clients.) I have no idea how much it costs to host a webstie, but I know 1and1.com has affordable rates. Beyond that, I will not be much help and will be interested to see the responses you get!

Nicole

Yeah, I am slightly concerned about the blog route sending out a bit of a green impression. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of authors use their website or blog in their signature line in various writing forums I frequent, and it seems like a great way to spread the word about your own work. We'll see what everyone else has to say . . .

Julie

Hi. I had the same idea as you and did indeed set up a blog. It doesn't cost anything; I used blogger.com. I thought that it would be a good way to showcase some of my stuff (e.g. link to articles here on CC site). Also, I've seen some writing gigs calling for "bloggers" so I thought that it would be good to be able to direct a customer to my blog to see if they liked the style and so on. However, I never actually got very far. I think that in order for a blog to work it has to have a defined purpose, and I was never really sure if I wanted to use it for my "writing" or if I wanted to use it to let friends and family know what I'm doing on my sabbatical! (although there's no reason wny it can't do both I suppose...). I still think it's a good idea for anyone involved in the writing business - if anything, it's a good way to limber up before sitting down to write stuff for sale! I'm sure it's something I'll return to in the near future - with a little more focus

Jane

Hi Julie,

I host my site through 1and1.com. I'm far from a professional web designer and it's still under construction but, if you want to see what type of thing you can get from them you can look at my site at scribblelit.com

Mine costs $4.99/month to host. I think it's well worth it to have a place to refer potential clients. 1and1 has hosting services starting at $3.99/month but for the dollar I was able to put up a lot more (it's like 10x the space lol).

I think the most important thing is that you keep your personal stuff out of your professional site. There's nothing wrong with having a personal site, just keep them separate.

Hi Julie - I don't have a blog or (working) website, but am in the process of setting up both. I believe I lost out on two jobs because I didn't have a site (plus I received an embarrassing reprimand from a editor recently), so I'm grudgingly getting on-board. (Yeah! I'm entering the 20th century. Maybe I'll make it into the 21st before 2010.)

I've held off on developing a good site because I was either in denial (This internet thing is a fad), or too busy having a tantrum (I don't want to do it! Stomp foot.), or posing as the wannabe writer-diva (I'm too busy to handle the PR side of the business), or borrowing attitude from my martyred mom script (Why do I have to do everything around here?).

None of these have been an effective business strategy, so I can't recommend my way. You've got a better plan.
Good luck!
Mary B.

I have my own website with DirectNIC; $30/year for hosting AND domain registry. Now, I do know about web design and stuff, so I was able to design my own site, but I think they have templates and such if you don't know anything about HTML or CSS or any of that.

I don't know if we're allowed to post our websites or not... mine is keesareneedupre.com (Constant, let me know if you'd like me to remove this address from my post, and I will.) It's been a while since it was updated, though...I think early summer was the last time I had a chance to get in there and "tinker".

A free blog can do a lot for a writer, but it's not the same as a website. Personally, I think writers should have both. (And of course, remember to keep even your personal online journals professional, please; in the internet world, anyone could be reading them, including people you try to get work from in the future!)

[quote="Keesa"]I don't know if we're allowed to post our websites or not... mine is keesareneedupre.com (Constant, let me know if you'd like me to remove this address from my post, and I will.)[/quote]

Oops, I didn't think about that. Let me know too if there is a problem and I can remove my site from my post.

Julie,

I currently have three blogs that are either active or in the works. The first one is private (friends and family only). The second is purely self promotion for my writing career. The third is a trial for a virtual graphic novel I am writing that includes both story and illustration.
I suggest you try it out. Blogger lets you play around with formats and content, and you can make it "invisible" while you tweak it. It's free, but if you develop a style and content you really like you can then move to one of the suggested web hosting companies.

Jessica

I have had a website for over two years, but not related to writing. It is $ 9.95 per year for the domain name, and $ 34.95 a year to host it. It is through godaddy.com. I had some help starting the graphics, but from there I just completed it using Frontpage.